A FAMILY of New Kasama in Lusaka has been left traumatised after a living-in maid disappeared with their six-month-old son and has not returned since Saturday.

While the child’s parents went away around 16:00 hours, Rachel Banda, 22, got Luyando Mwanza and told a visiting maid that she was going to a nearby tuck shop and would return soon. Ms Banda, who was employed as a maid barely two weeks ago from Beverly Hills Maid Centre, went missing with the baby, leaving its parents distressed. Luyando’s mother, Brenda Hakanema, told the Daily Mail yesterday that the development is shocking.

Ms Hakanema said on the material day, she and her husband, Teddy Mwanza, were in Woodlands Extension attending a birthday party when they received a call that Luyando had gone missing. “I left home and went to attend a party together with my son, who was with our maid and another maid, who was visiting our home in New Kasama,” the 36-year-old mother of two said. Later, Ms Hakanema released her maid with the baby and the visiting one so that they could go back home. As the party was about to end after 17:00 hours, she phoned the visiting maid and asked her to start preparing supper.

“The visiting maid, who works at my sister’s place, told me that Rachael went with my son to a kantemba [tuck shop] to buy something but she never returned,” Ms Hakanema said. “I am not sure what to tell my nine-year-old daughter because she has been asking about her brother,” she said.

Ms Hakanema wondered why her maid would steal her baby, especially that the relationship with her has been cordial. A Daily Mail team later caught up with Mr Mwanza (Ms Hakanema’s husband) at Kabwata Market where he was found sticking notices for his missing son. Mr Mwanza said he was still trying to comprehend why the maid could disappear with his son.

“We were initially with the baby at the party but we released him, together with other children and the maid around 16:00 hours so that they could return home, which is not far from where the party was being held. “I don’t understand why she (maid) could do such a thing. We have been good to her as her bosses,” he said. Mr Mwanza is hopeful that police, with the help of the media, will trace his son and the maid, who was last seen wearing a rainbow- coloured dress. The matter was reported to Woodlands Police Station the same day the child went missing.