MBOMBELA – In the early hours he was highjacked, kidnapped and assaulted by three men.
Later he was pushed out of the car at an unknown location near Matsulu. He had to walk for hours and 39 kilometres before finally getting help.
According to Nelspruit police spokesman, Capt Zandile Gqawa, a case of carjacking and kidnapping has been opened. No arrests have been made.
Read his ordeal below:
Shari du Preez, his wife, said she received a call from her husband at around 03:50, saying that he was on his way home.
The family stays on the Brondal Road and, according to Shari, it should not have taken more than 30 minutes for her husband to arrive safely.
” When I woke up at 05:00 to tend to our three-month-old baby, I realised he was not home yet.”
When she had heard nothing from her husband by 06:00, she started phoning friends, family members and colleagues.
“I kept on hoping that he parked his car somewhere to rest because he felt too tired to drive.”
The reality was far worse. According to Juan-Paul’s police statement, a man opened his car door when he stopped at the red traffic light. The man pushed him to the passenger seat while two men got into the back seat.
“The man directly behind me grabbed me around my neck. I struggled, so he hit me on the left side of my head,”
Juan-Paul’s police statement read.
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According to Shari, he did not want to relive the incident and did not want to speak to the media. “The man in the driver seat then grabbed me and tried to stab me in my body with broken glass. I picked up my right arm in defence, which he stabbed. At this time I feared for my life.”
He decided not to struggle anymore. They took his cellphone and contents of his wallet and somewhere near Matsulu they pushed him out of the car.
A poster with his face was circulated on social media with the contact details of friend and colleague, Chantelle Meyer.
“He managed to walk to the KMI Airport road (R538) where he got the attention of a security guard who works for one of our clients,”
Meyer said. He used the guard’s phone to phone his boss. They found him there at around 14:00.
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Juan-Paul received stitches for the two-centimetre cut on his arm. He was also covered in bruises and cuts and was severely dehydrated. The three men not only stole the family’s car, but everything in it.
“The car was packed with our children’s things for a family outing the next day as well as a bag of donations that we wanted to donate to Huis Betlehem,”
Shari said.
Shari said she was elated that her husband was home safe. “We just want to thank all our friends, family and colleagues as well as the community who did not give up until he was found.”
