The investigation into the high-profile kidnapping of the four Moti brothers has stalled.
That’s because their father has interdicted the police from speaking to the children. And the family has relocated to Dubai.
The SAPS has confirmed these details to eNCA.
The siblings were snatched at gunpoint on the 20th of October – and released unharmed three weeks later.
It was a case that gripped the country.
Prayer groups gathered.
And pleas were made to the police to find the missing Moti boys.
But the police now have their hands tied – by the children’s family.
“When the boys were recovered, as the police had to take them to an institution where they will be examined whether they were mentally and physically healthy. And all of a sudden we were interdicted by the father that we cannot go anywhere close to the children, we cannot interview them nor any member of the family,” said Robert Netshiunda, police spekesperson.
But sources close to this case say it was obtained on ex-parte basis – meaning, the police were not present when it was issued, and were not given an opportunity to oppose it.
Sources say the family argued that the children were traumatised and being questioned by detectives would make it worse.
The order was an interim one – with a future date set for the police to make submissions.
But that might prove futile.
“Without the statements of the victims themselves without the buy-in and support of the family, we could not do anything. And we came to know that the family has now moved to Dubai,” Netshiunda said.
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