Woman arrested after Kwa-Thema kidnapping turns out to be staged to extort her own cousin

A 37-year-old woman reported as kidnapped and later rescued at Kwa-Thema has been arrested along with an accomplice, with police saying the kidnapping was staged. The two were arrested on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, the South African Police Service said in a statement issued by the Office of the Provincial Commissioner in Gauteng.

The statement says investigations by Kwa-Thema detectives, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit and Crime Intelligence revealed that the woman allegedly conspired with her accomplice to stage the kidnapping in an attempt to extort money from her cousin.

Both suspects are expected to appear in court on charges of defeating the ends of justice, extortion and staging a crime scene. The statement does not name the two, does not say when they will appear or in which court, and does not give the amount of money allegedly sought.

Gauteng police used the case to warn the public against false reports and staged criminal incidents, saying such actions divert critical police resources from genuine cases and undermine efforts to combat crime and protect communities. Members of the public were urged to use police services responsibly and to provide truthful information when reporting criminal incidents.

Enquiries on the statement are directed to Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi.

The statement is a police media summary of the case rather than the court record, and the charges against the two have not been tested in court. The full statement is published at https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroom/msspeechdetail.php?nid=71996.