'Pregnant' woman arrives at police station after apparent kidnapping

Police on Thursday confirmed that the missing "pregnant" woman Mbali Jiyane‚ who was believed to have been kidnapped for her unborn baby‚ has turned up at a police station.

"Yes‚ she came to the police station yesterday. There is no further detail I can reveal as we are still investigating‚" said Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini.

Jiyane apparently went to the police on Wednesday following a plea from her family for her safe return. This was after they allegedly received chilling‚ threatening pictures of her‚ along with a ransom demand.

Asked whether Jiyane's baby was okay‚ Dlamini said: "The baby is not there. We will need to take her to the doctor to determine if she was ever pregnant."

Police had on Wednesday said they were working around the clock to solve the case of Jiyane‚ who is from Vosloorus‚ south of Boksburg in Gauteng.

According to Jiyane's family‚ she had been missing for over a week and was last seen by her aunt‚ Sizakele Sibisi‚ on May 15. Jiyane apparently went outside the house to answer a phone call but never came back.

According to Sibisi‚ both of Jiyane'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 Jiyane‚ and that they only wanted the baby.

The message was later followed by head-and-shoulder pictures of Jiyane with her mouth tied shut with a black cloth.

In an emotional Facebook post‚ her sister‚ Zandile Jiyane‚ said: "Guys‚ please‚ we need all types of help." The post contained the two pictures of her sister.

Police had initially opened a missing person's case but had changed it to a kidnapping case following the revelation of the pictures.