Sandra Munsamy kidnapping case adjourned to April

The trial of four men linked to the kidnapping of Xmoor Transport CFO Sandra Munsamy has been postponed to April.

The defence and the state finalised the cross-examination of former Hawks investigating officer W/O Abraham Sonnekus in the Durban high court on Wednesday.

The kidnapping accused are Lucas John Ndlovu, Dumisani Radebe, Jose Tembe and Arthur Mondlane, who also face charges of extortion, robbery with aggravated circumstances and entering the country without a valid permit.

Previously, Sonnekus told the court about taking warning statements from the four shortly after their arrests in November 2019.

Munsamy was kidnapped on May 30 2019, near Stapleton Road on the M13. Neither she nor any of her family members were present in court.

She was held hostage for 162 days in a house in eMalahleni (formerly Witbank), Mpumalanga, while her captors waited for her family to pay their $10m (R180.7m) ransom demand.

On Wednesday Sonnekus told prosecutor Cheryl Govender how three cellphones were retrieved from Tembe and one from Mondlane at the time of their arrest.

The four were remanded and the matter was set down for April 14 to May 16 for further evidence. 

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