EXCLUSIVE: Hope rekindled as breakthrough emerges in 20-year search for missing girl Asheeqah Noordien

Two decades after 6-year-old Asheeqah Noordien vanished without a trace while playing with friends in Manenberg, police have vowed to investigate a fresh lead that came to light this week -  that she may be living somewhere in Cape Town.

This week, the docket of one of Cape Town’s oldest cold cases was dusted off and given a fresh look by high ranking police officers at the Manenberg police station, who met with Asheeqah’s mother, Naeemah Noordien and grandmother, Jacqueline Jansen.

During an exclusive meeting with the police and family, the Cape Argus team was present on Monday, where tears were shed by the women, just hours after celebrating Mother’s Day, as they hold onto new hope in finding Asheeqah who is now 26-years-old and believed to be living in Philippi.

With this new information, police have undertaken to investigate all possibilities.

Noordien said a potential witness who lives in Manenberg could possibly hold the key to what happened to Asheeqah.

“This person said Asheeqah is living with an old man in Philippi,” said Noordien.

“I thought maybe it was a lie.

“But this is not the first time this girl mentions this.”

Manenberg station commander, Brigadier Jayce Naidoo, said their team was committed to
re-opening the case file, which was never closed.

The station's communications officer Captain Ian Bennett, and Colonel Harry Brickles, listened attentively to the new information and evidence that came to light during the meeting with the family.

“There is a real interest in reopening the case,” said Bennett.

“The reason why we are here is because Mrs Jansen has come to the police station regularly to find out if there is new information and I had not seen her for a while and last week she came to the station again and she believes that Asheeqah is alive.

“We as station management, we are still committed to finding her because you (family) still have the feeling that she is alive.

“From here on we will be placing out the message that if there is anyone who knows someone who fits her description to come forward, we do not want to change her lifestyle, we just want to know that she is okay.

“Just because you (family) feel that she is alive, that is spiritual.

“Today can be a turning point in the case.

“We searched the trenches for many years when they were laying pipes in Manenberg and Warrant Officer Llewellyn Lakay (now deceased) who used to be in communications here did a lot of ground work."

To the new information which came to light, Bennett said they would be looking into it and sharing it with their detectives.

Information about the potential witnesses' identities and locations may not be shared publicly, to avoid jeopardising the investigation.

Noordien said she had left her home to do char work in June 2005 and when she returned, Asheeqah was missing.

Jansen has now called on police to re-question the witness at the time who claimed he had seen Asheeqah walking with a man at Nyanga Junction and gave various versions of what happened that day.

Jansen was imprisoned at Pollsmoor Prison for drug dealing at the time of Asheeqah’s disappearance and has reformed for 15 years.

She said her life of crime had no connection with the disappearance and that she had chosen that lifestyle for survival for her children.

“I am a very independent person and I would never ask anyone for food or money,” she said.

“I would provide for my children as a single parent.

“What I did was wrong, I did it to support my family.

“I was imprisoned for drug dealing.

“The police came to see me when Asheeqah went missing and they showed me a photograph of her.

“They asked me if the Nigerians (drug dealers) took the child and I said they did not.”

Shedding tears, Noordien is appealing for Asheeqah to reveal herself.

“We do not want to change your lifestyle, we just want to know that you are okay,” she said. 

Bennett said the next phase of the investigation will include age progression, which will utilise the efforts of an expert.

Four years ago, the family also had new hope when DNA samples taken from Noordien were matched with unclaimed bodies at Tygerberg Mortuary, but were not positive.

Siya Monakali of the organisation, Ilitha Labantu, which advocates for the rights of women and children, said they were deeply concerned by the continued lack of resolution in the case.

“On average, 348 children go missing in South Africa each year. Many of these cases, particularly those in disadvantaged communities, are inadequately investigated, leaving families without the answers they deserve. The case of Asheeqah Noordien is a stark example of these systemic issues, underscoring the urgent need for reform and increased attention to missing children’s cases,” he said. 

Cape Argus