The search for 25-year-old Asimbongekuhle Sibanda has ended with the heartbreaking discovery that she died in a Gauteng hospital months before her family learned what had happened to her.
Sibanda was reported missing after she was last known to be in Benoni on 24 April 2026. Her disappearance was reported to the Benoni police, while her friend, Beverly Mboma, also submitted information about the case to Missing Person South Africa.
However, information that emerged months later revealed that Sibanda had actually been admitted to Tambo Memorial Hospital on the same day she was reported missing.
According to information later provided to her relatives, Sibanda had given the hospital her mother’s Zimbabwean telephone number as a contact. Attempts to reach the family using the number were reportedly unsuccessful, leaving her relatives unaware that she was receiving medical treatment.
Sibanda remained at the hospital until her death on 15 June 2026.
Throughout this period, her family continued searching for her and believed that she was still missing. They had no knowledge that she had been admitted to hospital or that she had died.
## Family learns the truth months later
The situation changed after the missing-person appeal was circulated. Tambo Memorial Hospital eventually contacted Missing Person South Africa while trying to locate Sibanda’s relatives.
The organisation was able to connect the hospital with her family, leading to the devastating revelation that Sibanda had been admitted on 24 April, the same day she disappeared, and had died on 15 June.
Her relatives were also informed that Sibanda had already been buried on 18 September, several months after her death.
The family then went to the hospital, where they were directed to the funeral parlour that had handled Sibanda’s burial.
The circumstances surrounding Sibanda’s illness, her death and the attempts made to locate her family remain unclear. Missing Person South Africa has reportedly declined to speculate while the family works to establish exactly what happened.
The discovery has left Sibanda’s loved ones facing the painful reality that they spent months searching for her without knowing that she had already died.
Her family is now seeking further information about the circumstances surrounding her hospitalisation, death and burial as they try to understand what happened and come to terms with their loss.
The case also highlights the importance of accurate identification and effective communication when hospitals are unable to immediately locate the relatives of patients who are admitted without family members present.
For Sibanda’s loved ones, however, the priority now remains understanding the events that unfolded between the day she was admitted to hospital and the day her family finally learned of her death.
About the Author
