December marks a year since baby Ivakele Imvano Yeko was taken in an apparent abduction, and authorities have upped the ante in their desperate search for the infant by offering a cash reward.
The police are offering a monetary incentive of up to R30 000 to anyone with information that will lead to a breakthrough in the case and the safe return of the 15-month-old boy, who was last seen on the morning of Monday 5 December 2022.
DistrictMail and Helderberg Gazette previously reported on the alleged abduction that occurred in Somerset West around lunchtime and was reported to the local police only around 22:00 (“Six-month-old infant ‘abducted’ in Somerset West CBD,” News24, Tuesday 6 December 2022).
Somerset West police confirmed that little Ivakele, who was only six months old at the time, was taken around 13:00 on Monday. This after his young mother entrusted an aunt, a fellow community member and mother herself, with the care of her child before leaving for work that fateful morning. When she returned home she was informed her child had been taken.
Shortly after the devastating incident, Ivakele’s mother Asanda Yeko said a relative who had heard from others of her son’s disappearance and the child minder’s failure to report the incident to police immediately, relayed the news, which shocked her to tears. The distraught mother of two recalled how she had dropped Ivakele off at the aunt’s house shortly after 06:00 that day. She had cared for the baby since Friday 25 November last year, when Yeko started a new job as a general worker at a wine estate in Somerset West.
According to Yeko the child minder, her husband, their minor daughter and Ivakele travelled to Somerset West CBD to attend to a SA Social Services Agency (Sassa)-related matter. She stopped at a liquor store opposite the Sassa office in Victoria Street and allegedly befriended a female suspect, who offered to buy them food and chips.
It is believed the carer asked the unknown woman, believed to be a foreign national who spoke isiZulu to hold the baby and watch over her child. After coming out of the store, both the woman and children were missing.
The incident was later reported to local police and a case of abduction was being investigated by the police’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit. Police obtained security footage showing the suspected abductor getting into a taxi with the children and making off. The older child was apparently dropped off close to her home and safely returned. However, the baby – who has black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a red T-shirt, nappy and a dummy hanging around his neck – still has not been found.
“Preliminary information suggests the child may have been seen in the Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal area,” a media release issued by provincial police on Thursday (26 October) said.
“Anyone who can assist with information that will lead to the safe return of Ivakele is kindly requested to contact the investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Asanda Hlana on 082 301 8553, Lieutenant Colonel Denver Kamalie on 082 334 8370 or alternatively Crime Stop on 08600 10111.”
Ivakele’s grandmother, Elsie Tolibadi, in light of recent developments pertaining the missing person’s case, expressed her elation with the cash reward on offer, which boosts their family’s hope for the beloved child’s return. “We are just so happy for any effort to help get Ivakele back,” she said.
While they’re facing another festive season possibly without little Ivakele, Tolibadi said they, especially his 23-year-old mom, are trying to cope with the dire loss through living by hope. “Ivakele’s six-year-old brother still believes he will return from wherever he is temporarily staying,” she shared. “His little face lights up when his eye catches one of Ivakele’s photos, which instantly sparks a conversation.”
Yeko said the reward is unexpected, but welcome. “I have shifted my focus on trying to be strong for my eldest son,” she added.
