Chifundo Manda has been missing for a week.
The family of a Malawian man say they are desperate to hear news of his whereabouts after he went missing in Hout Bay a week ago.
Chifundo Manda, 33, was last seen at his nephew’s house in Modise Street, Imizamo Yethu, at about 5pm on Wednesday February 14, according to his nephew, Alan Kamanga.
The Sentinel learnt of the missing man from posts on a Hout Bay community Facebook group.
Mr Manda’s son and daughter live in Malawi, according to Mr Kamanga.
He said his uncle had stayed with him for about a year, while trying to find work, before moving to a shack of his own in Gaba Street, in October last year.
Mr Kamanga said that when he had visited his uncle’s shack on the morning of Thursday February 15, he had found no sign of him.
“I also saw that the door was left open so I thought he must have forgot to close it.
“His neighbours said they heard a commotion like someone getting ready for work in the morning but nothing serious like a robbery. The neighbours also said they only heard him speaking on the phone the night before.”
He said there were no signs of a struggle or forced entry at the shack and nothing appeared to have been stolen.
“I initially thought he had slept over by someone, but he hasn’t answered my calls. They just go straight to voice mail.
“I’ve spoken to my family in Malawi, and no-one knows anything. We can’t reach him. It’s not in his nature to disappear for days like this.”
He said his uncle had said nothing about planning a trip when they had last met.
Mr Kamanga said he had reported his uncle missing at the Hout Bay police station on Sunday February 18.
“The police said they will look into it and post that he’s missing around the police station. They also said I should look for him at the hospitals. I then went to Wynberg hospital on Monday, but someone at the reception said they had no record of his name. I also went to Victoria and Woodstock hospitals, but still the same response.”
Mr Kamanga has since published several missing-person posts on Hout Bay WhatsApp and Facebook groups.
Mr Manda was last seen wearing black trousers, blue flip flops, a white-and-green plaid shirt and a dark green cap.
Mr Manda’s father, George Manda, who lives in Pinelands, said the family’s efforts to trace his son had failed to turn up any leads.
“We’ve been phoning his friends all over Cape Town, but they say they’ve heard nothing from him nor have they seen him. I’ve also checked at the hospitals and still nothing.”
Mr Kamanga said his uncle did odd gardening and cleaning jobs in the Hout Bay area.
“He was not working permanently anywhere and was just waiting for calls for gardening or cleaning jobs.”
While both George Manda and Mr Kamanga insisted that the family had opened a missing-person case at Hout Bay police station on Sunday February 18, Hout Bay police spokesperson Captain Jerome Syster said they were aware that an Imizamo Yethu man had been reported missing but no actual case had been opened. Furthermore, the Sentinel was unable to confirm with the police by deadline whether the missing man they were referring to was, in fact, Chifundo Manda.
For more information, contact Alan Kamanga at 073 907 7942 or George Manda at 081 782 4923.