A community's search for two missing boys, which started by the combing of nearby bushes and progressed to a house-to-house search, ended in tears when the boys were found dead.

The two boys, Nhleketo Mashimbyi and Rifuwo Hlungwani, both aged 3, went missing on Monday. They were found in an unused pit toilet, dug in one of the yards, not far from their homes.

The boys were known to be very close friends, just like their mothers. The incident, which has shocked and left the community in tears, happened at Muswani village outside Malamulele.

At first, the community had feared that the boys might have ended up being victims of muti murderers.  Ms Wisani Mashimbyi (27), Nhleketo’s mother, said the boy went to the street to play with others from the neighbourhood while she was cooking at home. She said when did not see him after some time, she thought that he had gone to play with his friend Rifuwo.

Almost at the same time, Rifuwo’s mother, Ms Wisani Hlungwani, was busy making tea for her son. She also said she thought he had gone to play with his friend, Nhleketo.

“After I finished making tea, I went to look for my son. Nhleketo’s mother then informed me that neither one was there,” said the distraught Wisani Hlungwani. The two women alerted the local headman, who called for a search, which promptly ensued.

On Tuesday, members of the community searched the village for the missing toddlers. Police officers who arrived also assisted the community in the search. They had combed almost the whole village and surrounding bushes when the boys were found in an open and unused toilet pit, full of water.

The find brought comfort that at least the boys had been found and the community knew what had happened, but at the same time plunged the whole community into deep mourning.

Members of the community who were at scene were all shedding tears of grief while waiting for the police to fetch the tiny bodies. The mothers of the children nearly fainted when they heard that their children had been found but were not alive as they had hoped.

Malamulele police spokesperson W/O Alson Mapindani said they had earlier opened a missing person’s docket, but after the boys were found, changed it to an inquest. “After receiving a report of the missing boys, we went to the village, where our members assisted the community in the search until the boys were found. It seems as if the children were playing at the pit when they apparently fell inside,” he said.

He also warned the community not to leave open holes and pits in their surroundings as they could be a danger, not only to children, but also to old people.

Meanwhile, a three-year-old boy from Ha Mashau-Bodwe, who went missing while playing with a friend on Saturday, was found alive on Tuesday. It is said that he was found at a mountain, which is far from his home. “What surprises us is that the mountain where he was found was searched before, and he is too young to climb that mountain. We are just happy that he was found still alive,” said Mr Lucky Tshianzi, father of the boy.