“I made a false report,” Baby Siwaphiwe’s mother says on fake kidnapping
This was a story that brought the nation to a standstill.
The then one month old Siwaphiwe was reported missing by her mother, S’bongile Mbambo. She claimed the Siwaphiwe was hijacked in Greyville, Durban.
Via social media, the country went on a search using the hash tags #HelpFindDurbanBaby and #BabySiwaphiwe.
After a two day search by police, Siwaphiwe was found in a car.
Investigations into the matter revealed that baby Siwaphiwe was not kidnapped. Rather, it was part of a plan by her mother S’bongile Mbambo, and biological father.
Pleads guilty
Yesterday, S’bongile opened up a can of worms when she pleaded guilty to making up the whole story.
She and the child’s father Phumlani Mbokazi, faced charges of fraud, and defeating the ends of justice.
In a statement by S’bongile, she said: “I admit that I made a false report of being a victim of robbery with aggravating circumstances wherein I indicated my motor vehicle was hijacked from me and made a statement that the assailant also kidnapped the child who was in the vehicle during the robbery. I admit that my actions were wrongful and unlawful.”
She is expected back in court on 22nd January, for sentencing.