The family of one-year-old Ivakele Xolose said they were left traumatized when reporting the child’s disappearance to the police.

Ivakele went missing on Monday and when his family went to report it, they said they were victimized instead of being assisted.

His little body was found in a water canal in Langa earlier today.

The child’s mother, Busiswa Xolose, said she can’t speak and feels so empty inside after community members and her family were forced to find her baby without police assistance.

“We went to the police station to report him missing. We told the police that there were rumours he had drowned in the river. The police told me I was selfish to leave my son with his sister.

’’They said there was nothing they could do for us and we must wait for divers the next morning, who never arrived. We went to go swim and find my child he was stuck in some dirt in the river. Not too far from home,” said Busiswa.

Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said he was found dead this morning in a water canal in Langa about 10 meters from their house.

“When he was reported as missing, Bishop Lavis FCS, Langa SAPS members and a group of community members immediately started looking for him.

’’His body was found in the canal by his father. An inquest case was opened for further investigation,” said Van Wyk.

A relative, Siya Xayiya, said that some children had said they saw him drowning in the river.

“An elder also saw him but when they went back, the child was not there. We are not doing good at the moment. What we have seen is something we have never seen before. Maybe with time, we will recover,” said Xayiya.