Woman accused of faking her own kidnapping to squeeze R40,000 from her family
Ntombifuthi Mavis Rumo, 37, appeared briefly in the Kwa-Thema Magistrates' Court while her co-accused was absent in hospital, and the State says it will oppose bail for both.
A 37-year-old woman accused of staging her own kidnapping to extort R40,000 from her family appeared briefly in the Kwa-Thema Magistrates’ Court, where the State indicated it will oppose bail.
Ntombifuthi Mavis Rumo appeared in court while her co-accused, Bonginkosi Mndebele, 27, was absent because he is in hospital. Both face charges of defeating the administration of justice. The matter was postponed to October 29 for further bail investigations and for Mndebele to appear.
IOL reported on October 22 that the pair appeared in connection with the alleged staged kidnapping. The Enquirer’s account below sets out what the National Prosecuting Authority and the police have placed on the record.
According to the NPA’s regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, Rumo, Mndebele and a third suspect who has not yet been charged met on October 7 and discussed staging Rumo’s kidnapping because they were experiencing financial difficulties. The group then contacted Rumo’s family and allegedly demanded money in exchange for her release.
When the family could not pay the amount demanded, the suspects released Rumo on October 12 and left her at Vlakfontein Road, Mahanjana said, and then instructed the family to collect her from the location.
That account follows the earlier police version of how the family came to be involved. Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said the kidnapping was reported to police on Thursday, October 8, by a family member after the suspects allegedly used the woman’s cellphone to demand the ransom. On Saturday, October 10, the suspects contacted the family again and said they would drop the victim off at Vlakfontein Road, Nevhuhulwi said.
Police officers, accompanied by the family, went to the location, where the woman was found with injuries to her hands. She was taken to hospital for medical treatment.
Mahanjana said that following a police investigation into the reported kidnapping, Rumo was arrested on October 20 after her husband brought her to the police. After her arrest, Rumo pointed out Mndebele to the police.
The two accounts differ on the date the woman was released. The police statement places her recovery on Saturday, October 10, while the NPA account given in court places her release at Vlakfontein Road on October 12. The record does not reconcile the two dates, and the court has not been asked to do so yet.
What the case turns on next is October 29, when Mndebele is expected to appear and the bail investigation continues. Until then the State’s intention to oppose bail for both accused stands as an intention, not a ruling.
Staged kidnapping plots have become a recurring problem for Gauteng police, who have to commit officers and vehicles to a reported abduction while the family is being pressured for money. In this case the family reported the matter within a day of the first demand, and the police response was to travel with them to the drop-off point rather than to wait for a body to be found.
The charges the pair face, defeating the administration of justice, relate to the allegation that a real crime was reported to police when none had occurred. Neither accused has pleaded, and nothing in this report is a finding of guilt.
