Mpumalanga police have located missing reality television personality Mariana Kotze in Kempton Park, but the circumstances surrounding her reported kidnapping remain under investigation.
Police confirmed on Wednesday 4 February that the 67-year-old season three Kokkedoor contestant had been found unharmed. However, the case has not been closed due to inconsistencies in the reported events.
“We have located her in Kempton Park; police are still investigating the case due to the circumstances surrounding the case,” police spokesperson Lt Col. Jabu Ndubane said.
“Kotze was allegedly hijacked and kidnapped, however footage showed her walking alone with her bags. So we need to find out the nitty gritty of the case.”
Kotze left her Marloth Park home on Monday 2 February to do grocery shopping in her silver Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. Her husband, Boland Kotze, allegedly received a threatening WhatsApp voice message from an unknown number, with the caller reportedly instructing him not to block or close their bank accounts.
By Tuesday, police had elevated the matter to a high-priority investigation.
Concerns rose on Wednesday when Kotze’s vehicle was found abandoned at the Sonpark Boulevard shopping centre in Mbombela (Nelspruit). Surveillance footage however showed her exiting the vehicle alone, carrying two large hand-held luggage bags.
According to news reports a security company used CCTV footage to track Kotze down. The footage showed that she purchased a shuttle ticket from Mbombela to the OR Tambo International Airport, departing at 14:00 and scheduled to arrive at 18:00. Additional footage captured her at a fuel station in Middelburg during a pitstop and then exiting the shuttle at her destination.
Kotze gained national recognition in 2019 as a contestant on season three of KykNET’s Kokkedoor, where she showcased her interpretation of traditional Afrikaans boerekos. Her fellow contestants described her as “warm and community-oriented”.
Under South African law, filing a false report of kidnapping constitutes perjury and is a criminal offence. In 2024, a 26-year-old woman from Melmoth was charged with perjury after falsely claiming her three-month-old baby had been kidnapped.
Police have confirmed the investigation into Kotze’s case is ongoing.
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