‘We are thankful’: Kidnapped Moti brothers found

The Moti brothers – Zidan (7), Zayyad (11), Alaan (13) and Zia (15), who were kidnapped on 20 October – are back home with their family.

Moti brothers update

Found unharmed

Major General Sam Manala, the deputy provincial commissioner responsible for crime detection, confirmed to Polokwane Review the good news:

Zidan, Zayyad, Alaan and Zia are back home with their family.

In a Facebook message on the Auto Moti group, their parents Naazim and Shakira, praised everyone involved in their safe return and thanked the community for their support.

Brothers ‘dropped off’ in Vuwani 

National police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said in a statement on Thursday morning that police in Vuwani, Limpopo received a call from a local resident on Wednesday night saying the brothers were at their home. 

They were reportedly dropped off at a nearby road. 

A doctor was then arranged by police, who confirmed the brothers were in good health. They were then handed over to their parents. 

“The children also appeared to be in high spirits during the reunion with their parents,” Naidoo said. 

Investigators, with the assistance of police psychologists, will be interviewing the brothers today.

Investigations into the kidnapping case are still ongoing. 

Police have appealed to anyone with information to come forward. They can contact police via the Saps Crime Stop number, 086 00 10111, or via the MySAPSApp. 

‘We are thankful’

The family’s social media post read:

“The parents of Zia, Alaan, Zayyad and little Zidan, Naazim and Shakira Moti are overjoyed by the return of their four sons. We thank Almighty Allah for accepting our prayers and the prayers of so many in South Africa.

“We wish to express our sincere gratitude to South African Police Services, our political parties, the media, all the social media influencers and everyone who prayed for the safety of our children.

We are thankful that they were set free and when we received a phone call to fetch the children we rushed to the scene full of hope.

All of South Africa supported us and we want to thank one and all for their support and kind prayers. We are looking forward to healing as a family and will appreciate some privacy for a while.

We will talk to the media within a few days. Naazim and Shakira Moti.”

The Moti brothers kidnapping

The four brothers were kidnapped on Wednesday, 20 October after seven armed men blocked the vehicle they were travelling in, with a Kia Sorento and Mercedes-Benz.

They were then forcefully removed and put into the Mercedes-Benz. A massive search operation commenced and continued for three weeks.

Parts of this article were originally published on Caxton publication Polokwane Review. Read the original here.

Edited and compiled by Cheryl Kahla and Nica Richards