GAUTENG. – Kempton Park recorded the highest number of kidnapping cases in Gauteng between April and June this year, with 76 cases compared to 48 in the same period last year. This represents an increase of 58.3%. The figures were revealed during an engagement session of the Gauteng provincial legislature's portfolio committee on community safety. The committee called for urgent and coordinated response to the increase in kidnapping cases in the province.
Bandile Masuku, chairperson of the portfolio committee on community safety, says the figures are particularly concerning against the backdrop of the recent discovery of the bodies of several women in the broader Ekurhuleni area. Investigations into the deaths are ongoing.
Gauteng recorded a total of 2 367 kidnapping cases in the same quarter, compared to 4 638 nationally. According to the committee, kidnappings in the province take various forms, including kidnappings linked to carjackings and kidnappings for ransom. The police's organised crime unit also dealt with ransom kidnappings in Bekkersdal and Roodepoort during the first quarter of the current financial year. In Bekkersdal, a ransom of R5 million was allegedly demanded, while R3 million was demanded in the Roodepoort case. The committee called for better intelligence gathering, stronger cooperation between law enforcement agencies and targeted operations in areas where kidnappings occur regularly. Residents are also encouraged to report suspected activities and share information with the police.
Source: South African Government News Agency
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
