Details have emerged of a boy who was abducted at the age of five and kept in captivity in a dark room - allegedly as a sex slave - for 13 years in South Africa's coastal city of Durban.
The 18-year-old, known only as Bongani, is in the custody of a social worker and finds it difficult to engage in coherent conversations. According to his care workers, the boy shies away from sunshine and is only comfortable in the dark. He mumbles inaudibly and cannot engage in long conversations, preferring to give yes or no answers.
A police spokeswoman, Phindile Radebe, said they had arrested a man believed to have been with the boy when neighbours responded to his screams. He was found locked up in a two-bedroom home last week. More arrests are possible, she said. "Our focus now is to try and get to the bottom of the issue. We can't give much details,". "We are also trying to frantically locate his parents. So far we haven't succeeded."
Bongani's social worker, Arlene Muller, said the boy had been held against his will since the age five. "There must be parents somewhere crying out for their missing child and hoping that one day he would return," she said. "He has been severely traumatised ... We have circulated his picture hoping a relative would recognise him."
No comments:
Post a Comment