The eight months pregnant Nomvano Kwebulana (27) disappeared from her home on July 19.
According to Sgt Mashudu Phathela, police have been looking for her ever since, to no avail.
It is believed that Kwebulana was abducted by the suspect and his accomplices, believed to be Nigerian drug dealers, to act as a drug mule in Indonesia.
According to Reiger Park SAPS spokesperson Sgt Mashudu Phathela, officers arrested the Zimbabwean man in Ramaphosa, on Friday, August 14, in connection with the abduction.
His name is known to the Advertiser and some residents of Ramaphosa.
He appeared in court on a kidnapping charge on Monday, August 17.
Kwebulana’s devastated mother, Princess Kwebulana, said the enduring mystery of her daughter’s whereabouts has thrown the family into an untold trauma.
“As of July 19, it has been difficult for us to fall asleep and even eat – it’s been very tough for all of us,” she said.
“We are concerned more about her life and the baby inside her, as she is expected to deliver this month; it’s very sad.
“We are all devastated. I can’t even put into words how sick this makes me feel.”
On Thursday afternoon, Princess was praying and still hoping they would be able to reunite with their daughter.
“I want my daughter back… dead or alive we want her back,” ‘she said.
To add to their grief, the family recently received the sad news that Nomvano’s grandfather has passed on in the Easter Cape.
The arrested Zimbabwean man was reportedly last seen walking with the missing woman a few moments before her disappearance.
This was after he allegedly told the missing woman that he had secured a job for her, and subsequently tricked her into going with him to meet the potential employers at a hotel in Johannesburg.
Investigators later received information from an informer, who witnessed the suspects snatching Kwebulana, before forcing her into a red BMW, with her hands and feet tied, while a gag was placed over her mouth.
She was apparently taken from the open veld between Elsburg and Ramaphosa, on the day she went missing.
The investigation continued and another informer phoned to tell the police that she saw the woman at a house in Germiston where, apparently, drug dealers were holding her hostage.
The informer also told the police that the drug dealers intended to use the pregnant woman to smuggle drugs out of Indonesia into South Africa, as they believe pregnant women are ideal covers for smuggling.
Undercover police swooped on the house in Germiston and carried out a thorough search, but could not find the abducted woman.
They did, however, discovered a BMW matching the description provided by the first informer.
Occupiers of the property told police that they do not know who owns the vehicle.
Police found that the person renting the house sublets rooms to several families, making it difficult to immediately establish who owns the car.
The informer told police that the same drug barons who apparently abducted Nomvano tricked her into agreeing to smuggle drugs out of Indonesia to South Africa in return for cash.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sgt Mashudu Phathela on 082 733 8481 or 011 916 7000. -@FanieFLK
