SA's lost children and the agony

Hundreds of South African children go missing every year. Most are found, but many are not. For the families left behind, the pain is excruciating – and endless.

-  By Nonkululeko Njilo and Vincent Cruywagen

Zama Nkabinde is one of thousands of parents living with the pain of a missing child. It has been 15 years since her daughter, Amahle, disappeared without a trace. At the time, four-year-old Amahle was living in a place of safety with her brother, Sizo, and several other children.

Nkabinde had moved to Pietermaritzburg to escape family woes in Johannesburg and hoped for a fresh start.

"I was running away from our family's issues, wanting a new life for me and my children, away from everything, only to end up unlucky," she told Daily Maverick.

Tragedy struck when a fire broke out at the place of safety, claiming the lives of 11 people. Amahle was not confirmed to be among the dead. None of the recovered bodies was positively identified as hers.

Photos taken by the group of children involved in the fire suggested Amahle was not present at the time, and a pathologist's report supported this.

A day before the fire, when Nkabinde phoned the facility, she was told Amahle was out playing far from the premises.

"When they told me Amahle's body had burnt to ashes, I couldn't believe it," Nkabinde recalled. "I asked to see my little boy in the hospital, and he didn't have a single burn wound. If Sizo didn't burn, what killed Amahle when she could've escaped, too?"

Fifteen years have passed, but Nkabinde has never stopped searching or believing. She's convinced Amahle is still alive - a belief supported by two traditional healers.

"I am confident that one day she will be found," she said.

According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), 632 children were reported missing in 2024, down from 742 in 2023.

Earlier this year, the police said 8,743 children had been reported missing over the past 10 years. Missing Children South Africa estimates that 77% of missing children are found, and 23% remain missing or are found dead.