Police still piecing together Moti brothers’ kidnapping, says Cele

Police Minister Bheki Cele has revealed that police are still trying to piece together info surrounding the kidnapping of the four Moti brothers, after they were reunited with their family on Wednesday night.

Cele was speaking to journalists outside the newly opened Hlogotlou police station in the Limpopo on Friday.

“The kids are back, but definitely we will have to find out what has happened because it doesn’t end here – just because somebody picked the kids in the gate and then we say it’s all done, we have to find out what has happened,” said Cele.

The four brothers – Zidan, 7, Zayyad, 11, Alaan, 13, and Zia, 15 – were kidnapped on 20 October after seven armed men blocked the vehicle they were travelling in.

They were then forcefully put into a Mercedes-Benz and taken away. The incident saw South Africans coming together in the search for the siblings.

A massive search operation commenced and continued for three weeks before they were found.

Cele thanked the community and police for their participation in the search for the missing brothers.

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“Almost everybody was involved, the community themselves, the police they have done a tremendous job, I can’t thank them enough. The kids are back.”

On Thursday, the Moti family appealed to South Africans to stop spreading rumours regarding the case and asked for the law enforcement to be allowed space to do their work.

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo, on Thursday the children were yet to be taken in for interviews and Naidoo could not be reached for a comment on Friday.

However, in a statement he said: “Police arranged a doctor who confirmed that the children are in good health before they were handed over to their parents. The children also appeared to be in high spirits during the reunion with their parents.”