27-year-old Mazwi Mpumelelo Kubheka
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The Kubheka family in Vosloorus says they are living through what feels like an endless nightmare, describing the disappearance of 27-year-old Mazwi Mpumelelo Kubheka as “the longest 21 days” of their lives, a period they believe is linked to a dispute over a spaza shop he ran in the area.
Speaking to The Star, his sister Deli Mofokeng said Mazwi left home on 2 April 2026 like any other normal morning but never returned, a day she now replays repeatedly in search of answers.
“He left home like any normal day. He was going to deposit rent money. He was wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans and carrying his bag with his lunch and laptop,” she said.
Mazwi left his sister’s home at around 06:40, heading towards Chris Hani to deposit money for his tuck shop business opposite the Benjamin Dube church in Vosloorus, a small enterprise he had built after dropping out of studies at VUT due to financial challenges.
The family said that by late afternoon, alarm bells began ringing.
“When I passed by his shop around 16:00, it was closed the whole day. That was very suspicious because my brother is very responsible,” Mofokeng said.
The family said repeated calls went unanswered. His girlfriend Ayanda confirmed she had last spoken to him the previous night. From that moment, the family says their search began, one that has now stretched into nearly a month of uncertainty.
According to the family, vendors near the shop confirmed Mazwi never opened the shop that day.
More disturbingly, the family alleges that he had been under pressure from a man known as “Zulu” to sell his business to foreign nationals, something he firmly resisted.
“He kept asking him to sell the tuck shop, but Mazwi said no. He didn’t understand why he was being forced,” Mofokeng said.
Mazwi had also told his girlfriend about a white vehicle that had been parked outside his shop for long hours in the days leading up to his disappearance.
“He mentioned a white bakkie with two men sitting there for hours,” she added.
An unverified tip later suggested he may have been seen being taken away in a white Toyota Corolla with no registration plates.
A missing person case was opened only on April 5, three days after he disappeared. Since then, the family says communication from police has been minimal.
“The investigation is very slow. We are not getting updates like we expected. It feels like we are left in the dark,” Mofokeng said.
Mazwi’s disappearance has since drawn political attention, with ActionSA leading calls for urgent national intervention.
On Tuesday, ActionSA president Herman Mashaba handed over a memorandum to the Police Ministry, demanding immediate action."This is no longer just about one missing person. It is about whether communities can trust that their safety is taken seriously,” Mashaba said.
ActionSA warned that delays in the first 48 hours had worsened the situation and left the family feeling abandoned, calling for increased police visibility in Vosloorus and tighter coordination between SAPS, Home Affairs, and metro police.
Voices from civil society are also raising concerns that Mazwi’s disappearance may point to a wider and more dangerous pattern affecting small business owners.
President of the Progressive Forces of South Africa, Mthetho Ngcukayithobi, said the case reflects what he believes is a growing trend of organised criminal activity targeting township businesses.
He referenced a previous incident involving a spaza shop that was allegedly set alight after its owner refused to sell.
Ngcukayithobi claims similar tactics were used in that case, involving pressure from individuals linked to foreign nationals attempting to take over local businesses.
"We are saying that this is organised crime, it has been there, but it has been silent."
He added that what is unfolding points to a broader struggle over control of the informal retail economy.
"The local economy is no longer in the hands of the South Africans, and it boils down to the people that are taking over the spaza shops, basically the retail sector as a whole," he said. He has since called for Mazwi to be returned safely, urging authorities to treat the matter with urgency.
However, the Kubheka family said none of the political explanations ease their pain.
Mofokeng said each passing day deepens the uncertainty.
“We just want to know what happened to my brother. Whether he is alive or not, we deserve the truth,” she said.
The police ministry confirmed that they did receive the memorandum from ActionSA.