Cape Town - In light of kicking off Day 1 of 16 days of Activism, Africa Unite in partnership with One Strong Voice Foundation, is calling on a National Prayer Day tomorrow, for the safe return of Amahle Thabethe, who went missing two years ago while playing outside her house in Tsakane.
Amahle, who was eight years old at the time of her disappearance, was allegedly abducted by an unknown man on April 6, 2019, and ever since then, no sightings, leads or arrests have been made.
To commemorate Amahle's 11th birthday, One Strong Voice Foundation will conduct a prayer session and launch the #BringBackAmahle Awareness Campaign in order to shed light on Amahle's whereabouts in hopes of bringing her back home safely to her family and friends.
One of Amahale’s teachers said Amahle was soft-hearted, calm and a quiet learner in the classroom. When dismissing the learners after school, the teacher remembered Amahle for being the only learner in the class to give her a big hug goodbye.
One Strong Voice Foundation spokesperson Brian Sithole expressed that he hopes that the #BringBackAmahle Awareness Campaign will result in the same effort that the country made in assisting the Moti family reunite with their missing boys as another festive season approaches, with the Thabethe and Nkosi families still separated from their daughter.
“The aim of the campaign is to remind SA communities that Amahle Thabethe is still missing as there are possibilities that the child’s identity might have been changed to deceive people, but the more we share or raise awareness about her, the more chances we stand to have a good Samaritan show up with a possible identification or knowledge of Amahale’s whereabouts,” said Sithole.
Africa Unite Social worker Zukelwa Dladla said that the the partnership was formed after a social worker, who is currently running a children’s programme called Singamakhalipha “we are brave warriors” in Gugulethu, saw the need to bridge the gap and assist with the cause.
“Given that the current rate of kidnappings is increasing and alarming, the issue hits close to home as Nyanga remains notorious for being the murder capital in our city. Quite recently, we came across a case where a young lady from Nyanga broke a leg while escaping from a taxi that was attempting to kidnap her, and this is quite saddening that it has to be our reality.”
“We hope that the campaign will show the family of Amahle that their pain is also felt by us, regardless of the distance. We want to ensure that her story is known so that we can increase the chances of the little one being found.”
“We also want to urge parents and teachers to be extra cautious with children during this time and to make sure that children do not play in the streets unattended. As the AU team we, will also be raising awareness about the 16 days of activism of no violence against women and children by producing weekly podcasts through our Youth Radio in order to encourage and promote social cohesion to eradicate violence and discrimination for women and children in South Africa,” said Dladla.
Amahle was last seen wearing a blue jean & a white long sleeve t-shirt, and community members across the country are encouraged to join in prayer tomorrow at their school in order to stand in solidarity and bring Amahle back home.
Weekend Argus