Abductions have become a regular feature of daily news headlines, and crime experts are now warning that SA is on the verge of becoming as lawless as a mafia state.
On the morning of 17 May, Bongani Khumalo*, a tavern owner in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni, was busy with his regular tasks: serving customers and managing his accounts. Around noon, he stepped out to buy more meat and alcohol from a nearby supermarket.
Along the way, Khumalo stopped at a set of traffic lights and was suddenly boxed in by two vehicles. Two men approached his car and one of them pointed a firearm in his face.
He was told to remain calm as they moved him to the passenger seat and drove away with him in his car. “They blindfolded me and kept on driving. Throughout the drive, they kept on asking about where I kept my money with a gun pointed at my neck. They wanted R200,000. I told them that I do not have it, but they got more aggressive.
“We eventually arrived at a house, where they put me on the floor and tortured me for a day. They beat me until I was bleeding. As I was bleeding, they showed me a picture of my child.”
Throughout the more than 24-hour-long ordeal, Khumalo was tied up and denied any food. “It was bad. I was not even allowed to go outside and pee. I had to relieve myself while they watched me…
“Eventually, they stopped beating me and instructed me to call my wife. They spoke to her and demanded R200,000 within 24 hours. They said if she goes to the police, they would kill me,” he said.
Khumalo was forced to speak to his wife and plead with her not to approach the police in order to safeguard their child. A day later, his wife paid a ransom of R50,000, which led to his release.
“It is through the grace of God that I am still alive, but I still think about the incident each time I go to bed,” he said.
The kidnapping resulted in Khumalo permanently closing down his business and relocating to a different province. His case is still under investigation by officers at the Benoni Police Station.
Abdul*, the owner of a small business in Bellville, Cape Town, was snatched from his shop in March 2022 by a group of armed robbers who were furious that there was not enough money in the cash register.
They took him and fled in a getaway car. Abdul was handed over to another group, which he later learnt were kidnappers.
“When the kidnappers called my family to demand the ransom, they set the dogs on me. My family overheard me scream as the dogs bit me. I was bitten on the torso, legs and feet. I thought I was going to die.
“My family didn’t have enough money, so the Bangladeshi community raised it and paid the ransom.”
Abdul was released four days later after the kidnappers received R120,000. He was dropped somewhere in Khayelitsha, where residents helped him to contact his family.
He is still haunted by his ordeal. “I can’t shake the memory of the dogs barking, attacking and biting me. I’ve experienced numerous nightmares and sleepless nights. I’m too scared to seek professional help because my kidnappers are still roaming the streets,” he said.
These days, Abdul works from home, where he knows he is at least safe.
