‘Kokkedoor’ participant was not hijacked or abducted: Mariana’s lies exposed

Mariana Kotze was not hijacked or abducted – she was caught up in a cyber scam that cost her hundreds of thousands of rand. The country was abuzz this week following the disappearance of theKokkedoorcontestant and allegations that she had been abducted. In a voice message sent to her husband, Boland, threats were made that she would be killed should attempts to withdraw funds be stopped.

Boland immediately opened an abduction case with the police. The assistance of Willem Enslin and Jacques Kotzé (not related to the couple) was also enlisted. On Wednesday, while Enslin and Kotzé were with Boland, the couple’s children phoned to say that their mother had contacted them in a highly distressed state and told them she was at a guesthouse in Kempton Park.

The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department task force was then called in to collect her from the guesthouse and take her to safety. Enslin and Kotzé, with the help of Juandré Rautenbach from Divergent Ops, travelled to Kempton Park andbrought Mariana back to Marloth Park. At that stage, everyone was still under the impression that Mariana’s life was in danger and that the abductors continued to pose a threat.

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On Thursday morning,Mariana granted an interview toLowvelderin which she described how she had been trapped in a cyber scam, had paid them hundreds of thousands of rand, and had been threatened that her husband would be killed and her children harmed if she did not pay more money. She said that on Sunday evening, February 1, at 21:00, she received a one-time video on WhatsApp (which can only be viewed once and then disappears) in which she was instructed to pack her bags and drive to Komatipoort on Monday morning. On her way back to Marloth Park, she allegedly claimed she was forced off the road by another vehicle, where two men jumped into her car, held a firearm to her head and forced her to drive to Malalane.

Upon arriving in Malalane, the voice note was made and sent to her husband. Thereafter, she allegedly followed their instructions and travelled to Gauteng. However, all of this was a lie.

After the interview was published,Lowvelderreceived multiple CCTV recordings that clearly show Mariana arriving alone in Malalane, driving around, stopping at one point to speak to a man, and then immediately departing in the direction of Mbombela. Further investigation by Enslin, Kotzé, Rautenbach andLowveldercontributed to exposing the mystery and unanswered questions surrounding her version of events.

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