Palm Ridge family trace friends of missing brother

It has been 19 years since the mysterious disappearance of Tumelo David Noko from Palm Ridge, Katlehong, following a school trip to Germiston Lake organised by learners from Winile Secondary School (WSS) at Zonkizizwe, on June 16, 2003.

Tumelo was among the learners who attended the ‘pens down’ event with his friends Jacob Mkhumbuzi, Tshepo Makamole and Frank Ziqubu, along with schoolmates and many other learners from various schools around Kathorus.

The sketchy details around his disappearance left a huge gap in the family’s hearts, especially his younger brother Sipho Noko who was 12 at the time he went missing.

Sipho took it upon himself to find out what had happened to his brother, which involved a visit to WSS to request the Grade 11 class list and to trace some of his brother’s friends and classmates.

Sipho recently spoke to his brother’s friend, Makamole from Zonkizizwe, who shared that the last time he saw David they were crossing at a soccer ground in Ramokonopi, Katlehong.

Makamole said they travelled together as a group of friends along with others in a minibus that they hired for a return trip from Zonkizizwe to Germiston Lake.

“We arrived at Germiston in the afternoon, and there were many learners from different schools. It was nice, we were young stars in the same environment, drinking and having fun.

“But we did not even stay long. At approximately 17:00 the police and soldiers forcefully evicted all learners from Germiston Lake, everyone became scared and we started running in different directions to get to a safe space.

“We lost each other but the people of Zonkizizwe later regrouped because we are all going to the same place, all my friends were there. We walked from Germiston Lake to Zonkizizwe.

“At that time we were not walking together but we could see each other. David was walking with other people but I could see him.”

He said by the time they reached Huntersfield Stadium in Katlehong they were tired, and while that might have given most of them hope they still had to reach their destination.

When asked when he last saw David, Makamole said the memories are a blur but he remembers seeing him when they were crossing a soccer field in Katlehong.

“After that people started going in different directions. Some wanted to use routes that they knew while others went to close relatives and so the group faded along the way,” he said.

“What I remember is that when I got to Zonke I was alone. I went home and I did not know which road others used. I crossed via Ext Six, Katlehong.”

He said the next morning three of them got together at his place. He took David’s school bag that he left the previous day and they went to check on David at his grandmother’s place in Zone 4, Zonkizizwe.

“When we got there we were told that David did not return home. We were shocked and we asked ourselves where he could be. We searched for him for some time.” He said David was his best friend and they belonged to a hip-hop crew called Red Makers. “His disappearance has hurt all of them,” he added.

“Most learners and teachers asked us about his whereabouts all the time because he was very smart. We were interrogated by the teachers and police.”

He described David as an intelligent person and one of the best students who loved and was influenced by the hip-hop culture.

Makamole said he does not know what could have happened but he suspects that David could have been bewitched and used for his intelligence.

Kathorus MAIL engaged with Mkhumbuzi, another friend of David. He said the police were already present at Germiston Lake on their arrival.

After chasing them out of the venue they accompanied them until they reached Huntersfield Stadium.

“The last time I saw Makamole and David was at Ramokonopi. When we got there, those groups started splitting up, some were weighing options, considering sleeping at their aunt or brother’s place,” said Mkhumbuzi.

“Ziqubu and I slept at my place. We walked via Dihlabakela Road from Ext 7, Katlehong, to Zonke. In the morning we went to Makamole’s place to check if everyone was okay.”

He said when they were told David did not return home they thought he was at his Palm Ridge home.

“We were expecting to meet him on Monday at school but he was not there. His mother came to school looking for him. We asked each other about his whereabouts, but it slowly faded away.

‘It saddens us. We used to talk about it every time we met. Our parents also questioned us. They are still in disbelief that to date he has not returned. We are glad that you are following the story, maybe that can help us understand because we also do not know what happened.”

Sipho said the information shared by his brother’s friends cleared the confusion about where his brother was last seen, as the family thought he vanished while they were in Germiston.

He expressed mixed emotions as he tried to figure out what might have happened citing that they were already close to getting home.

He recalled how his mother was affected after searching for his brother for years, visiting prisons, mortuaries and hospitals before she passed away without getting answers in 2018.

The family still needs more information. They reported a missing person case at Zonkizizwe SAPS. Anyone with information or those who undertook the trip to Germiston Lake may contact the family at 068 088 4424.