Eastern Cape initiate disappears hours before his homecoming ceremony

• The disappearance of an initiate in Gqeberha has been shrouded in mystery.
• The 21-year-old was last seen on Friday night while leaving his hut to urinate.
• The woods he disappeared into, along the N2 freeway near Greenbushes, had been his home for a month. 

An initiate has disappeared without a trace at a Ggeberha initiation camp hours before the start of his homecoming ceremony known as umgidi. 

Lindokuhle Debruin, 21, was last seen leaving his hut to urinate in the woods around 20:00 on Friday and never returned.  

He was due to leave the initiation camp the next morning. 

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His family and friends who arrived in the morning to take him home for umgidi, were shocked to learn that he was missing. 

According to police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu, his panic-stricken family conducted an extensive search for Debruin to no avail. 

The initiation school is situated near the banks of the Geduld River along the N2 freeway in Greenbushes and was his home for a month. 

Naidu said Debruin's family reported him missing at the Kabega Park police station on Tuesday at around 16:00. 

Naidu said it was not known what he was wearing at the time of his disappearance.

Police urged anyone with information about the missing man's whereabouts to contact SAPS Kabega Park Crime Office on 082 302 6159 or 041 397 6801 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.