The news that South Africa is fast becoming one of the world’s kidnap-for-ransom hotspots should be a cause for concern.
According to insurance data and services provider OLEA, the World Population Review list shows that South Africa has moved up to sixth spot when it comes to kidnapping for ransom and other forms of kidnappings which do not include long stints of abduction — referred to as “express kidnappings”.
OLEA CEO Richard Hood said as of the 2022/23 financial year, the total number of kidnappings reported reached 15,343. He said the figure could be even higher as many kidnappings go unreported due to threats made to the kidnapped person’s family, and the criminals knowing where they live.
This year, some of the incidents have resulted in the death of those kidnapped.
In February, Adriaan Theunis van Lingen, 64, was kidnapped as he travelled from his home in Pretoria to Olifantsfontein for a meeting. After he was kidnapped, R500,000 was transferred from his account to an unknown account. Later that day, R200,000 and R250,000 were transferred to a car dealership account. He was killed and his vehicle found burnt on a plot in De Deur. Police arrested two suspects in connection with the kidnapping and murder.
Last month, Shamshudeen “Dawood” Faki, one of the owners of Dawood Frozen Foods, was found dead in Brakpan after he was kidnapped. In March, businessman Neal Ah-Tow was released after a ransom of $1.4m was demanded. No ransom was paid.
This is a worrying trend in a country beset with all kinds of crime.
The police’s Crime Intelligence National Anti-Kidnapping Task Team, which was established in November 2021 after a spike in kidnapping cases where a ransom was demanded, reported last month that at least 250 suspects linked to kidnapping for ransom have been arrested in the last two years.
Police have to be commended for the work they are doing in fighting this crime, sometimes even among their own.
Last month, three Gauteng policemen were convicted alongside a foreign national who helped them steal R1.2m and kidnap three victims under the guise of detaining them. They will be sentenced next month.
However, the task team must double its efforts to stem the tide of these kidnappings for ransom, which in some cases lead to death.
Apart from the runners, investigators must also look at people behind the scenes who feed kidnappers information about the monetary positions of potential victims.
These may include people who work for financial institutions and who may appear to lead “normal” lives, but their actions feed into this kidnapping business.
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