Cops wait for medical report on 'kidnapped pregnant' woman

20 August 2018 - 10:48 By Naledi Shange
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One of the chilling pictures of Mbali Jiyane, apparently sent by her kidnappers to her family.
One of the chilling pictures of Mbali Jiyane, apparently sent by her kidnappers to her family.
Image: Facebook via Zandile Jiyane

Do you recall the horrific image of a "highly pregnant" woman‚ gagged‚ with tears streaming down her face?

Her family had taken to social media‚ begging for help to find her‚ after they were reportedly informed that she had been taken for her unborn child.

Mbali Jiyane turned up at the police station‚ days after she had made headlines‚ without a baby.

Updating TimesLIVE on the status of the case‚ Captain Mavela Masondo said: "Police are still waiting for the statement from one of the medical practitioners who examined the lady. Once the statement has been taken‚ the docket will be taken to the public prosecutor for a decision [on whether to prosecute her]."

Police had worked around the clock to try and find the Vosloorus woman. According to her family‚ she had been missing for over a week and had last been seen by her aunt. She was said to have gone outside the house to answer a phone call but never came back.

Her family claimed that both of her phones had been off since the day she disappeared but the family received a message from one of her phones‚ which they believed came from the kidnappers.

The message said the kidnappers would not 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 black cloth.

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

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


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