Mozambique: President of the Republic leads closing and opening of the Military Operational Year
Mozambique: Kidnappings in country model for wave in South Africa – Yusuf Abramjee
8:54 CAT | 25 Oct 2021
FILE PHOTO - eNCA
South Africa is experiencing a wave of kidnappings that appears to copy practice already well established in Mozambique, with at least four incidents in Johannesburg in the past 24 hours, according to SA anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee.
“The trend of kidnappings in South Africa has increased dramatically in recent years, but it certainly originates partly in Mozambique, where businessmen have been kidnapped for some years, and now we see a large-scale spill-over into South Africa,” he said.
“Police have made some arrests, but it is not enough,” he went on in comments made on Thursday. “We have the Limpopo case where, in my opinion, the four children were an easy target; we have the kidnapping of a businessman in Johannesburg yesterday, who is still missing; we have another one in Douglasdale [a residential suburb of Johannesburg]; and a moment ago we had a Chinese citizen kidnapped in Johannesburg, also by heavily armed men.”
In his comments to Lusa, Abramjee stressed that businesspeople of Indian origin “are being targeted, in a similar way to what happens in Mozambique”, suggesting that this is not a coincidence. “We are also noticing that there are foreign citizens in South Africa being targeted by these gangs.”
There are, he said, two types of group at the root of this type of crime in South Africa: “One is highly organised, highly qualified, possibly with international links, and the other is small groups, the so-called ‘copycats’ who are trying their luck at making easy money – anything from R10,000 [€560] to R200,000.”
Despite the arrests made by South African police, “gangs are still operational, and the police must thoroughly address this trend as a matter of urgency”, Abramjee stressed.
Official data from the South African Police Service (SAPS) show a 133% increase in cases reported to the police since 2010/11 – up from 2,839 cases to 6,623 in 2019/20, according to the Pretoria Institute for Security Studies.
A Bangladeshi national kidnapped on the West Rand last week was released yesterday. The kidnappers demanded a ransom. #Kidnappings https://t.co/6ETb7r8Z9A
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) October 21, 2021
Reports of a kidnapping of a Chinese national: Camaro Road Bassonia JHB: Gang armed with AK47s. BOLO: Dark grey VW Amarok. #Kidnappings pic.twitter.com/D36dhcY8QJ
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) October 21, 2021
The search continues for the 4 Moti brothers who were abducted on their way to school in Polokwane on Wednesday. It’s reported that the car they were in was stopped by seven heavily armed men in white overalls. @HeidiGiokos is tracking the story for us. #DStv403pic.twitter.com/5KM4mWcyiO
— eNCA (@eNCA) October 22, 2021
Source: Lusa
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