An 83-year-old Vosloorus-based pensioner and mother of missing daughter, Thokozile Beverly Caluza Mazibuko, who is believed to be in Malawi, told Kathorus MAIL she is now considering approaching public transport owners operating between Johannesburg and Blantyre to display a photo of her daughter on their taxis and buses.
The anguished pensioner, Busisiwe Mazibuko, says she believes this is the last attempt to reunite with her daughter, who disappeared almost 17 years ago after attending a traditional reunion at the family homestead in Bergville, KZN, in 2002.
“I have tried almost everything to trace Thokozile and ask her to return home. This is my last hope that someone in Malawi will recognise her photo and convey my message to her,” said the sickly aging mother.
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Previous efforts by Kathorus MAIL to trace Thokozile through Malawian sources in the Mayfair and Fordsburg areas as well as at the Africa Bus Terminus in Newtown came to a standstill when a Cape Town-based Malawian man, who was said to be the uncle of the cross-border taxi driver, stopped responding to the newspaper’s calls.
The Mazibuko family said they hope this drastic step to try and trace their missing daughter would bear fruits and help them reunite with Thokozile who they say could now be well in her late 40s or early 50s.
The family believes Thokozile is still alive and that their efforts to post her photos on taxis traveling to and from the landlocked southeastern African country may be a success. “I just want to see my daughter before I die,” pleaded Busisiwe of Khumalo Section in Vosloorus.
The 77-year-old spokesperson and elder in the family who is also the missing woman’s uncle, Bhekeni Mazibuko, said the family was hopeful their attempt to find their daughter would bring her home.
“We just don’t want her to die alone in a foreign land without her family and we want her to be at her aging mother’s funeral when she dies, and, after that, she can go back to her family in Malawi,” said the heartbroken uncle.
The Mazibuko family is appealing to anyone who may know the whereabouts of Thokozile to kindly contact the following members;
Bhekani Mazibuko on 082 064 4526
Busisiwe Sarah Mazibuko on 072 676 0606
Thembinkosi Aubrey Caluza on 082 663 6018 or
Molly Martha Mazibuko at house number 734 Ramokonopi East.