PINETOWN Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit police arrested a 23-year-old woman in Magudu, near Pongolo, for kidnapping.
In March, a father from KwaDabeka came back home from work and found that his eight-year-old daughter, together with her stepmother, were missing.
KZN police spokesman, Major Thulani Zwane, said the father started getting worried when they did not show up as hours went by.
“He called his girlfriend several times but his attempts were futile as she had allegedly switched off her cellphone.
“The concerned father reported the matter to the Pinetown police station, where a kidnapping case was opened and handed over to the Pinetown Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Unit for investigation,” he said.
The matter was investigated, and police received information that the girlfriend had left Durban and indications were that she was in the Zululand area.
Zwane added that they were traced to Pongolo after intensified investigations.
“The girlfriend learnt that the police were hot on her trail. She went to a hiking spot in Pongolo with the child and asked an unknown man to take the child to Nseleni where he would supposedly meet up with the suspect’s sister, who was to collect the child from him.
“The stranger agreed and they exchanged numbers and parted ways. When the man with the child approached Nseleni, he called the suspect numerous times but her phone was off. The man decided to leave the child at the Richards bay police station,” he said.
The father and his daughter were reunited on Wednesday, 22 April.
Police received information about the whereabouts of the woman and she was arrested on Friday, 24 April.
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, commended the members for the arrest of the woman.
“This will send a strong message to other kidnappers that no one is above the law. Wherever they are, we will trace and arrest them,” she said.
