Teen apologises after staged Meikles Market kidnapping; toddler recovered

Masked teenager speaking to reporters 

BULAWAYO — A 14‑year‑old Form One pupil has apologised after admitting she staged the abduction of two‑year‑old Asanda Charisma Ndlovu from a busy Bulawayo shopping centre earlier this week. Baby Asanda was taken from Meikles Market on Tuesday and found safe on Thursday at a business premises on the corner of Herbert Chitepo Street and 3rd Avenue.

How the abduction unfolded

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told reporters on Friday that she entered the mall posing as a customer and approached a stall run by Nesisa Mpofu, the child’s mother. In a confession shown to journalists with her face masked, the suspect said she lifted the crying toddler to calm her and then left the market with the child.

“Mumba asked me if I have a child, and I said yes. So he asked me to bring the baby. That’s when I went to Meikles,” she said, referring to her 36‑year‑old boyfriend, identified only as Mumba. The teenager said she had told Mumba she already had a child and staged the kidnapping to convince him.

She said she did not use a disguise beyond pulling a hoodie over her head and that she intended to return the toddler after showing her to Mumba. The teenager said the child was fed rice, hot chips and corn puff snacks during the two days she was missing. “I’m really sorry. I made a mistake. I’m asking for forgiveness,” she told reporters.

Recovery and community response

According to the account given to the police, the teenager took the child to Mumba’s Trenance residence and remained there until Thursday morning. She later returned to the city centre and left the toddler at a block of flats with several businesses, asking a man in an office to look after the child briefly while the father came to collect her. Alarmed, the man locked the teenager inside the office with another woman and rushed to Meikles Market to alert security; police were called soon after.

Baby Asanda was recovered unharmed, and the two‑day search ended without physical harm to the child. The man who detained the teenager later told police he was concerned that a stranger would leave a toddler in his care.

Meikles Market management said they would be implementing measures to strengthen safety protocols and ensure that incidents like this do not happen again.

Legal process and welfare considerations

The teenager is expected to appear before a juvenile court, where the matter will be handled under laws protecting minors. Authorities have not released details of any charges pending the court process. The child’s mother and market vendors have expressed relief at the safe recovery and called for improved child‑safety measures in busy public spaces.

Meikles Market kidnapping Bulawayo 2026