Cape Town - Knysna mother Ntombikabawo Tizana has been struggling to sleep and eat since the disappearance of her daughter, Yibanathi Tizana, almost two weeks ago.
Yibanathi, 24 who has been described as a young mother who has always gone the extra mile for the 3-year-old daughter that she loves, has now also missed her child’s birthday.
She was last seen on the evening of March 15 sleeping in her bedroom, and the following day it was revealed that she was missing as no one knew her whereabouts.
Tizana said on Monday was a bitter-sweet birthday for her grandchild.
“Yibanathi loves her child very much. She would not intentionally miss her birthday. Her daughter has noticed that she’s not around.
She needs her, we all do. There was no fight or arguments in the house.
“She has never disappeared before and doesn’t have any mental illness.
It’s unlike her not to report her whereabouts and she’s not familiar with other communities.
“Most of the time she lives in the Eastern Cape with her grandmother and would visit us here. She would stay maybe for six months or less here, but this time she was hoping to stay longer and find employment. I constantly have headaches, over-thinking what happened and her well-being,” she said.
The mother has made an appeal to anyone with information to assist us in locating Yibanathi.
Southern Cape police spokesperson Christopher Spies said an extensive search was ongoing and all leads were being followed up.
“It also includes neighbouring communities,” he said.
Knysna CPF Chairperson Cheryl Britz said while joint-collaboration searches have so far yielded no results they remained hopeful.
“The police are hard at work still searching even this morning the investigating police officer updated us about the search. It is heart-breaking that the family is going through the pain of not knowing where their loved one is and they are in our prayers,” said Britz.
Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa visited the family with other officials, saying it was hoped police would make a breakthrough soon and Yibanathi returns home safely. “As the municipality we have thrown our support behind the police to ensure the young woman is reunited with her family. The community is also doing what they can on the ground. The police investigation included visiting the ex-boyfriend and neighbouring communities. We sympathise with the family in their time of frustration,” said Tsengewa.
Anyone with information can anonymously contact the investigating officer, Shaun Quine, on 044 302 6677 or 084 588 4830, Crime Stop on 08600 10111, or SMSCrime Line on 32211.
Cape Times