A WYEBANK mother shares about her horrific experience when she was kidnapped with her daughter, who is paralysed, and granddaughter on Friday. Zanele Mpungose said she was busy with her laundry when a group of four armed men stormed her property.
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“They forced me to go inside the house where my daughter and granddaughter were. They held us up with guns and demanded cellphones and bank cards with Pins. It did not end there as they took us in the car to a location we did not know as our eyes and mouths were covered.
“When we arrived at the house, they left us with one of them as they went out to attempt to withdraw money from my daughter’s bank account. Before that, they tried to transfer R15 000 to their bank account which said it (the transaction) was pending. They pointed a gun at her, demanding she increase her limit or call the bank to fast-track the transaction,” she explained.
Mpungose said they were kidnapped from around 11:00 until 17:00 when the police came to their rescue. “By chance, my daughter still had her phone. That’s how she was able to quickly send a help message with the location Pin to her friend while the kidnapper attended to me as I needed the toilet,” she said.
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Mpungose said her daughter is paralysed and in a wheelchair from an accident and had just received a payout from the Road Accident Fund (RAF). “I believe that’s what lured these criminals; we are also in the process of renovating, and building materials have been delivered,” she said.
Pinetown Police communications officer Jennifer Naidu confirmed the incident, saying their warrant officer received information about a person being held captive. He activated his members and external role-players, mobilising them to the given location.
“Upon arriving at the scene, officers identified an outside shack room and approached it. A male (suspect) inside the room closed the door, but members penetrated the room to find two females and a five-year-old child,” Naidu explained.
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The suspect was found with a firearm and eight live rounds. “The main house was also breached, and inside, a further suspect and two more firearms were recovered. The other suspect was laid off as there was not enough evidence for him to be arrested,” she added.
One suspect was arrested, and he appeared at the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on August 26.
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