DAMANI – He was only 18, in June 1947, when he left home to work on the farms and for the past 58 years, nobody had heard anything from him. After investigations and traces,which took 10 years, Ratshilumela Phalanndwa (76) was reunited with his family at Damani Village, near Tshipako, on Sunday.

Mirror was part of the celebration organized by family members to welcome Ratshilumela home. His face was flooded with tears during our exclusive interview. He was sad because most of his close relatives have died and been buried in his absence, including his mother, Vele, and sister, Nyadzanga, who died in 1975 and 1997 respectively.

He added that 27 of his close relatives also died in his absence, not to mention seven of his friends whom he grew up with. Although it was not easy to accept all that had happened during his absence, Ratshilumela said he was happy because he was reunited with his family.

“Give me Mahafhe (traditional beer) and let me drink to appease the ancestors. If I die now, I shall be happy. My soul will rest in peace because I am now reunited with my family.”

Ratshilumela’s nephew, Fulufhelo Khavhadi (41), who was born after the disappearance of his uncle, said it was not an easy task to locate Phalanndwa’s whereabouts for the past 58 years. “We were not sure if he was alive or dead. But if he was dead, we would have tried to determine where he was buried. We located him through the information from a fellow villager who said he saw him working at the farms in the Kriel area, Mpumalanga. We traced him until we found him, hence we arranged for his home coming. Although he was calling himself Wilson Sebijo, he confirmed to us that he had changed his identity because he was not pre-pared to come back home again. He knew none of us when we went to arrange for his home coming but he was very cooperative. It is said my mother was still a teenager when our uncle disappeared.”

Ratshilumela has a wife and eight kids in Kriel.

“I will make sure that they all come back and stay with me here in Venda. I really lost contact with my family members and I’m happy that I am back home again.”

Ratshilumela was quick to mention that there are many things that have changed since his disappearance. “There were no tarred roads when I left that time. There was only one shop at Sibasa and there was nothing called Thohoyandou. We used to walk on foot for long distances and no one owned a car in this village, but today cars and taxis are moving everywhere. I am astonished by these changes which include robots, big shops, street lights and banks. There was no road that led to Damani Village; instead, we used a footpath to walk to our destinations. But today there is a road, a clinic, a school and beautiful houses in this village. There were only six thatched homesteads in this village when I left in 1947, but today, the village is like a town. The world seemed to have changed so fast during my absence. Despite all these, I am happy because at last, I am back home alive.”

A local villager, Phinias Chauke (70) who played an important role in locating Ratshilumela said: “I was working in the Vuurfontein farms when I came across Ratshiulumela 12 years ago. He was a tractor driver at a farm in Kriel and I noticed that we were from the same village. Although he was calling himself Ntuli at the time, he did not hide his real identity to me. It also took some time for me to come back to the village, but I immediately informed his relatives about his whereabouts, and today, he is back home again.”