13 Feb 2013

Residents of Tumasera/Seleka and members of the police are searching for a mentally disturbed pensioner who has been missing for more than a week.

Mr Peter Lefatlho, 82, is reported to have left his house in the evening of February 4. The missing person was reportedly wearing a red short sleeved t-shirt and blue pants with reflectors and was also barefooted.

According to his wife, Mrs Thathana Lefatlho, her husband quietly left their dwelling house at around eight in the evening and they thought he was in the neighbourhood.

“We looked for him in nearby houses and the church but people there said they never saw him,” she said. She said at the time they were in separate houses but realised he was missing when they were going to sleep.

Mrs Lefatlho explained that her husband was under treatment but had shown signs of improvement and had gained a sense of reality as he could tell where he was or who he was talking to.

She said previously, they kept an eye on him as he could easily get lost but in the weeks prior to getting lost, he could walk to his relatives’ houses with ease.

“Due to an improvement as he was gaining stability, we relaxed a little bit as he was no more troublesome and did not need intensive care,” she said. 

She further said she trusted that he would be able to survive hunger as watermelons were readily available in farms and further, many ponds had water due to the rains. 

Kgosi Kelapile Maleele acknowledged that they received a report of a missing person on February 5 and that they started searching for him immediately with the assistance of police and cluster police members.

However, the search has been made difficult by the heavy rains as they could not trace his footprints, save for the few people who said they last saw him walking in Taupye Ward along an old road to Ramokgonami.

When BOPA team visited the village on Tuesday, a police helicopter was hovering above but they could not find him.  Kgosi Maleele said they searched the nearby hill and the search area covered Maape and other villages. 

For his part, Martins Drift station commander Superintendent Gaokganelwe Rannyena said they would continue with the search acknowledging that the rains and lack of trace has made it difficult for them. He urged people taking care of mentally challenged people to always keep close eye on them. The search for him continues. ENDS