WATCH | My brother is not the same since abduction, sister says

Mazwi Khubeka, the spaza shop owner who went missing a month ago, walked to Carnival City in Brakpan on Saturday where he was picked up by a motorist who then dropped him off near the Vosloorus police station.

This is according to his sister Nomhle, who told a media briefing on Sunday that her brother walked to Carnival City, which was the only place he could recognise.

The briefing included Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Tommy Mthombeni and premier Panyaza Lesufi, as well as Ekurhuleni mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, ActionSA Ekurhulenu mayoral candidate Xolani Khumalo and community leaders.

Nomhle said Khubeka told them that where he was kept, he didn’t know whether it was day or night because the light was never switched off.

Khubeka went missing on April 2 while allegedly on his way to the bank to deposit money.

Nomhle said his captors released him after a march last Friday during which people called for his release. This followed an earlier march on Monday by ActionSA members to the Vosloorus police station, urging them to do more to find Kubheka.

The Friday march, Nomhle said, angered her brother’s captors. “They started being aggressive towards him, asking him who exactly he was. Why is this thing (march) happening and why is there such a big march ...?”

She said the family has since organised a safe place for Khubeka, as they think they are being watched.

Nomhle said her brother was no longer the person she knew before his abduction. “He is a very soft person but now he is irritable and terrified at the same time.”

She said the family wanted the mayor to issue a directive to close the local spaza shops. However, Xhakaza said the city would enforce bylaws and intensify raids, checking on businesses and their licences.

He said they would be looking into spaza shops, restaurants, catering businesses and accommodation, among other businesses.

Mthombeni said Khubeka could not fully account for what had happened to him as he had been blindfolded for most of the ordeal.

He was allegedly guarded by two foreign nationals, Mthombeni said.

“At around 7.30pm on Saturday, the victim presented himself at the community service centre where it is alleged that he was picked up by a motorist near Carnival City in Brakpan, who brought him nearby the police station,” he said.

He said police managed to obtain a statement and Khubeka was taken to hospital where he received medical attention.

Mthombeni said the information they received from Khubeka was followed up, which led them to an address in Kensington, but police could not find the person Khubeka described.

Lesufi said the matter would remain open as police continue with their investigations.

Sfiso Shongwe, 31, a community leader in Vosloorus, said while they were happy that Khubeka had returned home safely, they wanted answers about who kidnapped him.

“We are not at ease. Why is he only coming back after we had to do so many demonstrations? We deserve answers. Who kidnapped him, where was he? What was happening to him during the month of being kidnapped and how was the treatment where he was kept?” Shongwe asked.

Another resident, Sifiso Zungu, said while he did not know Khubeka personally, “when you touch one of us, you touch all of us”.

Sowetan