US$5,000 Reward Offered For Safe Return Of Baby Stolen In Bulawayo

A UK-based Good Samaritan has offered US$5,000 for the safe return of a four-month-old baby abducted from her home in New Parklands, Bulawayo, last December.

The infant was reportedly snatched on 29 December 2025 after her mother was lured out by a stranger she met through a WhatsApp group offering free children’s clothes.

Moved by the family’s distress and the long wait without any leads, the anonymous benefactor has pledged the cash reward to anyone who can help return the baby safely.

The child’s father, Sikhumbuzo Ncube, told the Chronicle that the family has been in touch with the donor and is hopeful for a breakthrough. Said Ncube:

“We have been in touch. They offered to assist us financially in locating our child. So far, we have been hitting dead ends and coming across several scammers claiming to have information about the whereabouts of our baby.”

It’s alleged that the child’s mother, Tracy Ngwenya, had joined a WhatsApp group called “Idale Labomama” about four months before the incident.

The channel, which reportedly shares information on children’s clothing and related support, seemed to be a lifeline for many parents.

On 27 December, Ngwenya responded to a post inviting people in need of children’s clothes to contact a listed phone number.

She then exchanged messages on WhatsApp with a woman who only identified herself as MaNdlovu from Cowdray Park, who offered to personally deliver the clothes to her home in New Parklands.

On the morning of 29 December, around 6 AM, the suspect messaged Ngwenya to confirm the delivery would happen that day.

Hours later, at about 1 PM, Ngwenya was instructed to wait at the corner of Harare Road and Cecil Avenue, just a short distance from her house, to collect the items.

Trusting the arrangement, she left one of her four-month-old twins asleep in a bedroom while her four-year-old daughter played outside, taking the other twin with her to the meeting point.

After waiting roughly 15 minutes, she received another message saying someone called “Lo” had been sent to deliver the clothes. No one showed up.

Growing anxious, Ngwenya returned home — only to find the baby she had left sleeping in the bedroom had vanished.