An East London toddler allegedly kidnapped by her nanny and whisked off to Mozambique for a R500 000 ransom demand, will be reunited with her parents today.
The three-year-old child’s father yesterday expressed his happiness at the news, saying he and his wife had already spoken to their daughter over the phone.
“She was happy, very happy, to hear our voices and our prayers have been answered as we got our child back. We thank the authorities involved,” said the father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child.
The father said the girl was in Gauteng and had yesterday been taken for medical check-ups by social workers.
“We are expecting to reunite with her . We were so worried and didn’t know what was going to happen to her or if we would ever find her again.”
The Hawks, led by Major-General Liziwe Ntshinga, their Mozambique counterparts and the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) had arrested three people linked to the case late last week.
They include the nanny, who was arrested in Gauteng, and two relatives who were apprehended in Matola, a township in Maputo.
Hawks national spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi confirmed the arrest, saying the nanny was arrested in Gauteng’s Daveyton Township where she posed as a job seeker.
“We can confirm that three people have been arrested with the nanny in South Africa while the other two who were harbouring the child, were arrested by Mozambique officials in Maputo,” Mulaudzi said.
“The was located and arrested at premises where she posed as a job seeker.
“She confessed that she has committed the offence the kidnapping and clues of the whereabouts of the child in question surfaced.”
The woman, who cannot be named until she has been asked to plead, has been charged with extortion, for being in the country illegally, kidnapping and human trafficking.
She made a brief court appearance in the Vosloorus Magistrate’s Court on Monday and is expected to appear in the Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court next Tuesday.
Following the disappearance of the toddler, the police’s human trafficking and organised crime units, as well as the Department of Home Affairs, were involved in the investigation.
The toddler was allegedly kidnapped on August 3 by her nanny, who had been hired to help the child’s grandmother look after her.
The woman is believed to have been employed from a group of job seekers on Main Road, Amalinda.
Mulaudzi said South African authorities met with Mozambique police at the Lebombo border post between the two countries on Monday and the little girl was handed over.
Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle, provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Celiwe Binta and a contingent of senior police officers are expected to attend the child’s reunion with her parents at the Eastern Cape police headquarters in Bhisho.
“I can’t wait to see her, its been more than a month of sleepless nights – I am so happy,” the father said. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za / zwangam@dispatch.co.za
Police recover kidnapped tot
The three-year-old child’s father yesterday expressed his happiness at the news, saying he and his wife had already spoken to their daughter over the phone.
“She was happy, very happy, to hear our voices and our prayers have been answered as we got our child back. We thank the authorities involved,” said the father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child.
The father said the girl was in Gauteng and had yesterday been taken for medical check-ups by social workers.
“We are expecting to reunite with her . We were so worried and didn’t know what was going to happen to her or if we would ever find her again.”
The Hawks, led by Major-General Liziwe Ntshinga, their Mozambique counterparts and the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) had arrested three people linked to the case late last week.
They include the nanny, who was arrested in Gauteng, and two relatives who were apprehended in Matola, a township in Maputo.
Hawks national spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi confirmed the arrest, saying the nanny was arrested in Gauteng’s Daveyton Township where she posed as a job seeker.
“We can confirm that three people have been arrested with the nanny in South Africa while the other two who were harbouring the child, were arrested by Mozambique officials in Maputo,” Mulaudzi said.
“The was located and arrested at premises where she posed as a job seeker.
“She confessed that she has committed the offence the kidnapping and clues of the whereabouts of the child in question surfaced.”
The woman, who cannot be named until she has been asked to plead, has been charged with extortion, for being in the country illegally, kidnapping and human trafficking.
She made a brief court appearance in the Vosloorus Magistrate’s Court on Monday and is expected to appear in the Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court next Tuesday.
Following the disappearance of the toddler, the police’s human trafficking and organised crime units, as well as the Department of Home Affairs, were involved in the investigation.
The toddler was allegedly kidnapped on August 3 by her nanny, who had been hired to help the child’s grandmother look after her.
The woman is believed to have been employed from a group of job seekers on Main Road, Amalinda.
Mulaudzi said South African authorities met with Mozambique police at the Lebombo border post between the two countries on Monday and the little girl was handed over.
Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle, provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Celiwe Binta and a contingent of senior police officers are expected to attend the child’s reunion with her parents at the Eastern Cape police headquarters in Bhisho.
“I can’t wait to see her, its been more than a month of sleepless nights – I am so happy,” the father said. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za / zwangam@dispatch.co.za
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