DURBAN - An 18-year-old girl who claimed she had been abducted by people who tried to sell her before sending her to Mozambique, had been lying, police say.
Now the post-matric Vryheid girl who disappeared from home for several days earlier this month is about to be arrested.
“The docket has been thoroughly investigated by Vryheid detectives and it has been established that it was a false claim,” police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said on Monday.
The girl claimed she was abducted by two unknown people between Vryheid and Nquthu and held in a house with five other girls.
But, after making her way home, she told her worried parents and police that she had managed to escape.
She was even praised for her bravery and quick thinking under difficult circumstances by Social Development MEC Weziwe Thusi. This had saved her life and that of the other abducted girls, the MEC had said.
Two Ethiopian men, aged 20 and 27, were arrested after her statements, and a case of human trafficking was opened.
A source told the Daily News that the girl had allegedly been with her boyfriend.
Police have vowed to deal harshly with people who open false cases.
“We are appealing to community members to refrain from opening false cases because the false reports are affecting service delivery. It consumes time when the officers should be focusing on more serious crimes.”
The police did not say if the two Ethiopians had been released.
A spokesperson for the MEC’s office, Vukani Mbhele, said it was an unfortunate event. “Such lies tend to undermine the efforts and good work we are doing for genuine cases,” said Mbehle.
“It also becomes a huge problem because it stretches our resources and it is unfortunate that people have to lie about such matters.
Mbhele said false cases undermined their efforts and made people sceptical when reports such as these surfaced. This, in turn, negatively affected people with genuine cases.