Family in disarray after 'missing and pregnant' Mbali rocks up‚ without baby

Mbali Jiyane's cousin Zandile‚ who had taken to social media to plead for assistance in ensuring her safe return‚ on Thursday was upset that people believed she had fabricated Mbali's kidnapping for fame and attention.

Some people have taken to her social media pages to throw insults and accuse her of wasting their time after Mbali‚ who was said to be heavily pregnant when she went missing‚ reportedly walked into a police station on Wednesday evening.

Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini told TimesLIVE that Mbali was not pregnant‚ neither did she have a baby with her when she turned up at the station. "We will need to take her to the doctor to determine if she was ever pregnant‚" Dlamini said.

Zandile said: "I was trying to help like anyone who has a missing relative would."

She had taken to social media on Wednesday morning‚ saying they needed help in finding Mbali‚ who was believed to have been eight months pregnant at the time of her disappearance.

"She went missing. It's been a week now. Her phone is on and [the kidnappers] have sent us these pictures but they don't respond to our messages. Guys‚ we need all types of help we can get‚" part of her post read. It was accompanied by pictures of a gagged Mbali in what looks like a shack structure. She appeared to have been crying. Zandile took to social media on Wednesday night to say Mbali had been found.

Zandile is in Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal while Mbali is based in Vosloorus‚ Gauteng. She said she had not seen Mbali but had heard from her uncles she was found. She briefly spoke to Mbali over the phone.

"I asked her why she did this… She said she couldn't speak to me but that her aunt knows everything‚" said Zandile‚ suggesting that she too believed there could have been more to the tale.

"All of this has hurt me because we were worried. I wouldn't have lied about something like this."

Images of Mbali have been doing the rounds on social media for days on end‚ with some referring to her as Mbali Mvungande.

Zandile explained that Mvungande was Mbali's mother's surname while Jiyane was her father's surname. Both posts referred to the same person.

Meanwhile‚ police said they were still investigating and could not reveal further details on the case.

On Wednesday‚ they said they were working around the clock to solve the case. Police had initially opened a missing person's case but had changed it to a kidnapping case following the revelation of the pictures.

Mbali's disappearance had seemingly caused divisions in the household.

When TimesLIVE contacted her aunt‚ Sizakele Sibisi‚ she was upset about the ordeal. "People play around with things they shouldn't be playing with‚" she said‚ adding that Zandile had no right to post those pictures.

Sibisi‚ however‚ had on Wednesday told TimesLIVE that Mbali had gone missing on May 15 after apparently going outside to answer a phone call. She never returned to the house.

She said both of Mbali's phones had been off since the day she disappeared but on Monday the family received a message from one of her phones‚ which the family believed came from the kidnappers. The message said the kidnappers wouldn't harm Mbali and that they only wanted the baby.

Sibisi denied ever speaking to TimesLIVE and added that there was never such a thing.

She called for police to "arrest Zandile". Sibisi refused to answer any more questions and referred TimesLIVE to the police for further updates.