Still no clues to whereabouts of abducted Khayelitsha twin

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Cape Town - While a bail hearing for the accused in the abduction of two-month-old Khayelitsha twin, Kwahlelwa Tiwane, was heard in the Bellville Magistrate/ s Court, there has been no concrete answers regarding the baby's whereabouts. Elly Kubunda, 22, on Monday appeared alongside Claremont High matric pupil Karabo Tau. He is believed to be the teenager's boyfriend. The prosecution indicated it would oppose bail for Kubunda, arguing that it was in the interest of justice and the community that the accused remains behind bars. The State requested more time to gather all the necessary information for bail purposes. Kubunda's case was postponed to Monday, February 3, for bail application.

Tau, 18, appeared in court again on Tuesday when the mother of the missing baby took to the stand.

When the Cape Argus first reported on the case, the mother of the twins, Asanda Tiwane, 29, had said that when the abduction had happened very fast.

“I went inside a shop to buy food and in a blink of an eye, my baby was gone. A woman whom I thought was a Good Samaritan turned out to be a monster.”

The Cape Argus also spoke to an officer close to the investigation last week, and he revealed that the teenager confessed to selling the baby to foreign nationals when she was taken in for questioning.

“The suspect confessed to everything on Sunday [January 19] and appeared in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Her aunt and her family are involved. She just did the dirty work.

“The child (was) sold to foreigners. We have their names and photos, but whereabouts are unknown,” he said.

However, he said the search for the abducted twin baby continued and the police were on the lookout for the people who might have the baby.

Before the court proceedings on Monday, January 27, the father of the missing baby, Siyanda Thugane, said: “The family is distraught and Kwahlelwa’s disappearance had affected the twins and his older brother.

“It has been more than 10 days since our baby was stolen and we do not whether he is still alive or not," he said.

“We plea with whoever has information on our baby to come forward. We don’t know whether he eats wherever he is. At this stage, we would accept even if the child is dead but only if he can be found.”

On Tuesday, when asked for an update on the missing twin's whereabouts, all SAPS spokesperson FC Van Wyk said was: "Kindly be advised that a 22-year-old man was arrested on Thursday, on a charge of abduction and appeared on Monday in the Bellville Magistrates Court on the mentioned charges.

"The case was postponed to Monday, February 3, for bail profile. The investigation continues."

* Additional reporting by Vincent Cruywagen.

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