The two-year-old Baphiwe Itumeleng Mokonahatsi, who went missing last week in Harrismith, was found and safely reunited with his family.
On Saturday, 13 September, the Harrismith police in collaboration with the Phuthaditjhaba Family, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit successfully traced and found the boy.
According to the police, Baphiwe Itumeleng Mokonahatsi disappeared on Friday, 12 September, when he was last seen playing in the street.
When he was reported missing, the police immediately launched an intensive search and the boy was found at the Rainfall Dam near Harrismith the next day.
He was safely reunited with his family without visible injuries and taken to a local hospital for medical examination. The circumstances of how the two-year-old ended up at the Rainfall Dam are still unknown.
The police urge parents and guardians to remain vigilant and monitor the whereabouts of their children daily.
“Child safety and protection are fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. It must also be noted that child neglect is a criminal offence punishable by law,” says WO Mmako Mophiring, spokesperson of the SAPS.
