A Cape Town boy is back with his family after being snatched by four men who apparently wanted to sell his body parts for muti (herbal medicine).

The newspaper reported that four-year-old Lukhanyo Mtshengu was bundled into a red Toyota Corolla around 9am on Tuesday on Idada Avenue in Khayelitsha.

Onlookers took down the car registration and alerted the police. The men were found and brought back to the area, where they were met by an angry mob.

The boy's aunt Lungiswa Mtshengu, 24, said the men were asked why they had taken the child.

"One of the men admitted they were sent to get a child. But when they took the child to the sangoma they were told he was too dark and that he wanted a lighter-skinned child," she was quoted as saying.

"After discovering that Lukhanyo didn't meet their boss's standards, they dumped him about 500 metres away from where he was playing."

A resident discovered the naked boy holding his wet clothes on a street corner. He was eventually returned home.

Captain Frederick van Wyk said the men, aged 56, 42, and 24, were charged with kidnapping and were still in custody.