Today marks the fifth day since Nkangala District Municipality manager Maggie Skhosana and her female driver Gugu Mtsweni were kidnapped in front of the municipality.

Fears are growing that they may have been harmed after Mpumalanga Police confirmed both women are yet to be found.

Skhosana, who is wheelchair-bound, was kidnapped alongside Mtsweni shortly after arriving at the municipality on Thursday.

The municipal manager’s vehicle was followed by a gang in a Ford Fiesta with blue lights which stopped in front of the municipality’s gates, then departed again.

A man armed with a rifle got into the women’s car before it sped off.

The vehicle and Skhosana’s wheelchair were found abandoned next to the road towards Kriel, close to Middelburg Mine. Her vehicle was still idling with Skhosana’s personal belongings inside.

The vehicle was found by her distraught husband who remains hopeful that the pair will be found unharmed.

Ransom demand made

Meanwhile, Morney Vos of Bolhuis’ Specialised Security Services is heading a specialised task team, working in conjunction with the SAPS.

Vos told the Middelburg Observer that investigators have received voice notes from both women, indicating that they might be safe for now. A R5m ransom order has also been received.

The ransom is expected to be paid in cash, though more details about the terms of a ransom delivery cannot be revealed yet.

The task team has already identified several suspects aligned with the Boko Haram gang.

The Boko Haram gang is a highly-organised crime syndicate that has carried out a number of similar kidnappings.
The gang is also tied to CIT heists, armed robberies, white-collar crimes and tender fraud.

According to Vos, Skhosana was in the process of awarding a tender with high financial gains before the kidnapping.

She’s also recently been seconded to the Sekhukhune District Municipality in Limpopo, where corruption and tenderpreneurship are said to be rife.

Vos did not want to divulge what was contained in the voice notes received from the women, apart from the R5m cash ransom.

Skhosana is also diabetic and in need of her medication. “Things could take a turn for the worse health-wise if we don’t rescue them soon,” a hopeful Vos told the Middelburg Observer.

Colonel Donald Mdluli earlier today told the publication that police remain hopeful that the women will be released unharmed.

He, however, declined to shed more light on possible suspects, saying the investigation is at a very sensitive stage.