A 45-year-old woman, her 18-month-old girl and her nanny (31) are safely home after allegedly being kidnapped from the woman’s house and robbed of their personal belongings in Schoemansdal, Nkomazi.
According to a statement by the police, on July 19 at 19:30, three armed male suspects wearing balaclavas and face masks stormed into a house in Buffelspruit in the Schoemansdal area, held the victims at gunpoint and demanded cash, cellphones, bank cards and car keys.
The victims told the police they were forced into a gold Toyota Run-X, which belongs to the homeowner, and were driven away into the bush in Hectorspruit near Komatipoort.
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“Upon intruding, the suspects allegedly instructed the homeowner to log onto a bank app on her mobile phone. Subsequently, a transaction of an undisclosed amount of cash was made. One of the suspects is said to have gone to Malalane to cash out the money while the three victims remained in the bush with the other two suspects,” the statement read.
“On the following day, at around 03:00, the victims were instructed to walk away and never look back. They were given a lift by a good Samaritan and reached home. They proceeded to report the incident to the police in Schoemansdal, whereby a case of kidnapping with an additional charge of robbery was opened.”
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The SAPS said no one had been arrested thus far and urged anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspects, to call the Crime Stop number on 08600 10111 or send information via the My SAPS app. All received information will be treated as confidential and callers may opt to remain anonymous.
The provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela, strongly condemned the incident and raised her concern regarding such cases that were recently reported in Mpumalanga.
“We cannot allow a situation engineered by criminals to force citizens to live in fear in their own houses. We believe there is someone who knows or saw something somewhere. The public must come on board so we can put an end to this trend before another victim is kidnapped. It is fortunate that all victims somehow returned home safely. Who knows what might happen to the next victim? It is paramount that members of the public who know the whereabouts of these criminals immediately report them to the authorities.”
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