A dispute over a child’s return after a school holiday visit has escalated into an alleged kidnapping case, now under investigation by police and Interpol.
The mother, Noluthando Mkhaliphi, shared a video online that has since gone viral, in which she claims her five-year-old daughter was not returned following a holiday visit with the child’s father. The video prompted intervention from the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Mkhaliphi said the father collected their daughter on December 17, 2025, expressing a desire to spend time together during the holidays. However, when she asked for the child’s return ahead of the new school term, the father allegedly told her they were in the Democratic Republic of Congo but intended to return.
“My name is Noluthando Mkhaliphi. I just want to talk about how Ivory Park Police Station is failing me with regard to opening a case,” she said in the video.
According to Mkhaliphi, the Ivory Park Police Station was initially slow to register a case of parental abduction, only doing so last Friday.
Responding to the viral video, SAPS Gauteng Provincial Management confirmed awareness of the mother’s allegations and the subsequent investigation.
“It is reported that on January 5, 2026, the complainant reported the matter at Ivory Park Police Station, and the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit subsequently registered an inquiry,” said Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi in a statement.
The FCS unit commander personally interviewed the complainant on the same day, establishing that the parents had an agreement in place for the past three years. Under the arrangement, the father would take the child during school holidays and return her on an agreed date.
“FCS then communicated with the father telephonically, and he indicated that he would bring the child before schools opened on January 14, 2026, hence the registration of an inquiry,” Nevhuhulwi added.
However, on 8 January 2026, the mother returned to the police with information suggesting the father had travelled with the child to Congo. The inquiry was subsequently upgraded to a kidnapping case.
“FCS is in liaison with Interpol for further investigations and to trace both the father and daughter. The complainant is also kept abreast of any developments on the case,” Nevhuhulwi said.
Saturday Star