Missing Girl Found Alive After Two Years, Recounts Ordeal of Kidnapping
A ten-year-old girl who was kidnapped two years ago in Nsanje is found alive, revealing the details of her harrowing ordeal.
CHIKWAWA, MALAWI — In a shocking turn of events, a ten-year-old girl who was suspected to have been kidnapped two years ago has been found alive in Nchalo Police Post in Chikwawa district, writes Cornelius Lupenga.
Alice Sitaki Bola, from Kampira village in the area of Senior Chief Mbenje in Nsanje, was reported missing during the Easter period in 2021.
Her grandparent, Moses Bola, who had been away at the time, said they had searched for her extensively but could not locate her.
Last week, they received a phone call from the Child Protection Officer for Senior Chief Mbenje, MacPhillip Walter, informing them that Alice had been found.
Bola and other relatives rushed to Nchalo Police Post, where they were reunited with Alice.
"We could hardly believe that she was alive after missing her for close to two years, and when she saw us, she ran towards us, providing evidence to Nchalo Police Post that she was indeed our daughter," Bola explained.
Alice, speaking to AfricaBrief, revealed that she cannot recall who took her. She recounted being kept in the bushes around Mtayamoyo before being taken to various unknown destinations.
She claimed to have been taken to Mozambique, close to Tete, but was returned to Malawi multiple times without any explanation.
During her captivity, Alice was accompanied by six other girls and endured ill-treatment and physical abuse from the man who kept them.
"I could have been in Standard 5 in the coming academic year," Alice lamented.
The authorities are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding Alice's kidnapping and are working to provide her with the necessary support and counselling to recover from her traumatic experience.