A Soweto woman left her home to go to the shops, she was never seen again

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Opens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowEnter fullscreen mode displaying this image.ExpandBoniswa Mapota from Jabulani in Soweto went missing on Saturday morning, October 17, after going to a local tuck shop. Picture: Supplied Story audio is generated using AI

On Saturday at around 6am, Boniswa Mapota, 40, left her home in Jabulani, Soweto to go to a nearby shop to get something for her headache. She was never seen again, and her family is growing increasingly worried as they remain uncertain about what happened to her.

She has since been reported missing at Jabulani police station.

Boniswa had left her husband, David Mapota, and their children at home when she went to the shops on October 17.

Mapota said he initially believed Boniswa had gone to visit friends in their residential complex and would return later that day.

Boniswa Mapota from Jabulani in Soweto went missing on Saturday morning after going to the tuck shop. Picture: Supplied He had also left around 8am that morning and only became concerned after receiving a call from their daughters asking where their mother was.

He said the family initially believed she might have gone to a friend’s place to clear her head and would return later that evening.

“I had already called her mother to come so that we could find ways of finding her. But I was really concerned the following day when she didn’t show up. That’s when I became more concerned about what could have happened to her,” he said.

Police are appealing for help to find missing Boniswa Mapota from Jabulani, Soweto, who has been missing since October 17. Picture: Supplied “When she left in the morning, she was okay. I mean, we were okay. She left and I was not even paying attention because we were okay, you know? When someone says they are going to the shops to get something and come back, you don’t think much of it,” he said.

Mapota said this was not the first time his wife had left home unexpectedly. However, on the previous occasion, she returned later the same day.

He said the family became particularly worried when she had still not returned by Sunday.

“That’s when we sat down and thought, no, she’s going to come back on her own.

“It dawned on us that something might have happened to her. We’re so worried about where she is and what has happened to her,” he said.

Mapota is a mother of three girls. Her family described her as a devoted mother whose absence has left her children distressed and searching for answers.

Her mother, Irene Simelane, told Sowetan that she had last spoken to her daughter a day before she went missing and had not noticed anything unusual.

“She didn’t sound like someone who wanted to go away or run. She was okay. I also reached out to her friends, and they all said she had been okay,” she said.

Simelane said the family was struggling to understand how her daughter could have disappeared without explanation.

When Boniswa left her house that morning to go to the shops, it was to get headache tablets.

She said there were concerns that Boniswa might have blacked out after experiencing a headache, but the family had been unable to establish what had happened to her.

“Honestly, I don’t know what could have happened to my daughter,” Simelane said.

She also revealed that her daughter had been taking antidepressants following a car accident in 2017.

Simelane said Boniswa was alert and responsible, and not someone who would usually leave home without her children.

She said the family had searched clinics and hospitals, checking whether Boniswa had been admitted after possibly collapsing. However, they had not found her.

Her disappearance has been particularly distressing for the family because of the close relationship she shares with her three daughters.

“I must say this is scary because Boniswa is someone who really loves her children. She would do anything for them, and her not being close to them is terrifying. They are sitting and asking themselves where she could be and what might have happened to her,” she said.

Simelane also said her daughter had received a message on the morning she disappeared concerning a lawyer handling their family trust, with arrangements reportedly needing attention on Monday.

The family is appealing to anyone who may have seen Boniswa or knows where she could be to come forward.

Police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed that Boniswa was reported missing by her mother at Jabulani police station on October 17.

“She was last seen wearing a cream-white tracksuit and was reportedly on her way to a tuck shop,” she said.

Anyone with information that could assist in locating Boniswa is urged to contact their nearest police station or the Crime Stop line on 08600-10111.

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