“If it was another child, all resources would have been deployed, but we are just poor,” residents of Riemvasmaak informal settlement said regarding the police’s case handling regarding a missing child.
Residents from Phumlani Village in Lotus River, Cape Town, said the South African Police Service (SAPS) dropped the ball in their investigation of missing eight-year-old Anovuyo Oncke.
The Grade 1 learner from Perivale Primary School was last seen on Saturday, September 6, 2025, after leaving the house at about 7am.
She was last seen wearing black pants and a pink pajama top.
Last week, residents told IOL they now have a new suspect in their view in relation to the disappearance of Anovuyo, following a rape incident in the area on Saturday, July 4. A 16-year-old girl went missing, and the man responsible for holding her hostage was part of the search party.
Eventually, residents realised they had not searched his shack, and once they broke down the door, they found the teenager. She had been raped and beaten with a hammer.
“When she went missing, he also helped us search. We now know he is a predator. He lives two or three doors away from Anovuyo, and when she disappeared, he laid concrete flooring in his shack,” residents said.
While it has been 10 months since the eight-year-old’s disappearance, the community has not given up and continues to search for her, hopeful she will be found.
Community worker Beryl Williams told IOL residents have called for police to remove the concrete flooring as they fear the missing child may be buried underneath and bring in the K9 Unit; however, police’s response has sent shockwaves through the community.
“I spoke to Grassy Park SAPS who told me that detectives from the Wynberg FCS Unit need to bring in the sniffer dogs. But they said the only reason they will send out the sniffer dogs is if we (as the community) dig and find something. If we find something, we must let them know,” Williams said.
Anger continues to fuel the community as the suspect remains on the run.
Residents said police are not even making an effort to apprehend the alleged rapist who may also have answers about Anovuyo’s disappearance.
“SAPS is not working with us. They are doing sloppy work. It seems they are working against us,” Williams said.
At the weekend, Williams, Anovuyo’s parents and residents started digging in the shack of the suspect, and while a foul smell filled the air, they believed it was just a dead mouse or rat.
Residents have since printed flyers featuring the suspect’s face and have been spreading them around their community.
“How can you tell a mother whose child has been gone for months to dig herself and if she finds a hand or arm, to contact them? How does this system work? In this community, we live in poverty. If this were another child, then all the resources would have been deployed,” Williams said.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
IOL
