Kidnapped Pretoria baby found after 3 days

Pretoria - Three days of searching and a mother’s valiant efforts to find her baby bore fruit when her 5-month-old daughter and the captor were found on Saturday.

The baby disappeared from the Orchards complex where the family lives early on Wednesday morning, taken by the nanny the mother had hired the previous evening.

Thandi Baloyi, 32, said she had determined from the onset that she would not give up until her daughter was safely in her arms.

Baby Nhluto Baloyi was found safely. Her captor was arrested on Saturday afternoon.

Baloyi said that a few months ago she had met a woman named “More Blessings” who was looking for a job.

“I met her at the beginning of March when I was walking to Spar. She told me she was struggling. We exchanged numbers so I could help her look for a job,” Baloyi said.

The woman kept calling Baloyi to see if she had found her a job.

When Baloyi’s maternity leave came to an end she found herself in a predicament as she had no one to leave her baby with because her only nanny had not arrived for work.

She contemplated taking her daughter to daycare but her aunt dissuaded her, saying the child was too young and a nanny would be best. “She (the alleged kidnapper) was the first person I thought of so I contacted her and told her I was stranded. I called her late, maybe after 5pm, but she agreed to come immediately.”

Baloyi said she believed that the woman’s intentions had always been to steal her baby because the very day she arrived she tried to abduct the baby.

“She tried to get the complex exit code from one of the residents, but did not succeed.” However, the following morning the same woman eventually agreed and gave her the code.

Baloyi only realised her baby was missing when she got back from work. The frantic search began.

She went to the police station where she opened a missing person’s report, but was told by police that she would have to wait until Monday to get documents from court that would allow for the alleged kidnapper’s cellphone to be used to trace her.

She also took to Facebook and Twitter to raise awareness for her missing baby.

In a stroke of luck, the woman had also stolen Baloyi’s son’s cellphone, through which she was tracked.

The cellphone led them to Soshanguve and Ga-Rankuwa. Baloyi and her family split up to search for the baby.

“Can you believe this woman apparently told her boyfriend that she had a child. She even went to the South African Social Security Agency to register for a child grant.”

While Baloyi was in Soshanguve Block JJ, where the woman apparently lives, other members of her family were in Ga-Rankuwa Zone 20 where the baby and the nanny were found.

It is believed the woman - who is from Zimbabwe - may have stolen the baby to prove to her boyfriend she had been pregnant and had given birth.

“Apparently when she was caught she said she was a triplet and that she did not steal the baby,” Baloyi said.

The mother said now that her child was back home she was over the moon but the three days of searching had taken its toll on her.

“At least now I can sleep. I was very strong because of the support I got every day but when I had to sleep I was very stressed because that’s when reality set in.”

After the baby was found Baloyi took her to the clinic to be checked as she said her child had been fed pap and soup, which was not healthy for a 5-month-old.

“She didn’t even have nappies for my daughter. She used a shirt,” the mother said.

She advised all mothers to be careful and use this as a lesson.

“I used to see this on TV. Little did I know that one day it would be me.”

She said that she would never again look for a nanny and would instead take her daughter to her cousin’s day care where she knows she will be safe.

Pretoria News