When seven-year-old Zanokuhle Khumalo asked her aunt’s permission to visit the neighbour’s house to play, she could not have anticipated that it would be the last time she would see her alive. The girl who went missing on Monday was found murdered under the bed of the neighbour’s tenant’s room.

MISSING 

Her aunt, Sanele Khumalo (26) from Mhlathuze village outside Empangeni in KwaZulu Natal, told ZiMoja that she regrets allowing Zanokuhle to go and play with the neighbour’s children. "We started our day like any other, having breakfast together. When Zanokuhle asked if she could play at the neighbour’s house, I permitted her to go, as she frequently played there with other children," she recounted. Sanele said when she realised that the child had been gone for too long, she went to look for her. When she didn’t find her at the neighbour’s house, she searched everywhere in the village to no avail. Soon, the community and the school kids joined in the search, but they didn’t find her. "We searched for Zanokuhle until around 11 pm," she said.

THE CONFESSION 

The next day, the community and the family continued with their search until the neighbour received a call from one of his tenants informing him that he had raped and killed Zanokuhle. " He told the landlord that he was sorry he didn’t mean to kill her and that he hid her body under his bed. That is when we called the cops, who came immediately. They broke down the door to his room and found Zamokuhle’s body concealed under his bed, just like he said. That was the most horrifying thing I have ever seen," she said.

KZN SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the police in Empangeni are investigating a case of murder. "This follows an incident in which a seven-year-old girl was allegedly found dead under the bed of a man known to the family on 30 July 2024 at Dumisani Makhaye Village. The search for the suspect is underway," he said.