On 16 June 1976, 18-year-old Mbuyisa Makhubu was photographed by Sam Nzima carrying the dying Hector Pietersen during the Soweto riots, alongside Hector's sister Antoinette. Mbuyisa later disappeared. His sister, Ntsiki, who was then 22, said that her brother fled to Botswana the same year after the shooting. He phoned his mother towards the end of the year saying he was moving to Nigeria. He wrote several letters to his mother from Nigeria. In one of the letters he said he was studying medicine. The last time he wrote to her was in the late 1970s when he said that he was very sick and sent a picture of himself looking very frail. It was at the same time when he said he would go to Tanzania because the situation was bad in Nigeria.
His family has asked the South African government to help find him. His brother, Raul, and the rest of the family tried to find him several times over the past years. Their efforts have included seeking help from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and approaching President Thabo Mbeki. His mother died on 11 April 2004, not knowing what happened to him. Raul lives a few houses away from the Hector Pietersen Museum in Orlando West, as does Ntsiki. The Makhubu family do not celebrate Youth Day, but come together to mourn their loss. Anyone with information can call the investigating officer, Inspector John Ngobeni, on 082-455-7897.
Film director Feizel Mamdoo made a documentary, What Happened to Mbuyisa?, which was the first South African piece to be invited to participate in the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival, the most prestigious event dedicated to movies about real life. Feizel was actively involved in politics in the 1980s and later studied at the University of Essex. On his return to South Africa, he worked as a researcher, assistant producer and director of films and corporate videos. This documentary was financed by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, and the production company, Endemol.