FOUND AFTER 20 YEARS

The mother of the abducted girl who was tracked down via Facebook tellsof the agonising years of searching for her daughter and her joy atfinding her

- LESEGO MKHIZE

EVERY year on 23 March the family would gather to cele­brate her daughter’s birth­ day with a cake and snacks, but she always battled to join in. For Antoinette*, the occasion marked nothing but heartache – a reminder of the day she delivered her perfect baby girl and the day she lost her.

But on 23 March next year the occa­sion will finally be a happy one. Mbali* has been found after 20 years of des­perate searching, the hopelessness re­ placed by relief.

The story of how Mbali was found has captured the country’s imagination and brought a wonderful sense of closure to a family tortured for years by unanswered questions.

There’s still a long road ahead. Like Zephany Nurse, the baby stolen from her mom’s hospital ward soon after birth in 1997, Mbali has known only one family and will need time to come to terms with her new reality.

The woman she thought was her mom has been arrested and a woman who was a total stranger until a short while ago is her biological mother.

Mbali is receiving counselling and Antoi­nette (37) is prepared to be patient while her child comes to terms with the truth.

“She still lives with the [other] family and has asked for time to figure things out,” Antoinette tells YOU. “But knowing I have found her has re­ leased a great burden off my shoulders.”

ANTOINETTE had two sons after Mbali vanished – Khaya* (19) and Mandla* (17). “But even after I had my sons, noth­ ing I did could make me forget the pain of having my firstborn stolen,” she says.