'Who am I?'

2003-05-19 23:04

Pretoria - The Pretoria branch of the Child Protection Unit (CPU) has launched a search for the parents of an 18-year-old boy, who arrived at the Bronkhorstspruit police station on Monday afternoon telling them he was kidnapped when he was six.

The slightly-built teenager, known only by his adopted name of Happy Sindane, said he remembered very little of his real family, but had a "movie-like" memory of what had happened to him since the day he was asked by his family's domestic worker "Rina" to accompany her to the shops.

Afrikaans

The teenager remembers his family was Afrikaans-speaking and lived in Johannesburg. He remembers he was born on May 4, 1985, and that he had a small dog as a pet.

He also remembers his parents' wedding photographs in their home, and on Monday night said he had thought of them every single day the past 12 years.

Police spokesperson, Inspector Percy Morokane, said the CPU was handling the investigation because the teenager alleged he was kidnapped at the age of six.

On Tuesday, statements would be taken from the person who brought him to the police station shortly after midday, and from people living in the villages where he claimed he grew up.

"The boy's allegations will be tested," he said.

Morokane said the boy had told police he had seen his picture on television sometime between 1994 and 1999.

The teenager was only able to speak fluent Ndebele. He had a limited understanding of Sotho and Afrikaans.

Kidnappers

On Monday night, Happy described the day he was kidnapped, saying Rina had taken him to a building site where she had left him with a couple - Betty Sindane and her boyfriend Tom Banda.

He had remained with them for three days before they decided to hand him over to the police. Happy said he was too scared to stay, so he left with the couple. He did not see Rina again.

Happy said he had lived with the couple in Verena in what is now Mpumalanga for about year. When they split up, he went to live with Betty, her three children and a number of other relatives' children with her father, Koos Sindane, in Tweefontein J.

Teased because he's white

There he had attended the Khuthalano primary school, enduring initial teasing by the other children because he was white. This had stopped when he told them he did not like being called a white person.

Happy said a woman teacher and neighbours had offered a number of times to help him, but they were all too scared of his grandfather.

He recollected seeing his picture being displayed during a television programme. When he pointed out it was him in the photograph, Betty had allegedly thrown him against a wall, ordering him never to watch television again.

Happy said he had written down his real name on a piece of paper, which he had since lost.

'Slave'

The teenager on Monday night told of how he was treated as a "slave" by his grandfather when Betty left for Tembisa with her mother to receive medical treatment. He later heard she had died.

Happy said he left school in grade five to become a herd boy for his grandfather. He also had to do menial tasks around the home. He said he was beaten when he did anything wrong, and was made to look for animals that went missing - sometimes through the night.

Threats

The teenager left home last year when his grandfather started threatening to poison him.

After spending about three months working on an orange farm, he returned home.

The threats continued until Friday, when he went to seek help from a woman friend in Tweefontein.

He said one of the women who had offered to help him in the past took him to Zithobeni.

She dropped him at the police station on Monday.

- SAPA