When skeletal remains believed to be those of her missing daughter were found in 2020, Willowvale mother Andiswa Madakana-Spell, 41, prayed that she would finally get closure.
And when the remains were taken away by police for DNA testing, she was hopeful the process would be smooth and quick.
But at the start of 2026, almost six years later, she is still unable to give her daughter a proper burial as the remains have not been returned by the police.
Her 14-year-old daughter,Sisipho, went missing at home in Songwevu village in Willowvale at the height of the Covid 19 hard lockdown.
This week, a distraught Madakana-Spell lashed out at the police for denying her and her family a chance to give Sisipho a proper send-off.
“It’s been more than five years of agonising waiting,” she said.
“I am way beyond broken now. No parent who has lost a child would be happy with not knowing where the remains of their child are.”
Recounting her family’s ordeal, Madakana-Spell said Sisipho had gone to play with friends in the village where she attended school.
They later learnt she had been approached by a young boy known to her, who stayed in a neighbouring village.
The boy apparently would borrow her cellphone.
When she failed to return home on April 9, her anxious family immediately reported her as missing at the Willowvale police station.
“They came more than three days later and took some of her photos. They also spoke to some of her friends before leaving,” Madakana-Spell said.
A month later, the family believed they had found the missing girl after a group of young village boys stumbled upon what looked like a human skull and some items of clothing not too far from her home.
The discovery was again reported to the police who came to the village.
She said the clothing included tight pants, a T-shirt and a pair of panties that Sisipho had been wearing on the day of her disappearance.
The police brought in sniffer dogs and discovered a skeletal body with hips and some ribs. Hair was also found.
As the mother of the child, she was asked to travel back home from the Western Cape to provide samples for a DNA test.
“When I asked how long should we wait for the results to come back, they [police] said they had no idea.
“And when I asked to rather be allowed to do a private DNA test as I was panicking already, they refused.
“I ended up having to wait the whole of 2020. In 2021, I was again sent from pillar to post whenever I asked about those results.
“All they told me was that they [the samples] were sent to Gqeberha and at other times, they would say they were taken to Cape Town. I never got one straight answer,” Madakana-Spell said.
All they told me was that they [the samples] were sent to Gqeberha and at other times, they would say they were taken to Cape Town. I never got one straight answer
— Andiswa Madakana-Spell
She said she suspected maybe the police had lost the samples.
“Initially they confirmed the skull belonged to a 14-year-old girl but later said they could not do the facial reconstruction as the skull was very old.
“They promised to return the remains to the family but never did so.”
Madakana-Spell said no-one had been arrested for Sisipho’s murder.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said following the discovery of human remains, an inquest had been opened.
This was followed by extensive forensic efforts to confirm the identity but no usable DNA was obtained, Gantana said.
“Attempts at facial reconstruction were not possible due to the state of the remains.
“However, age analysis of the skull corresponded with the missing person’s age.
“All evidence was submitted to the director of public prosecutions (DPP), who directed that an inquest proceed.”
She said the docket of the missing person’s inquiry and the inquest docket were currently with the DPP.
The family had also been kept informed of all the developments.
Daily Dispatch
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.