A high-ranking Eastern Cape political figure played a key role in reuniting a three-year-old East London kidnap victim with her parents.
It emerged yesterday that provincial ANC secretary Oscar Mabuyane was approached by junior members of the SA Police Service (SAPS) who complained about the snail’s pace of the investigation into the disappearance of three-year-old Perfect Gift Msesiwe of Mdantsane’s NU6.
The toddler was allegedly kidnapped by her nanny on August 3.
Mabuyane agreed to assist, although yesterday downplayed his actions, saying he had sleepless nights from the day the matter was brought to his attention.
He said: “As a parent I thought of myself being in the same situation.
“I had to do everything I could to help out. We took the matter to the Deputy Minister of Police for her intervention.”
The deputy minister, Maggie Sotyu, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Dispatch, confirmed she had been approached “by the ANC leadership in the province to intervene”.
“Their request was: can we please see to it that investigating officers are deployed to speed up the process to solve this case.”
Sotyu said she contacted the national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) Major-General Mthandazo Ntlemeza.
“This is one of the crimes that requires no faults. We had to handle it carefully,” Sotyu said.
She said investigators worked day and night until the girl had been found.
The toddler, who had been missing for more than 30 days, was rescued from her kidnappers in an impoverished village near Maputo, Mozambique on Monday.
She was flown from Johannesburg to East London yesterday. The tot was given a police escort to the provincial police headquarters in Zwelitsha where she was reunited with her parents and grandparents.
Soon after the girl was kidnapped her father, Siyabonga Msesiwe, and his wife Zolelwa received a call allegedly made by the nanny demanding R500000 for their daughter’s safe return.
They immediately reported the matter to the Mdantsane police station, and the docket was handed to the Hawks for investigation.
The unit’s head of human trafficking, Major-General Liziwe Ntshinga, who is based in the Northern Cape, was drafted in to lead the investigation.
The nanny was arrested in Johannesburg last week and is due to appear in the Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court next Tuesday where she will face charges of extortion, kidnapping and human trafficking.
Two other people have been arrested in Mozambique for harbouring a stolen child.
Sotyu yesterday said the girl had been medically examined and no harm was done to her.
An overjoyed Zolelwa said she received a call from police on Tuesday afternoon saying her daughter had been found safe and alive.
“God kept me strong,” the young mother said.
There have been nine cases of human trafficking involving 19 victims in the last five years in the province.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Celiwe Binta said of the nine cases one had been finalised, five were pending in court and three were still under police investigation. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
Happy end to kidnap drama
It emerged yesterday that provincial ANC secretary Oscar Mabuyane was approached by junior members of the SA Police Service (SAPS) who complained about the snail’s pace of the investigation into the disappearance of three-year-old Perfect Gift Msesiwe of Mdantsane’s NU6.
The toddler was allegedly kidnapped by her nanny on August 3.
Mabuyane agreed to assist, although yesterday downplayed his actions, saying he had sleepless nights from the day the matter was brought to his attention.
He said: “As a parent I thought of myself being in the same situation.
“I had to do everything I could to help out. We took the matter to the Deputy Minister of Police for her intervention.”
The deputy minister, Maggie Sotyu, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Dispatch, confirmed she had been approached “by the ANC leadership in the province to intervene”.
“Their request was: can we please see to it that investigating officers are deployed to speed up the process to solve this case.”
Sotyu said she contacted the national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) Major-General Mthandazo Ntlemeza.
“This is one of the crimes that requires no faults. We had to handle it carefully,” Sotyu said.
She said investigators worked day and night until the girl had been found.
The toddler, who had been missing for more than 30 days, was rescued from her kidnappers in an impoverished village near Maputo, Mozambique on Monday.
She was flown from Johannesburg to East London yesterday. The tot was given a police escort to the provincial police headquarters in Zwelitsha where she was reunited with her parents and grandparents.
Soon after the girl was kidnapped her father, Siyabonga Msesiwe, and his wife Zolelwa received a call allegedly made by the nanny demanding R500000 for their daughter’s safe return.
They immediately reported the matter to the Mdantsane police station, and the docket was handed to the Hawks for investigation.
The unit’s head of human trafficking, Major-General Liziwe Ntshinga, who is based in the Northern Cape, was drafted in to lead the investigation.
The nanny was arrested in Johannesburg last week and is due to appear in the Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court next Tuesday where she will face charges of extortion, kidnapping and human trafficking.
Two other people have been arrested in Mozambique for harbouring a stolen child.
Sotyu yesterday said the girl had been medically examined and no harm was done to her.
An overjoyed Zolelwa said she received a call from police on Tuesday afternoon saying her daughter had been found safe and alive.
“God kept me strong,” the young mother said.
There have been nine cases of human trafficking involving 19 victims in the last five years in the province.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Celiwe Binta said of the nine cases one had been finalised, five were pending in court and three were still under police investigation. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
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