News / Local
Khulu Moyo's relatives came on Saturday only to disappear without a trace
05 Jan 2024 at 05:52hrs | Views
THE 81-year-old man from Tsholotsho who spent the past 61 years in neighbouring South Africa has recovered and hospital authorities say he will remain at the hospital while his family discusses the way forward.
Mr Philip Moyo left his home in 1960 and recently returned in search of his family, which he was not in touch with during that time.
He is admitted to Mpilo Central Hospital where he was receiving medical treatment for arthritis and malnutrition after an ambulance crew picked him up in Mpopoma suburb late last year.
Although his story has taken social media by storm, Mr Moyo is yet to find relatives willing to take him in after he is discharged.
Last Saturday his daughter aged 60 visited the hospital and has since been unavailable after reuniting with her father whom she never saw or communicated with since she was born. Mr Moyo said he had a family in South Africa including four children who did not want to be part of his life anymore. He added that he left the country without a passport as they were not required then and started a family with his wife who is from Botswana. He also had a child in the then Rhodesia but he cannot remember the name of his girlfriend or the child.
In an interview yesterday, Mpilo clinic director Professor Solwayo Ngwenya said the hospital was doing everything to help Moyo to be reunited with his family.
"It's quite record-breaking that someone can be absent from home for 61 years, which means he lost touch or connection with his relatives.
"Even the emotional attachment is probably missing, which explains why the relatives came on Saturday only to disappear without a trace. We are still trying our best to trace them via Tsholotsho District Hospital," said Prof Ngwenya.
"If he is to be discharged from here, we will use the ambulance and take him to Tsholotsho Hospital, which is nearer to where his relatives are.
"Ubuntu encourages people to have constant communication with their relatives because being away for this long tends to affect a lot of things," he said.
"I am sure some of Moyo's relatives have died but we are doing our best to take care of him hoping his relatives will forgive him and take him back, family is all we have anyway."
During his initial interview, Mr Moyo said he was no longer that sharp and he did not remember anything else about his family in Zimbabwe. He said he only remembers that his father was Sibambosobunyonyo and his mother was MaDawu and that his home was near Nemane Primary School in Tsholotsho in an area called Mandeya.
Mr Philip Moyo left his home in 1960 and recently returned in search of his family, which he was not in touch with during that time.
He is admitted to Mpilo Central Hospital where he was receiving medical treatment for arthritis and malnutrition after an ambulance crew picked him up in Mpopoma suburb late last year.
Although his story has taken social media by storm, Mr Moyo is yet to find relatives willing to take him in after he is discharged.
Last Saturday his daughter aged 60 visited the hospital and has since been unavailable after reuniting with her father whom she never saw or communicated with since she was born. Mr Moyo said he had a family in South Africa including four children who did not want to be part of his life anymore. He added that he left the country without a passport as they were not required then and started a family with his wife who is from Botswana. He also had a child in the then Rhodesia but he cannot remember the name of his girlfriend or the child.
In an interview yesterday, Mpilo clinic director Professor Solwayo Ngwenya said the hospital was doing everything to help Moyo to be reunited with his family.
"It's quite record-breaking that someone can be absent from home for 61 years, which means he lost touch or connection with his relatives.
"Even the emotional attachment is probably missing, which explains why the relatives came on Saturday only to disappear without a trace. We are still trying our best to trace them via Tsholotsho District Hospital," said Prof Ngwenya.
"If he is to be discharged from here, we will use the ambulance and take him to Tsholotsho Hospital, which is nearer to where his relatives are.
"Ubuntu encourages people to have constant communication with their relatives because being away for this long tends to affect a lot of things," he said.
"I am sure some of Moyo's relatives have died but we are doing our best to take care of him hoping his relatives will forgive him and take him back, family is all we have anyway."
During his initial interview, Mr Moyo said he was no longer that sharp and he did not remember anything else about his family in Zimbabwe. He said he only remembers that his father was Sibambosobunyonyo and his mother was MaDawu and that his home was near Nemane Primary School in Tsholotsho in an area called Mandeya.
Source - The Chronicle
