After six days of intense searching, Nkangala municipal manager Maggie Skhosana and her driver Gugu Mtsweni have been found.

The women were kidnapped last Thursday in front of the district municipality’s entrance in Mpumalanga, after being tailed by a white Ford Fiesta with blue lights, Middelburg Observer reported.

Nkangala Municipal Manager, Maggie Skhosana (left), and her driver, Gugu Mtsweni, who went missing on 20 October 2022. PHOTO: Middelburg Observer

They were found late on Wednesday night in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, and were taken to Steve Biko Academic Hospital for medical treatment, before returning home.

It is not clear if they were injured.

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Upon arrival at the municipality’s entrance gates, the white Ford flashed its blue lights, resulting in Mtsweni pulling over.

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A man with a rifle then entered the vehicle and ordered Mtsweni to drive off.

The vehicle, with Skhosana’s wheelchair inside, was later recovered close to the Middelburg Mine towards Kriel.

The vehicle was still idling when it was found.

A R5 million ransom demand was made earlier this week for their return, with the task team assigned to the kidnapping reportedly identifying several suspects aligned to the Boko Haram gang.

Skhosana was said to have been in the process of awarding a tender with high financial gains when she was kidnapped.

She was also recently seconded to the Sekhukhune District Municipality in Limpopo, where corruption and tenderpreneurship are rife.

The Citizen