Thursday January 5, 2023
By David Sadler
(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)South Africa – already known for its high murder rate – is witnessing a flourishing of a new type of crime,
kidnapping for ransom. In this context, the body of a businessman executed by his kidnappers was finally found, a month after the liberation of an eight-year-old girl.
During the holiday season, the police were keen to warn parents of the need to “exercise vigilance” near beaches and shopping centers. “The disappearance of children is a reality,” police spokesman Robert Nchiyonda told AFP.
There was a significant increase in kidnappings, with the number of cases reaching 4,000 between July and September. The government noted that this phenomenon doubled in one year, an “unprecedented” rise, according to anti-crime activist Youssef Ambraji.
Nightmare
These crimes, which are committed to obtain money, are accompanied by an increasing degree of violence, and they sometimes occur on the sidelines of car theft or robbery, and thus have become a nightmare for the population.
Meanwhile, more than 7,000 murders were reported, an average of one every 19 minutes, in addition to 10,000 rapes, making South Africa one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
One of the most prominent victims of these crimes was Kevin Saul, a wealthy white man in his 60s who had investments in the horse racing and transport sectors. His daughter reported his disappearance in mid-December, and his luxury car was found abandoned in a town near Pretoria.
The police soon found the businessman’s body a few days later. A police source stated that “large sums were taken from his account” during his captivity.
A reward of more than $2,870 has been allocated to anyone who provides information on the Seoul kidnapping. The families of the abductees sometimes seek the help of private investigators, and do not make any statements to the media.
A month before the Kevin Saul kidnapping case, eight-year-old Abirah Dokhta was kidnapped while on her way to school, near Cape Town. And in her photo on the poster calling for help in her search, she appeared in a light pink dress and a matching scarf on her head.
The kidnapping of Abirah took place in a few minutes, in broad daylight, and the Public Prosecution office reported that the perpetrators of the crime were five armed men who got out of two cars.
Horror
A police source explained that Muslim families of Indian origin, who deposit money abroad, such as the little girl’s family, are a primary target for kidnappings.
These crimes also target foreigners, primarily Indian, Pakistani and African businessmen, as Ambraji noted, referring, for example, to the recent kidnapping of a Somali man in a hotel in Johannesburg.
Minister Becky Seeley confirmed that the police are “resolutely seeking” to put an end to “these crimes that spread terror”.
Profitable industry
Kidnappings for ransom are common in several countries, such as Mexico and Colombia, or in other African countries. In Nigeria, hostage-taking has become a lucrative industry with weak authorities.
Foreign companies spend large sums to protect their employees, and some local families are forced to sell their homes, property or land to pay the ransom.
As for South Africa, the phenomenon is “relatively new, and did not exist four or five years ago,” according to the security official in the Cape Town municipality, Jean-Pierre Smith, who explained to “Agence France Presse” that “the value of the ransoms required sometimes reaches millions of rands and even Dollars.
However, the police, who were accustomed to kidnapping children in cases of contentious separation of their parents, were late in realizing the existence of a new type of such operations, which are those linked to financial motives.
In 2021, a special unit was established, and the police recently announced that it is pursuing “organized gangs” that may have external extensions, given the magnification of this phenomenon.
In mid-November, the police managed to free Abirah Dokhta 11 days after she was kidnapped, as they carried out an amazing raid thanks to information they received. The girl was being held, guarded by seven men, in a hut in the poor black suburb of Kailicha.