A suspect, Sgt. Nzima Adoons will appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 24 June for a formal bail application. 

The case was postponed when he made a brief appearance in the same court on Friday for bail information and further investigation, facing charges of kidnapping and extortion. A charge of extortion was added on Monday after it was revealed in court that calls for a ransom were made to Kamogelo Baukudi’s mother. 

“The main objective is to get Kamogelo back home safe, and we must make sure he is alive. We don’t want to jeopardize that by rushing matters, hence we allow the bail application to continue so we know we have covered the ground.

“Immediately, when you show the suspect’s face, it will jeopardize some or part of our investigation in having a successful outcome. From what we are busy with now, there might be issues that will require us to go to the extent of formally identifying him.”

“If we provide more information to the media, it reaches a point where you are empowering the people who have Baukudi with them, and we don’t want that. We want to make sure that whatever we provide to the media doesn’t compromise our case in any way.”

Baukudi was allegedly kidnapped on Thursday (5/6) after school by men who impersonated police officers. He was picked up from school by a driver working for his parent, and they were allegedly followed and stopped near Vereeniging Drive.

Daniel Malebatso, the driver, alleges that he heard a siren behind them and the occupants of a white Toyota Hilux GD-6 double-cab bakkie, fitted with blue “police lights”, pulled them over. The duo was separated, and Malebatso was then told to drive ahead of Baukudi as they followed from behind to the Park Road police station. 

‘Demanding the return of the child unconditionally, unharmed, and safe’

The Toyota Hilux vanished from sight when a truck passed between the Suzuki and the vehicle.

“We are here in support of our member who is the mother of the missing child,” said South African Funeral Practitioners Association chairperson Thite Titi. “We are demanding the return of the child unconditionally, unharmed, and safe.

“We have visited the family, and the mother and the entire family are devastated. We have been with them from the first day this horrific incident happened, and we will be with them until the child is found.”

OFM News/Zenande Mpame mvh