Kidnapped at 5, found alive after 13 years

After 13 years of heartbreak, unanswered questions and fading hope, a Mutare mother has been reunited with her daughter after the girl surfaced in Mozambique and appealed on social media for help finding her family.

Tariro Mahumba, who disappeared from a crèche in Sakubva's OTS section in 2013 at the age of five, was this week traced to Madeira, Mozambique, where she reportedly told people assisting her that she had been kidnapped from Zimbabwe and subjected to years of abuse.

The breakthrough came after an appeal by the now 18-year-old circulated on social media, triggering a search for her relatives that eventually led to her mother, Georgina Muchekadzose, of Fairview in Mutare.

For Mrs Muchekadzose, who had spent more than a decade not knowing whether her daughter was alive or dead, the phone call brought an emotional reunion.

"When I talked to her, I immediately knew she was my daughter. She also recognised me," she told The Manica Post.

"She has not changed. Her face is still the same. She looks like me and her brothers. I am so happy. The fact that she remembered my name and her brother, Ngoni after so many years is very touching."

However, the reunion has also reopened painful questions about Tariro's disappearance and what happened to her during the 13 years she was missing.

Mrs Muchekadzose said Tariro disappeared in 2013 while attending a crèche operated at a church in Sakubva's OTS suburb, where the family was renting a room.

On the day of the disappearance, Mrs Muchekadzose had travelled into Mutare's city centre, where she earned a living by cooking and selling sadza.

"When I returned home, I was told that Tariro could not be found. We searched everywhere, but there was no trace of her," she said.

The disappearance was reported to the police, but initial investigations failed to produce any leads.

Suspicion later fell on Tariro's father, Tonderai Muhamba, who had crossed into Mozambique on the day she disappeared.

"At that time we had separated, and I suspected he had taken her. He strongly denied it and nothing was ever proved," Mrs Muchekadzose said.

As the years passed without answers, the family continued searching for Tariro, following numerous leads and consulting traditional and spiritual healers, but without success.

The devastation caused by Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe and Mozambique in 2019 deepened Mrs Muchekadzose's fears that her daughter might have died.

"I began to think maybe my daughter had died. It was painful not knowing whether she was alive or dead," she said.

The uncertainty ended on Tuesday night when she received a call informing her that a young woman claiming to be her missing daughter had surfaced on social media in Mozambique.

After contacting people who had taken the teenager into their care, Mrs Muchekadzose learnt that Tariro had allegedly escaped from a house where she was being held.

The people sheltering her reportedly told the family that Tariro had previously escaped when she was seven but was later found and returned to those allegedly keeping her.

"They told me she had tried to escape before and that a social media appeal was made years ago, but I never saw it," Mrs Muchekadzose said.

She said Tariro had described years of hardship and alleged abuse.

"She told me she was beaten almost every day and had run away twice. The second time, she fled because the people keeping her were threatening to kill her," she said.

Despite finding her daughter, Mrs Muchekadzose now faces another challenge — bringing Tariro back to Zimbabwe.

She said Mozambican authorities had advised that formal procedures could delay the teenager's return and that she might need to travel through Chipinge to collect her daughter in Espungabera.

For the struggling mother, however, the cost of the journey remains a major obstacle.

"If I had the money, I would leave today and bring her home myself," she said.

Language has also emerged as another challenge. After spending most of her life in Mozambique, Tariro now reportedly speaks mainly Portuguese and remembers only fragments of Shona.

Those childhood memories, however, proved crucial in locating her family.

"The people helping her found me because she remembered my name and her brother's name. She only remembered part of our surname, but it was enough," Mrs Muchekadzose said.

She has since produced Tariro's birth records and family photographs taken before the child disappeared to support the identification.

Born on March 28, 2008, Tariro was only five when she went missing.

After 13 years of uncertainty, her mother says the circumstances surrounding the disappearance can be addressed later. For now, her priority is getting her daughter home safely.

"I still do not know who took her or why. All that matters right now is that my daughter is alive," Mrs Muchekadzose said.

She said she intends to report the latest developments at Dangamvura Police Station as authorities in Zimbabwe and Mozambique work towards facilitating Tariro's return and reuniting her with the rest of her family.