Resident kidnapped during hijacking relives the day he thought he would die

Kempton Park resident Stephen Dolly* has recounted his harrowing ordeal after being kidnapped during a hijacking in Kempton Park.

The 49-year-old said he was travelling with his cousin when the ordeal unfolded.

“We had left a supermarket around 18:00 and were driving to my cousin’s house to pick up a fridge.

“I did not notice anything unusual throughout the drive. As soon as we reached our destination, I stopped the car and two cars stopped right next to us.

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“Two men with guns came to the windows and pulled us out of the car. They instructed us to lie on the ground,” said Dolly.

He added nearby eyewitnesses were afraid to intervene and stood by while the men held the pair at gunpoint.

“The men ordered us to get back into my Mahindra before they drove off with us.”

Dolly said he and his cousin were told to keep their heads down.

“We had no idea where the men were taking us. They took my wallet, both our phones, and my laptop.”

Dolly said the hijackers told them they would not kill them if they cooperated.

“One man said they only want my Mahindra double cab bakkie. He said there was a specific part in the car that they wanted.”

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“The one hijacker took $5 in my wallet and asked me if I had money in my bank account.

“I told him I had money in my account and I even told him to give me my phone so I can open my bank app and prove it to him.”

“My cousin, seated in an awkward position, kept coughing so the hijackers threatened to shoot him.

“I lied by telling the hijackers that he had asthma, which I hoped would prevent his death,” he said.

During the drive, one hijacker asked Dolly if his vehicle had a tracking device.

“I told the men I was behind on my payments for the device and it was not active.”

Shortly after this conversation, Dolly’s phone rang and the armed assailants became panicked. He assured him the call was from a friend and they had nothing to worry about.

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“They asked me what I do for a living and I told them that I am in the construction industry.”

Eventually, the hijackers stopped and pulled Dolly and his cousin from the vehicle.

“We were in Esselen Park in Thembisa. I knew it instantly because I was familiar with the area.”

He added he and his cousin were taken away from the vehicle.

“It was very dark and our heads were still facing down but I could hear people passing by.”

Dolly said the men then started stripping the car, a process which lasted around six hours.

Afterwards, the two were instructed to get back into the vehicle.

“I thought they would kill us because they had gotten whatever they wanted from the car.”

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The hijackers drove Dolly and his cousin on the R25 until they stopped next to a large bush.

“My heart sank. I thought we were going to die. They told us to lie down and used cables to tie us up.”

When Dolly’s cousin asked for his phone, he was kicked in the head before the men drove off with the vehicle.

“It was late at night and we made our way to the road to flag down a passing vehicle, but no one stopped.”

Eventually, the pair saw flashing lights and realised it was a security vehicle.

“We were relieved because help had finally arrived.

“But the car made a U-turn. The officer had seen my car going in the opposite direction and that is when I realised it was the tracking company.”

Dolly said he later found out his wife had called the vehicle tracking company after eyewitnesses to the hijacking alerted her to what happened.

As they were waiting on the side of the road, they noticed a police car and stopped it.

“It was an officer from Benoni SAPS and we explained our story to the officer.

“He said he was on his way home but would take us to the Kempton Park Police Station to open a case.

“I hope someone can learn something from my story. In a situation like this, you must stay calm and do everything the hijackers say.

“My cousin kept arguing, and they told him they would shoot him and leave me because I was cooperating. Just do as they say.”

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Dolly said the experience had been traumatic for him.

“I still feel panic overcome me when I see a vehicle similar to those used by the hijackers.

“I only told my teenage daughter about the incident about five days after it had happened. I did not want what happened to me to affect her state of mind,“ he said.

Dolly’s vehicle was recovered after the hijackers abandoned it next to the road and towed it to the Thembisa Police Station.