Unscrupulous scammers, including a hitman and a sangoma, preyed on the distraught family of KwaZulu-Natal man Mandlendoda Hlongwane, who went missing with his fiancé and son on January 1.
After a frantic two-week search, which took family members from their hometown of Bergville to Vryheid, Dundee and Ladysmith, the bodies of Hlongwane, 43, his fiancé Andiswa Zikode, 25, and his almost two-year-old son Mesuli were finally recovered in his battered Toyota on the banks of a river near the N11 on Saturday.
His brother Phumlani told TimesLIVE Premium that the family had been through “hell” from people who targeted the family for money after news of their disappearance was posted on social media.
He said the three had left the family home in rural Bergville on January 1 to go to their home in Vryheid as Hlongwane, a Transnet train driver, was scheduled to start work on January 2.
He said, however, he was contacted by his brother’s employer when he didn’t report for duty.
Phumlani said the family reported the matter to police but also conducted their own search, which took them to various small towns in an effort to trace his brother, while other family members posted about their disappearance on social media.
It was during this time that he received a call from a man who claimed to be a hitman and had abducted the family.
“We actually almost had no choice because we are talking about three people here. This person told us he was a hitman and was in the company of my brother and I was being told he would kill them unless I paid R60,000,” he said.
Phumlani said, however, he was unconvinced, and he and another brother pressed the “hitman” for more details, including asking if he could speak to Hlongwane. But the man disconnected the call.
“However, he called again and was willing to negotiate, and knocked his price to R2,000. We knew that someone was pulling the wool over our eyes,” he said.
On another occasion he received a call from a sangoma who claimed to be from the province.
“The sangoma told me she could see the whereabouts of my brother, but her ancestors would require a substantial amount of R25,000 to help. I told her I would have to run this past my family and asked her what are the chances of success. She told me about banking details and that she had worked with police sometimes, to win me over,” said Phumlani.
He expressed gratitude to the public for banding together to try to locate the family, even after the bodies were recovered.
Phumlani said reporting their disappearance was difficult as they were sent to several police stations because it was unknown where they had gone missing.
Added to the woes, he said, was the reluctance of his brother’s tracking company to reveal the location of the car.
“They were having none of it. Their reasons was that as a company policy they don’t give out personal information to a third party. We even tried to press them to tell us at least if they are okay so that we can sleep freely without worrying. They still refused outright,” he said.
He said he was finally alerted to their whereabouts by a concerned member of the public who phoned to tell him that a Ladysmith-based newspaper was reporting live from a scene where a K9 police unit had made a grim discovery.
“My strong suspicion is that my brother would have failed to negotiate S-shaped concealed curve, forcing his vehicle to veer of the road. The car had been upside down and was also without the number plate,” he said.
Thankfully they found the family’s belongings, including the service book and their clothes.
He recalled how people who work in the vicinity had said they had never seen the car in the days leading up to its discovery.
“I think this meant it took a while for the vehicle to float downstream as the rains persisted over the days,” said Hlongwane.
He said there was more trauma when they made their way to the Ladysmith mortuary as one of the officials told them about the state of their bodies.
“The official was very frank, telling us that due to the state of decomposition the bodies had turned pale, likening them to white people. Even that did not prepare us. It was horrific. Upon seeing them I knew they were my family members, but I was horrified and even scared of touching them,” he said.
The family were paid a visit by provincial MEC of co-operative governance and traditional affairs Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi at the rural homestead in Bergville on Tuesday.
According to Sithole-Moloi, since the start of the floods, more than 60 people are unaccounted for in the province.
Sithole-Moloi, who offered words of comfort, told the mourning family that while it may be cold comfort it was relief that the bodies were found.
“You have managed to recover the remains, while some of the families have not been able to find their relatives. These are the painful realities,” said Sithole-Moloi.
She said they had been engaging with national department to look into the possibility of more funding for disasters, which have become a common feature in the coastal province.
“We are still quantifying the damage which will help us when we make our representation to national government and to seek more funding. As a department we do have capacity but we also appreciate the assistance from the social partners who assist during responses,” said Sithole-Moloi.
She said they had also cautioned izinduna to not sell land to people who want to build in low-lying areas that are often prone to flooding.
The trio will be buried on Thursday.
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