UPDATE: Baby kidnapper out on bail

THE woman accused of kidnapping a three-week-old baby in the Empangeni CBD earlier this month has been released on bail.

Zanele Mthethwa (23) briefly appeared in the Empangeni Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

She allegedly gained a 17-year-old mother’s confidence, persuading the teen to hand over her baby for a brief while as she went to the supermarket to buy food.

When the mother returned, Mthethwa had disappeared with the child.

The Empangeni Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit swooped in on Mthethwa three days after the kidnapping and reunited the child with her mother.