Vosloorus residents and members of various political parties marched to their local police station on Monday demanding answers and the safe return of spaza shop owner Mazwi Mpumelelo Kubheka, who has been missing since April 2.
It is alleged Kubheka went missing while going to deposit money and buy stock for his shop.
No-one has seen or heard from him for almost a month, prompting the march after his details had also been shared across social media and posted on community walls.
ActionSA leader @HermanMashaba is also at the police station he says he is not leaving until there is sufficient feedback from the station. He says two people who were apprehended for questioning have since been let go. @Sowetan1981 pic.twitter.com/3UU6HOTKZ9
— Michelle Banda (@MimieShana) April 27, 2026
Some community residents believe his disappearance could be linked to the struggle between locals and foreign nationals over spaza-shop ownership in the area.
Gcina Msibi, who was part of the march, told Sowetan she knew Kubheka as she often bought items from his shop.
According to Msibi, Kubheka is a calm person dedicated to his work. “You could tell he loves his work by how he treats us as his customers, always kind and professional. Through this shop he was trying to make an honest living for himself against a backdrop of high youth unemployment in SA.
“I am here today because, as a community, we demand his safe return. Why is our government quiet about this? Is it okay that we don’t have jobs, and Mazwi goes out to make a living and gets kidnapped? ”
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, who also joined the march, said the Kubheka case signalled a cancer in SA surrounding spaza-shop ownership and operations. “Mazwi is someone to me, his family and the community he serves. He can’t be treated as just another missing person statistic. We want his safe return.”
Sowetan
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