Johannesburg - The Nkangala District Municipality manager Maggie Skhosana and her driver, Gugu Mtsweni, were found alive and unharmed in Diepsloot, Gauteng, late on Wednesday.
The Star reported this week that kidnappers contacted the family, demanding a R5 million ransom for the women’s release.
Mpumalanga provincial SAPS spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli said the kidnappers dumped the women in bushes near the N14 in Diepsloot.
“It is said that the driver (Mtsweni) was tied with ropes but she somehow managed to manoeuvre to the road. A taxi driver saw her looking for help. She related the story to the taxi driver who immediately informed the police. The police went with them to the bushes and found the municipal manager.”
Mdhluli said the victims were taken to Diepsloot police station and from there, to hospital. They were reunited with their families in the early hours of this morning, Thursday, October 27, 2022.
“The kidnappers are still at large. This development comes as a breakthrough to the kidnapping incident which started a week ago on Thursday, 20 October 2022 in Middleburg,” he said.
Mdhluli said the municipal manager and her driver were allegedly attacked at the gates to the municipality, allegedly by men impersonating police officers and driving a white sedan, when they had arrived.
The victims and the kidnappers’ vehicle were seen driving in the same direction, away from the municipality.
Soon after the incident was reported, Mpumalanga Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela set up an investigation team to find the two women.
The victim's vehicle was recovered on the same day, October 20, 2022. It had been abandoned in one of the mines in Middelburg.
However, there was no sign of the victims.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) in Gauteng assisted the Mpumalanga police in the investigation.
Manamela expressed her gratitude to the Gauteng DPCI and Mpumalanga police, along with the taxi driver who had acted as a Good Samaritan.
The general also thanked everyone who contributed to the investigation as well as the support received from the entire police management and the Office of the Premier in Mpumalanga.
Mpumalanga Premier Refiloe Mtshweni-Tsipane expressed joy after hearing the news that the two women were found.
She said police were continuing with their investigations and asked the public to give the victims and their families privacy.
“We have been hard at work searching everywhere to get them back and integrate them with their family. Finally, today, we can safely report that we have managed to crack the case and they are now back as we are standing here at Steve Biko Hospital, where the assessments have been conducted and would like to thank everyone who participated in this process – the police, the family and the entire community in general.
“We are very much grateful and we want to say that the police are also working on the case with a family. So, if they could be afforded privacy so that they can sit with their loved ones and comfort them and have space with them,” Mtshweni-Tsipane said.
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The Star