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Khahliso Makhetha has been reported missing.
- Free State CUT lecturer Khahliso Makhetha has been missing for more than two weeks.
- A distraught relative is beside herself with worry.
- Police are investigating the lecturer's disappearance.
"We've searched all hospitals and mortuaries, but nothing. We just want him found alive."
These were the words of a relative of Central University of Technology (CUT) lecturer Khahliso Makhetha, who went missing more than two weeks ago in the Free State.
Makhetha was last seen on 5 May in Meloding, Virginia, where he lives with his brother, Thabo.
According to police spokesperson, Captain Stephen Thakeng, the brother thought he was watching soccer at a friend's place, but he never returned home.
READ | Free State police appeal for help in finding missing Central University of Technology lecturer
"On Sunday, 7 May, Thabo called his brother, and the cellphone rang but was not answered," police said.
Another relative, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, said Makhetha had a television in his room and never went out when it rained.
"It was raining, and there was load shedding the day police said he disappeared," she said.
She claimed Makhetha had car problems and was desperately looking for someone to help him fix his vehicle because it was his only means of transport to work.
The black Ford Fiesta that Khahliso Makhathe was driving when he disappeared.
Photo Supplied PHOTO: Supplied
She was with him three days before he went missing, and knew he was looking for someone to help him with his car.
"He was responding to all my messages up until Thursday, 4 May. He just went silent then, and I started to panic a bit."
"No one knew where he was," she said, and added that his black Ford Fiesta was also missing.
"His students were writing exams the following week after he disappeared, and he didn't want them to be disappointed if he didn't show up for the start of the exams because he knew how much effort he put in to get them ready. Somehow, between him leaving his residence and going to town to look for a mechanic, was when he disappeared," she said.
The brother suggested that they report the matter to the police.
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The Makhetha family is worried.
"I know [Makhetha] and he would never disappear for this long and not let anyone know. Something is seriously wrong here, and I am heartbroken that he hasn't been found yet. The fact that he is not laying in the mortuaries or at hospitals in the area is a relief because it gives me hope that he's still alive," the relative added.
She fears he was kidnapped because he is a young and well-known lecturer.
According to the relative, Makhetha is an IT lecturer at CUT and "loves his job and seeing his students succeed".
The family is pleading for his safe return.
She said:
He is my life; his mom is very upset. We are not sleeping and eating because we worry day in and day out about where he is and if [he's] safe.
"My heart is sore. [He] is out there somewhere alone and worried, and we just need him back safe and alive. We miss him so much, but we pray that he will make contact with us soon," she added.
Police said the investigation was ongoing.
"[He is] still missing. The search continues," Thakeng said.
English (US)