By Genevieve Serra 
Jul 10, 2021
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Cape Town – The family of a 13-year-old boy who has been missing for four years has not given up hope.
Sibabalwe Galela of Gugulethu disappeared in 2017 while visiting a beach in Mitchells Plain with friends.
His friends had witnessed him boarding the incorrect train after their beach excursion and he was never seen again.
Sibabalwe’s relative, Percy Nolusindiso Ntoyonke said they had not heard from the police following his disappearance and had to bury the teenager’s mother who died in a car accident after he went missing.
Boniswa Nosintu Galela was involved in a car accident in June 2018 while travelling from church in Macassar.
“Sibabalwe’s mother, Boniswa Nosintu Galela, was my sister and she passed away after being involved in a car accident,” said the relative.
“She had been travelling from church when the accident happened.
“Sibabalwe was in Grade 7 in 2017 at Vuyani Primary School at the time of his disappearance. He was born on February 22, 2004. He has one brother who is now 14 years old.
“We have not heard anything from the police since he went missing. We have since lost contact with the friends he was with the day he went missing.
“We are not coping because we have not found him. We have searched as far as Sea Point to Woodstock. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we had to stop our regular searches. We would appreciate it if the public can help us, by looking at his photograph.”
Candice van der Rheede, of the Western Cape Missing Persons’ Unit, said they were working with mortuaries to locate families of missing persons who were found deceased.
She said they were appealing for assistance in finding Sibabalwe.
“He is approximately 1.2 metres tall. He is slender and has brown eyes and black hair.
“We understand that he was with friends at a beach in Mitchells Plain and took the wrong train,” said Van der Rheede.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said the case was still under investigation.
“Kindly be advised that there is no new developments to report. The search continues,” he said.
Anyone with information about this matter is kindly requested to contact Mitchells Plain FCS Unit at 021 376 09860 or Candice van der Rheede on 079 249 85 62.