WATCH | CCTV footage shows how Mbalenhle was found

A red car pulls into the parking lot at a petrol station and the driver emerges from it nonchalantly before walking away.

About an hour later police arrive to discover a woman apparently tied down in the back seat. 

This is what a CCTV footage obtained by Sowetan shows of the moment on Sunday when Mbalenhle Miranda Nkomo, who was allegedly abducted on Friday last week, was found.

Mbalenhle was allegedly kidnapped while on her way to an all-night church prayer in Newtown, Joburg, was discovered by the police in her abandoned car parked at a garage in Turffontein, south of Joburg.

Her disappearance sparked widespread social media discussions over the weekend after the post about her going missing circulated online. But her reappearance on Sunday got many people talking on social media and questioning where she could have been.

She told her family that she was abducted by a group of unknown men who later claimed they had taken the “wrong person in the wrong car”. They drove with her to Ladysmith in KZN and back to Gauteng, where they dumped her at the garage. 

A video footage from the garage, which Sowetan has seen, shows the car parking at about 3.30pm on Sunday. The driver, believed to be her abductor, remains seated inside for about 10 minutes. He then steps out casually with his face visible and walks to the boot of the car. He then takes out what looks like a jacket and returns to the driver’s side.

Moments later, he walks back to the boot again and finally strolls off and disappears from the view of the camera, leaving the vehicle behind with Mbalenhle inside.

About an hour later, a group of men believed to be police officers in plain clothing arrived in cars and headed straight to Mbalenhle's car and started peeking through the windows. They then stand next to the car, talking among themselves while they keep looking into the vehicle. 

Their behaviour attracts the attention of petrol attendants, who also surround the car. Her family arrived later and took her home. 

One of the garage employees told Sowetan that they saw the alleged abductor arrive but had no idea anything sinister was unfolding.

“I remember the car pulling in, but nothing seemed out of place. It was only when the police showed up and went straight to that vehicle that we knew something was wrong,” the witness said.

“Upon their arrival, they opened the back door and that’s when we saw her. The lady was tied up, wrapped in a blanket, and looked completely disoriented and weak. We are still in shock; nothing like this has ever happened here.”

According to Mbalenhle's husband Sandile Nkomo, his wife had been stuck on the M2 on Friday, soon after she left home for church. She claimed there was an accident that had caused traffic to a standstill at about 6.30pm. 

However, both the Johannesburg metro police department (JMPD) and the Gauteng traffic department said they had no record of any accident on the M2 during that time.

Mbalenhle's church on Monday said they could not locate Mbalenhle from the CCTV footage from Friday's service. 

On Monday, Nkomo, who had opened a case of missing person, released a statement in which he claimed Mbalenhle was intercepted and hijacked along the M2 by gun-wielding men who tied up her wrists from Friday until Sunday afternoon. 

He said she was recovering at home from the trauma and that they were yet to open additional criminal cases with the police.

Police spokesperson Col Mavela Masondo confirmed that a missing person case had been closed. However, the police cannot move forward with a kidnapping investigation until Nkomo herself lays a charge. 

“We urge the family or the victim to come forward and open a case so that investigations can continue,” Masondo said.

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