Police in the Free State are urgently searching for 19-year-old Kamogelo Baukudi, who was kidnapped in broad daylight on Thursday, 5 June 2025, by two men pretending to be police officers.
Kamogelo Baukudi’s disappearance sparks urgent manhunt
The teenager was taken while being driven home from school in Bloemfontein, and authorities say the suspects used a white Toyota Hilux vehicle fitted with blue police lights and a radio to carry out the abduction.
Kamogelo, a Grade 11 learner at Marti Du Plessis School in Fichardtpark, had just been picked up by Daniel Malebatso, a known associate, when they were stopped on Vereeniging Drive in Erlichpark Extension.
The two men in the Toyota Hilux – one dressed in a police uniform and the other in a blue tracksuit – accused them of using their car to deliver drugs. The suspects then separated the pair, placing Kamogelo in their vehicle and instructing Daniel to lead them to the Park Road Police Station.
As they drove west along Vereeniging Drive, a truck moved between the two vehicles. After that, Daniel lost sight of the white Toyota Hilux. Kamogelo has not been seen since.
Ongoing investigation and police appeal
The Park Road Police Station has opened a kidnapping case, as well as a charge of impersonating a police officer.
Both Kamogelo’s and Daniel’s cellphones were later found abandoned under a bridge on Ferrera Road – a possible clue to where the suspects may have passed.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thabo Covane confirmed that a dedicated team is actively searching for the suspects. Covane also noted that one of the suspects reportedly spoke fluent Sesotho and may have mentioned the name “Thipe” during the incident.
Free State SAPS Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane has deployed additional police units under Major General Peter Adams to assist in the search.
“The team’s clear and uncompromising mandate is: to bring Kamogelo home safe and alive and apprehend whoever is involved in this barbaric act,” she stated.
Motswenyane also urged the public to support the family and allow investigators the space to work towards a breakthrough.
Authorities are appealing to anyone who witnessed the kidnapping or who may have seen the white Toyota Hilux to come forward.
