EASTERN CAPE – The Hawks have issued an urgent appeal for information that could assist in locating four children who disappeared from their family home in Ntabankulu in November 2024.

In a statement issued, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation described the matter as “one of the most distressing and concerning missing children investigations” and called on the public to assist law enforcement.

The four children — Sive Siganga (7), Oyintando Siganga (4) and twins Thabile and Tabisile Siganga (4) — were last seen on 10 November 2024 at their family homestead in the Mjila Administrative Area in Ntabankulu.

According to police spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana, the children were last seen playing within the yard of their home before they disappeared.

Their disappearance prompted the immediate opening of a kidnapping case and the subsequent involvement of the Hawks.

More than a year and a half has passed since the children vanished without a trace under circumstances that continue to perplex investigators.

Since the matter was referred to the Hawks, investigators have pursued numerous leads and undertaken a range of investigative interventions, including intelligence-driven enquiries, inter-provincial follow-ups, community engagements and the analysis of information received from the public.

The Hawks said they have embarked on an “exhaustive and relentless pursuit of every available and possible lead” in an effort to determine what happened to the children and where they may be.

In the statement, the Hawks said the children’s disappearance “simultaneously elevates this matter to a level of exceptional concern and urgency”.

The Hawks have appealed to traditional leaders, community leaders, faith-based organisations, civic structures, educational institutions, media houses, non-governmental organisations focused on child protection and members of the public across South Africa to help.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the children, or information that may assist investigators in establishing the circumstances surrounding their disappearance, is urged to contact Serious Organised Crime Unit Commander Colonel Raymond Buys on 082 301 1135 or Warrant Officer Norton Ndabambi on 082 559 4613.

Information can also be provided at any South African Police Service station or anonymously through the MySAPSApp.

All information received will be treated with strict confidentiality.

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