News24 | Sedibeng mayor and driver found unharmed after alleged hijacking, kidnapping

Sedibeng mayor Lerato Maloka and her driver were found unharmed after they were allegedly hijacked and kidnapped in Alberton, on the East Rand, on Friday.

• Sedibeng mayor Lerato Maloka and her driver were allegedly hijacked and kidnapped in Alberton on Friday.
• Gauteng police said her car was recovered in Dawn Park around midnight.
• Maloka and her driver have since been found unharmed and reunited with their families.

Sedibeng mayor Lerato Maloka and her driver were found unharmed after they were allegedly hijacked and kidnapped in Alberton, on the East Rand, on Friday, police said.

Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said Maloka and her driver were allegedly kidnapped after leaving a house in Alberton.

“Preliminary reports suggest that the owner of the house reported the matter to an individual, who then informed the mayor’s husband,” Muridili said.

Muridili said Maloka’s husband reported the incident at the Dawn Park police station in Boksburg.

“A team was immediately established and the police’s rapid response services, via the 10111 call centre, broadcast a lookout with the vehicle’s description,” she said.

She said Katlehong police officers recovered Maloka’s car in Dawn Park around midnight.

Muridili said police were informed at around 02:00 on Saturday that Maloka and her driver were found unharmed and reunited with their families.

“The investigating officer will be obtaining the statements of both victims as investigations continue. A manhunt for the suspects is underway,” Muridili said.

READ | Boy, 7, found unharmed after kidnapping ordeal in Eastern Cape

In a statement released on Friday, the DA in Sedibeng welcomed a council resolution to request Maloka’s suspension pending a full disciplinary investigation into her alleged “misdeeds”.

“Council found that Maloka had been negligent in her mayoral duties. Maloka has long been a problematic figure; today’s [Friday] resolution centres around her, and other municipal officials’ misdeeds in wasting over R500 000 on a trip to Germany,” DA Sedibeng caucus leader Sibusiso Dyonase said.

News24 reached out to Gauteng Cogta MEC Jacob Mamabolo regarding the council resolution.

Comment from Mamabolo’s office will be added once received.

On the alleged hijacking and kidnapping, municipality spokesperson Nomvula Khalo commended the speedy action by law enforcement.

“An investigation is ongoing, and authorities are leaving no stone unturned to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.

“The executive mayor and her office extend heartfelt thanks for the outpouring of support from her colleagues, fellow comrades, and staff during this distressing time,” Khalo said.

In a statement issued in response to the allegations levelled against her, Maloka said she had written to Mamabolo requesting an independent investigation under Section 106 of the Municipal Systems Act.

The section of the Act empowers the MEC to investigate allegations of maladministration, fraud, corruption or other serious malpractice in a municipality.

She said that, over the last three years, the municipality had been struggling to produce a funded budget due to the bloated staff that the current administration inherited.

According to her, this resulted in the municipality not being able to fund and implement planned delivery projects.

“Despite all these challenges, the municipality has consistently failed to adopt a funded budget,” she said.

She said that, since she assumed office, she had been “committed” to reducing wastage and unwanted expenditures.

“The last three years have been difficult, fraught with a litany of accusations, several failed motions of no confidence and a rebellion from within the members of the mayoral committee,” she said.

In March, News24 reported that Kgotso Mkhize, the stepson of Maloka, was the subject of a Hawks investigation after R5.5 million was allegedly stolen from the municipality’s traffic department in December last year.

This was revealed by Mamabolo in a written reply to the DA in the Gauteng legislature.

According to Mamabolo’s response, the money was stolen on 17 December 2024 via fraudulent payments made through the e-Natis system at the Sedibeng licensing department.

ALSO READ | ISIS-linked kidnapping suspect pleads for bail, cites concerns over newborn baby, daughter

However, the payments were made off-site and not in the licensing centre.

In 2022, according to then-Gauteng Cogta MEC Lebogang Maile’s written reply to questions tabled in the provincial legislature, Maloka refused to use a Mercedes Benz GLB because “it was not bought according to specifications”.

Instead, the car gathered dust at the municipal offices in Vereeniging because Maloka refused to use it.

City Press reported in November that the car developed “mechanical problems” and an investigation by technicians from Mercedes-Benz subsequently discovered that someone had poured brown sugar into the engine rendering the car undriveable.

Maloka told the publication that there were a lot of “stories” around the car and perceived it as an unjustified “attack” and “chauvinistic” attempt to get her out of power.

On her trip to Germany for an HIV/Aids conference, she said at the time: “My role was to attend the conference and represent the HIV/Aids council and the people of the area.

“The report I owe to council is about the details and the expectations from our side. If there are any irregularities, then the municipal manager is in a better position to provide clarity.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional comment.