Baby Koketso: Two-week-old infant snatched at Lakeside Mall

Johannesburg police have ramped up the search for two-week-old Baby Kokesto, an infant that was kidnapped at Lakeside Mall, in Benoni, at around 17:00 on Saturday 22 February.

Have you seen Baby Koketso? Here’s some info that may help

The Benoni police department’s missing person unit has been working tirelessly, following leads and tracking down the suspect who ran off with Baby Koketso.

Police revealed that the infant was last seen “wrapped in a white blanket and a baby grow.” At this time, these are the key identifiers they’ve released on Baby Koketso:

Missing Date	2020/02/22
Gender	Female
Eye colour	Brown
Hair colour	Black
Height	New born / unknown
Weight	N/A kg
Build	Small

Mom reportedly got lured into a trap by new acquaintance

According to a Daily Sun report, the mother of Baby Koketso, Pretty Mphenemene, revealed that she was lured into a trap that was set by an acquaintance she had recently befriended.

The suspect, whose identity is not known at this stage, took up conversation with Mphenemene at a local clinic two weeks ago.

“She was such a nice person. She portrayed herself as someone who had things in common with me,” Koketso’s mom recalled.

The 43-year-old mom further explained that the suspect had paid her a visit last week, claiming that she had found a job opportunity for her.

Mphenemene’s eldest daughter, 22-year-old Lehlogonolo, told the cited publication that the suspect raised their hopes about an internship opportunity that had opened up at her workplace.

“We were just happy to be around her as she had great energy. Little did we know we were dealing with a crook,” she said.

The suspect arranged to meet Mphenemene at a pizza restaurant at Lakeside Mall, at around 16:30 on Saturday so that the Koketso’s mom could meet her ‘boss’.

Feeling at ease and comfortable with who she was with, the 43-year-old left Baby Koketso in the care of the suspect while she ran to purchase snacks at a store.

“I gave her my baby and told her I wanted to go buy snacks at the supermarket. When I came back she was gone,” she said.

It’s been three days since Bay Koketso was kidnapped and at this time, police have not made any progress in finding her or the suspect.

Authorities have pleaded with the public to contact Sergeant Mfolo from the Benoni police department on 011-7470220 or 082 822 7985 / 082 822 6621 if:

• you have any information that could assist police in locating Baby Koketso (first priority) or the suspect; and
• if you have a relative that suddenly showed up with a female infant that is two-to-three weeks old.