After 15 years of uncertainty and hope, the family of a boy who went missing from Mile 20 village in 2010 received devastating news this morning. DNA results officially ruled out a biological connection between the now 20-year-old Steven Chavhuka and the woman who believed she was his mother.
The results were shared by the Kavango West police and a social worker with the family now residing in Ndama. The long-awaited tests were meant to bring closure to a case that has haunted the family and the community for over a decade.
The boy, known today as Kandjimi Joseph Ndjii, came into the spotlight earlier this year after facing issues enrolling at the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT) in Arandis due to a lack of proper identity documents. His story gained attention online, eventually reaching the Mile 20 family who claimed to recognize him as their missing son.
Steven originally disappeared in April 2010 at the age of five while herding cattle with his twin sister and older brother near Mile 20. According to the family, the children were briefly separated. While his sister was found shortly after, Steven was never seen again, until now, they believed.
The boy currently lives in Arandis with the family who raised him, but the Mile 20 family says he shares a striking resemblance with his twin sister and remembers specific details only a family member would know.
Immanuel Hausiku (30), who identified Steven as his long-lost brother, expressed disappointment and doubt regarding the DNA results.
“Sometimes computers make mistakes,” Hausiku said. “Some of the things Chavhuka told me about his past are strikingly similar to what my missing brother would have known. Only someone who lived with us and stayed with us would know these things. I am disappointed, and it’s very painful to think he’s not my brother like I thought.”
The DNA results, however, present a scientific challenge to the family’s emotional conviction. Police have stated that they are treating the case as resolved in terms of the identity question, but the emotional impact on both families remains deep.
At this stage, it is unclear whether further investigations into Steven’s early childhood or his biological roots will continue. For the Mile 20 family, the search for their missing son may remain unresolved.
