Still searching for Spencer

Spencer Mandela Nakale went missing – seemingly without a trace – in Lüderitz on 28 December 2020, when he was three years and 10 months old, and has not been found since.“My boy turned eight years old on 8 February 2025 and we would have celebrated his crown birthday,” Julia Ndafyaalako, Spencer&#039;s mother, said earlier this week.Ndafyaalako remains adamant that she cannot, and will not, give up hope that her son will be found.“This is a very traumatising ordeal. My little boy has now been missing for more than four years. The pain and heartache are unbearable. We do not know where to go and what to do," she said, she said, amid a police investigation that has failed to produce any leads, and a years-long search for her young son."I am struggling with so many questions: what happened and what could have gone wrong? Only answers will bring me some peace.”She once again urged anyone with information to come forward.“It’s the only way and the right thing to do," she said.Shattering lossIn December 2020, Spencer had travelled with his mother from Ongha Village in the north to visit his father, Nelson Nakale, in Lüderitz for the festive season.“We stayed for 10 days and then my boy mysteriously disappeared while he was in Area Seven. Since then the police have come up with no leads," she explained. On the day he disappeared, the toddler had been wearing a red t-shirt, blue pants and sandals.The police conducted a search, but no trace was found. Nelson Nakale, Spencer&#039;s heartbroken father, on Wednesday said: “Spencer went with a relative on 27 December to overnight at Area Seven. The next day, the relative went to work and when she returned, she informed me and Julia that kids are looking for my boy. We joined the search and then went to the police."For Nelson, as with Spencer&#039;s mother Julia, the devastation of his son&#039;s loss haunts him every day.“My heart is shattered. How can a human being disappear without a trace? Every day is a battle because he is my blood and my kid. I am always thinking about where he might be and wondering about him."Nelson said he thinks about his son constantly and often wonders about the things they would have done together in the years since his disappearance. “I would have taught him how to ride a bike and guide him into manhood.” He adds, hopeful: “I know in my heart that he is still alive, and I hope wherever he is that he is in good condition so that we can reunite again because this is not easy.""I do not wish this to happen to anyone."Searching for closure Nelson said that, after all this time, people might think it is too late to come forward with information about the incident, but any piece of information could finally lead them to answers.He once again called on the nation to assist in finding information that could uncover or lead to the whereabouts of his missing son. “There is a N$50 000 reward. The case was transferred to Keetmanshoop and I would like the police to step up the investigation, which seems to be getting cold,” he said. “I know my boy is alive. Lüderitz is a small town and I am urging anybody with information to come forward so that we can finalise this case or so that we can find the boy because we will not find peace until the boy has been reunited with us."He has followed the high-profile Joshlin Smith (6) kidnapping and human trafficking trial with interest. The mother of the girl who disappeared more than a year ago in South Africa has gone on trial, accused of organising her kidnapping.Joshlin&#039;s disappearance sent shockwaves across South Africa, and despite a highly publicised search for her, she is yet to be found."It reminds me of my missing son," he said. He added that the Wasserfall family in Walvis Bay found closure, "and that is what we also want".Responding to an inquiry, //Kharas crime investigations coordinator Deputy Commissioner Nicodemus Mbango confirmed that the Inspector General of the Namibian Police, Joseph Shikongo, recently requested an update on the progress of the case.otis@nmh-hum.com.na

Still searching for Spencer

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-17

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Still searching for Spencer

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-17

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