What began as a missing child case in Nyanga has now sparked a wider investigation into the welfare of three children living in the same foster home, Cape {town} Etc reports.
An eight-year-old Grade 1 learner was found alive inside a locked classroom at Hlengisa Primary School after spending more than two days trapped inside. Following his rescue, the Western Cape Department of Social Development removed him and two other boys from the foster home while allegations of neglect and abuse are investigated.
According to the department, all three children are now in a place of safety and receiving the support they need.
According to News24, the search began when the child’s foster mother reported him missing to Nyanga police after he failed to return home from school on Friday.
Police officers and members of the Hope Missing Persons Unit searched throughout the area, following up on possible sightings and combing the neighbourhood well into the weekend.
The breakthrough came after Hope Missing Persons founder Veronique Williams spoke to a woman involved with the school’s feeding scheme, who had been among the last people to see the boy.
Williams told the publication that the conversation led her to believe the child may never have left the school grounds.
The search team then contacted the school principal and the boy’s teacher before returning to the school on Sunday. Although several classrooms had already been checked, Williams insisted every room be searched again.
In the fourth classroom, a volunteer noticed two small feet sticking out from behind furniture.
The missing boy had finally been found.
According to Smile FM, the child had been trapped inside the classroom for two days without food, drinking water or access to a toilet.
Despite the ordeal, News24 reported that the boy managed to survive the freezing winter nights by switching on the classroom heater whenever temperatures became too cold before turning it off again when he went to sleep.
One police officer at the scene reportedly described him as ‘a very smart kid’.
After being rescued, the child reportedly told volunteers he had deliberately avoided returning home because he feared being beaten by his foster mother.
Those allegations prompted the Western Cape Department of Social Development to intervene immediately.
Department MEC Jaco Londt confirmed that social workers first removed the eight-year-old before taking the two other boys living in the same foster home into protective care on Monday.
He said the department is investigating the circumstances at the home, including possible neglect or abuse, and that criminal charges have not been ruled out should evidence support action under the Children’s Act.
Londt also highlighted the department’s Voice of the Child programme, which is designed to give children in alternative care more opportunities to safely report concerns.
The children’s 71-year-old foster mother, whose identity cannot be published to protect the children, confirmed that all three boys had been removed.
She denied abusing them, maintaining that the children had always been cared for and insisting she only disciplined them when they were disobedient.
She also said the incident had taken a significant emotional toll on her and pledged to cooperate fully with the department’s investigation.
The case has renewed attention on the welfare of children living in foster care across the Western Cape.
Londt noted that more than 43 000 children currently live in foster care in the province and stressed that the priority is to establish all the facts before any further legal steps are taken.
Authorities have urged communities to report any warning signs involving vulnerable children, saying early intervention can make a life-changing difference.
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