Pule Makgale|Updated
Police have begun investigating what they suspect is a staged kidnapping, centering on a 27-year-old professional soccer player from Witbank, Mpumalanga.
Provincial police spokesperson Mavela Masondo said Marumo Gallants midfielder Thapelo Dhludhla’s family reported him missing on Sunday.
The family also alleged that it received a call from suspected kidnappers demanding a ransom.
Masondo reports that after seven days, the player reappeared at home without a scratch, fuelling investigators’ suspicions that he may have orchestrated his own disappearance.
While the motive behind the alleged staged kidnapping is still under investigation, police often see financial issues, attempts to gain publicity, or avoiding personal difficulties as common reasons for such incidents.
“Police investigations suggest that the player might have faked his own kidnapping. It is further alleged that the player’s family received a call from an unknown caller using the player’s phone. The caller claimed that the said player had been kidnapped and demanded a ransom for his release.
‘’Concerned about his safety, the player’s family went to the Witbank police station on Sunday and then opened a case of kidnapping for ransom. The police immediately deployed detectives as well as resources to investigate and locate the alleged victim. Later that afternoon, the player arrived home safely.
The Acting Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, has stressed that people should avoid reporting fake crimes.
“Staging a crime can never be tolerated, and such behaviour comes with consequences. When false reports are made, police divert limited state resources like vehicles, personnel, and time that could have been channelled to respond to genuine cases where people’s lives could really be in serious danger.”
This case adds to the recent increase in staged kidnappings that have attracted significant public attention.
In January 2025, a man and a woman in Soweto were arrested for staging a fake kidnapping.
According to police, the 23-year-old woman was reported missing in Randburg, and a ransom demand was made to her family.
A team comprising different law enforcement groups found the suspects at a house in Moroka, where the woman was said to be held.
Police said further investigation revealed the woman and her accomplice had organised the fake kidnapping.
Two other recent kidnapping-related cases were reported in February 2026 in the Bojanala Platinum District, North West.
In the first incident, reported in Marikana, Sizeka Mankantshu (41) allegedly staged her own kidnapping with the assistance of an accomplice, Morris “Sgubu” Radiete (41), a Lesotho national.
Investigations revealed that the alleged victim was never kidnapped.
Instead, she worked with the male suspect to obtain money from her husband by threatening him.
Evidence also showed she had been hiding at the homes of the accomplice and his girlfriend. Phones reported stolen in a robbery were found during the police operation, said North West police spokesperson Colonel Adele Myburgh.
Police said both suspects were arrested and charged with defeating the ends of justice, extortion and illegal immigration.
Myburgh also said investigations showed the possible reason for the fake kidnapping was money problems, as the woman owed a lot of money and could not pay her debts.
She added that in another case reported in Rustenburg on 10 February 2026, a 36-year-old woman was said to have been kidnapped at Rustenburg Mall, and a ransom was demanded from her family.
A team using different skills and information tracked the victim to Bokamoso Settlement, where she was found safe on 12 February 2026.
Further checks showed she had reportedly tricked several jobseekers from places like Boitekong, Ikemeleng and Bokamoso by promising fake jobs at a local mine and charging each person between R2 000 and R3 500.
Pule Makgale
thestar.co.za
