Police can question the four Moti brothers only if their parents give permission. The brothers were released by kidnappers this week.
Police spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo said that because the brothers are minors, the parents could decide whether they would allow police to question the boys.
Naidoo would not say if the boys had given a statement to police.
“The statement is part of our investigations and we’ll not say anything about it, whether it has been obtained or not. But also, remember that the children are minors and it’s up to the parents whether they want them to talk to police or not,” Naidoo said.
The police have been involved in the case since the boys were kidnapped three weeks ago. Time and resources were dedicated to trying to find them.
Asked if permission had been granted for the police to question the brothers, family spokesperson Keshia Patchiappen said: “Unfortunately we cannot comment on this at this stage.”
On Wednesday night, Zidan, 7, Zayyad, 11, Alaan, 13 and Zia, 15, were released 200km from their Polokwane home three weeks after a dramatic and highly sophisticated abduction involving seven gunmen. There were kidnapped while on their way to school.
News of their release came two days after two other kidnapped children were reunited with their mother in eMalahleni.
Khetsiwe Khoza had begged for the safe return of her children, Siphosethu Dlamini, 11, and Bonginkosi Khoza, 5, who she last saw on Friday morning, Novembers 5, when they left for school.
Capt Elizabeth Mkaudi, a police spokesperson, said the children had been suddenly returned home in the midst of a police search. A 54-year-old woman, known to the mother, has been arrested. She faces charges of kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice.
There have been no arrests in the Moti kidnapping and neither the boys' parents nor the police are giving information on the case or whether a ransom was paid.
Hours before the boys were released, blindfolded and still in their school uniforms, the Sunday Times visited the Moti home in the plush suburb of Nirvana in Polokwane.
Outside the house, a contractor was putting the finishing touches to additional security features. Reporters were told that the boys' father, Naazim Moti, was spending the day in prayer for his sons’ safe return.
Hours later, the four brothers were dropped off in Masia Tshikwarani, a rural village in Vuwani, halfway between Louis Trichardt and Giyani, and about 200km from their home.
On Friday, the Moti family said they would spend the next few days resting, and “just appreciate the comfort of each others’ company”.
Naazim and his wife, Shakira Moti, said they had spent most of their time over the past three weeks in prayer for the safe return of their children.
After the boys were dropped off outside the village, they walked about 600m to where they saw a light on at a home. This was where Rendani Vhulade and his partner Stephina Simango were preparing to close their fast-food business for the night.
According to the couple, the brothers said that when they were released they were blindfolded and told to wait for 10 minutes before they could leave.
Vhulade described the boys as respectful. They gave the children a phone to call their father while Simango called the police.
While waiting for the police, Simango said boys sat on the veranda of her house, but everyone was alert. “We were not sure if the kidnappers were following them or not. So I wanted us to see everything so that we could be prepared and be ready to react accordingly,” she said.
Simango said heavily armed police, together with members of a private security company and a relative of the boys, arrived after 30 minutes.
Vhulade said the father of the children had called to thank them.
“We did not speak for long, because he was with the police at that time. He said he would make time to come and thank us personally.”
The Moti family has asked for privacy.
“The boys are traumatised and need extensive time and space to recuperate,” said Patchiappen.
“The relief is overwhelming. The support of the community of Nirvana in every possible way has been overwhelming. People from Polokwane and South Africa at large have been praying and sending messages of support and this has given us strength,” he said.
In the suburb of Nirvana, neighbours expressed their joy when they heard of the boys' safe return..
Habib Carrim, 84, who lives in the same street as the Motis, told the Sunday Times he felt like hugging his TV when the news of the end of their ordeal was shown on Thursday morning.
“I’m really glad Allah answered our prayers,” Carrim said.
For the past three weeks, he had woken early each day to pray at the Moti home. “I didn’t bother them. I would just park my car at their gate, kneel and pray,” he said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.