13-year horror ends, family drama explodes

Tendai Gukutikwa

Post Reporter

A BITTER feud has erupted between the parents of a Mutare teenager who resurfaced in Mozambique 13 years after disappearing at the age of five, with each accusing the other of having information about the circumstances surrounding the child’s disappearance.

The latest twist in the emotionally charged case comes after the teenager’s mother, Mrs Georgina Muchekadzose, publicly accused the girl’s father, Mr Tonderai Mahumba, of involvement in the child’s alleged kidnapping in 2013 and her subsequent 13-year ordeal in Mozambique.

Mr Mahumba has strongly denied the allegations, instead claiming that Mrs Muchekadzose’s former lover, whom he identified as Moses Mashava, was responsible for taking the child to Mozambique.

He further alleged that he has concerns about the teenager’s safety if she is placed in her mother’s custody.

Mrs Muchekadzose, however, insists that several circumstances surrounding her daughter’s disappearance point to Mr Mahumba, and has called for thorough investigations into his possible involvement.

The teenager, whose name is being withheld to protect her identity, recently resurfaced in Mozambique, and was subsequently brought to Chipinge Border Post before being placed under the care of Simukai Child Protection Services in Mutare, where she is receiving counselling and psychosocial support.

Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, Mrs Muchekadzose, said her suspicions intensified after learning that Mr Mahumba had allegedly travelled to Chipinge Border Post with his sister in an attempt to collect the teenager without informing her.

At the time, she said, she was working with the police in Mutare to process the necessary travel documentation.

“A relative in Harare who was communicating with the Mozambican woman accompanying my daughter informed me that my former husband was already at the border.

“He went there behind my back with his sister to collect the girl. Before that, he had insulted me and questioned why I had involved the police,” she said.

Mrs Muchekadzose said she immediately alerted the authorities, who reportedly halted the handover process.

“I was concerned because he appeared eager to collect her without involving me. That raised questions in my mind and strengthened my suspicions,” she said.

She further claimed that her daughter had recounted years of abuse while living in Mozambique.

Mrs Muchekadzose said the teenager alleged that she was subjected to physical abuse and ritual practices, and eventually escaped after reportedly receiving threats to her life.

The mother said her concerns regarding Mr Mahumba date back to the period before the girl’s disappearance.

She alleged that the couple had separated and frequently clashed over custody of their daughter during the two years leading up to the incident.

“We have four other children, all boys, but he particularly wanted custody of the girl. We constantly argued over her and that has always troubled me,” she said.

Mrs Muchekadzose said she had left the child at a crèche on the day she disappeared while she went to work. She alleged that Mr Mahumba was spotted at the family’s lodgings speaking with the child around the time she vanished.

“There was also a younger child at home, but only the girl went missing. That is one of the things that makes me suspicious,” she said.

Mrs Muchekadzose also claimed that neighbours informed her that Mr Mahumba had indicated his intentions to travel to Mozambique around the same period, prompting police investigations at the time.

She further questioned how he allegedly acquired a vehicle shortly after the child’s disappearance despite being unemployed.

However, Mr Mahumba dismissed all the allegations as false and presented a markedly different version of the events.

“Those accusations are not true. I visited the children the day before the disappearance to deliver groceries because we had already separated. The child went missing the following day,” he said.

Mr Mahumba alleged that tensions had arisen between Mrs Muchekadzose and her then-boyfriend after the boyfriend saw him visiting the children.

“When I brought groceries, the boyfriend became angry and confronted her. They argued and she later threw him out of the house,” he claimed.

Mr Mahumba said the following day, after Mrs Muchekadzose had gone to work, the former lover allegedly left with the child.

“My daughter trusted him because she knew him. I strongly believe that he is the person who took her to Mozambique,” he alleged.

Mr Mahumba said the police also investigated the circumstances surrounding the former lover, but claimed that details about his exact origins in Mozambique were never fully established.

He also rejected suggestions that his own trip to Mozambique was suspicious.

“Yes, I travelled to Mozambique, but that was before the disappearance. Both of us were questioned by the police as investigations were being conducted,” he said.

Mr Mahumba further claimed that information allegedly provided by the teenager after her recovery appeared to support his version of events, although those claims could not be independently verified.

He also denied assertions that he sought custody only of his daughter.

“We fought over custody of all the children and the matter was eventually dealt with through the courts,” he said. The father maintained that his desire to collect the teenager upon her return was motivated by concern for her welfare.

“Last week, I wanted to pick up my daughter because I was worried about her safety,” he said.

The teenager resurfaced after reportedly appealing for assistance on social media in Mozambique following her escape from the person she allegedly lived with for more than a decade.

Those who assisted her were able to trace her family after she remembered her mother’s name and that of her brother, Ngoni.

With both parents now trading accusations and offering conflicting accounts of the events leading to the girl’s disappearance, attention has shifted to investigators who are expected to establish exactly how the child ended up in Mozambique and who, if anyone, was responsible.