Mother, lover held after baby abduction

Arab News
In this photo taken on May 6, 2016, two girls stand as a South African Police truck drives through Atlantis area on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. (AP)

DURBAN, South Africa: The South African mother of the baby whose alleged kidnapping sparked a massive manhunt in the country has been arrested, the BBC reported. Baby Siwaphiwe Mbambo was found alive around midnight on Saturday.
The mother had earlier told police her child was abducted during a car-jacking outside a shopping center in Durban on Friday.
But a police official accused her of making the crime up, after the 1-month-old baby was found with her boyfriend. The 34-year-old woman appeared at the Durban Magistrates court on Monday, but her case was postponed to Wednesday as her lawyer was not present, and also to allow police to compile a full charge sheet, sources said. The court also ordered the police to obtain the DNA of the baby girl to determine who her father is. The boyfriend, and a woman thought to be his other girlfriend, were also arrested.
“This was a false case and cost us money and resources that could have been deployed in other places‚” said Maj. Gen. Bala Naidoo‚ KwaZulu-Natal deputy provincial commissioner for the detective service, according to The Herald newspaper.
The abduction sparked a huge media campaign and a search operation by 100 police officers. The mother had reported that two people stole her car, driving off with the baby.