Cops ‘treated family as suspects’

THE family of Asheeqah Noordien, 6, of Manenberg, who has been missing for 16 years, say they did not sell her to human traffickers to take care of a drug debt.

For the first time since Asheeqah disappeared, her mother, Naeemah Noordien, 44, and grandmother, Jacqueline Jansen, 63, have opened up about the investigation.

Just over a year ago, the investigation took a turn when DNA samples taken from Noordien did not match unclaimed bodies at Tygerberg Mortuary.

This week police also confirmed the missing persons docket would be handed over to Nyanga Police’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit.

Asheeqah disappeared in June 2005 while playing at a park in Scheldt Walk, Manenberg.

The family claim police treated them like suspects while the community believed they had trafficked the child to Nigerians for unpaid drug debts. Jansen had been imprisoned on drug-related charges at the time of the disappearance.

Both Noordien and Jansen have turned their lives around since Asheeqah’s disappearance.

Jansen is a safety mother and has five children in her care. “I want to give back to the community,” she said.

Inside the maisonette stands a photograph of Asheeqah, made out of old newspaper clippings. Rumours had also been circulating that Asheeqah, who was in Grade 1 at Sonderend Primary in Manenberg, had climbed into a vehicle with unknown men.

Jansen said police were “focusing in the wrong direction” because they suspected the family had a hand in Asheeqah’s disappearance.

“The police had too much focus on gossip and hearsay. It was even said in some newspapers that the Nigerians took my granddaughter.”

Noordien claims she was often hounded by police to complete interview and interrogation sessions, including a lie detector test.

“They would fetch us daily to be questioned and when I was so fed up, I told them to do a lie detector test because I could not take it anymore,” said the mother of three.

“I passed above average for the test. “They (police) would fetch me and say I sold my child. Even the people in the community said I sold my child to pay off a drug debt.”

A police source has since revealed the docket contained information pointing to Asheeqah having possibly been human trafficked to Nigerians.

A few months after Asheeqah disappeared, Jansen was released from prison and began her fight to find her granddaughter.

Today she continues to fight. “When I went to the police station that time, they said the case was closed, but I fought to keep it open,” she said. “Today, we have no police visiting our home to give us feedback and we are the ones who are visiting the police station to ask what is happening with the case.

“We just want closure even if it’s a body. We are also asking if a photograph of hers cannot be modified with the ageing process because she will be 21 this year, on July 29.”

Noordien said DNA samples via mouth swabs were also tested about 18 months ago to ascertain whether any unclaimed bodies at Tygerberg Mortuary were Asheeqah.

“They came and took a swab via my mouth about 18 months ago,” she said. “We received the results at the start of 2020 and there were no matches there. They said they would continue testing unclaimed bodies.”

Police spokesperson, Captain FC van Wyk confirmed the case had been handed over to FCS. “It’s still under investigation and at this stage there are no new developments to report.”

Since the Cold Case series began a month ago, organisations such as the Anti-Murder Campaign and the Missing Persons Unit have started to raise awareness.

Candice van der Rheede, founder of the Western Cape Missing Persons Unit, has shared the newspaper posts ot missing persons such as the three girls from Mitchells Plain – Kauthar Bobbs, 5, Shaskia Michaels, 4, and Anastasia Lucas, 7 – stating they wanted to assist in the cases.

Rozario Brown of the Anti-Murder Campaign said a cold case squad was needed. “It wouldn’t cost the government much to set up a dedicated unit to investigate these murders and help bring closure to the victim’s families.

“A cold case investigations unit could help turn the tide against violent crime in our country and send out a powerful message to murderers the law would eventually catch up with them.”

Provincial police have confirmed there is no cold case squad at Mitchells Plain police station.