Horror in Mwanza: Missing Girls Found Dead, Bodies Reduced to Skeletons

A dark cloud of mystery and grief has settled over Mwanza District following the discovery of the skeletal remains of two young children who went missing more than two weeks ago.

The children, Success Kaliati, 10, and Favour Maseya, 7, both from Sudala Village under Traditional Authority Kandiku, vanished on the afternoon of January 29, 2026. After 18 days of frantic searching by police and community members, the search ended in a gruesome discovery that has left the district in shock.

According to family accounts, both children had safely returned from school on the day they went missing.

Favour had visited Success’s home but left shortly after, saying she was heading back to her own house. She never arrived.

Success arrived home from school later that afternoon and was sent to a nearby local market. She also never returned.

During the initial search, witnesses claimed to have seen the two children together near Mwanza District Hospital, but trackers could not locate them at the time.

The mystery took a chilling turn on 14 February when the remains of Success Kaliati were found in a maize field near Mwanza District Hospital. Her parents were only able to identify her by the school uniform she was wearing on the day she disappeared, as the body had been reduced to bones.

The remains of Favour Maseya were also discovered in a sugarcane field near her home. Like Success, only her skeleton remained, identified by the clothes found at the scene.

The discovery has sparked intense debate and suspicion within the community due to several baffling factors:

 Relatives and community members claim they had thoroughly searched the exact spots where the remains were found multiple times during the search period but saw nothing.

Villagers are struggling to understand how the bodies were reduced to skeletons in just over two weeks.

Residents expressed shock that despite the bodies being found in nearby fields, there was no smell of decomposition reported by anyone in the vicinity over the past 18 days.

The bereaved families are currently seeking answers, with many suspecting foul play or ritual involvement given the strange circumstances of the deaths and the rapid decomposition.

Police have not yet issued a formal medical report or a statement on the cause of death, but investigations are reportedly ongoing to determine if the children were murdered elsewhere and their remains dumped later.

May the souls of Success and Favour rest in eternal peace.

Source; Hastings Msosa