KHUBVI - A red minibus passed by her house and somebody in the passenger seat shouted through the window: “Nditsheni a vha tsha do dovha vha mu vhona” (You will never see Nditsheni again).

The combi then drove away at high speed and she could not recognize the people inside or take the registration number as she was confused. That was on 6 August, 2000, the day her brother disappeared!

That is the shocking experience narrated by Nancy Rasila who is desperately looking for her brother, Nditsheni Rasila, who disappeared without a trace five years ago.

Villagers said Nditsheni was last seen drinking traditional beer (halwa ha hogo) during a welcoming ceremony for the initiates in the village shortly before he disappeared. “We thought he would come back but we smelt a rat when days went by without our seeing him. I intially thought I was dreaming about the incident of the red combi, but I realized it was a reality when we couldn’t trace my brother,” said Nancy.

Nancy says the family has been struggling to locate Nditsheni since then, but the search remains fruitless. She says the family reported the matter to the Thohoyandou SAPS, but nothing has happened.

“Police even took his pictures and we went to the police station several times, but there was no evidence linked to his disappearance.” Nditsheni’s mother, Munzhedzi (68), says she wants to know where her son is, before she dies.

“Even if I can find his bones, my soul will rest in peace. He cannot just disappear like that because he is the apple of my eye. Even if he is no longer alive, I will find some peace. If he is alive, he needs to come back home because it is where he belongs. I request community members who know something about my son’s disappearance to help us with information because we need him back…”

Insp Nkanukeni Raedani of the Thohoyandou SAPS confirmed that a missing person’s file had been opened with the police.