Sandra Moonsamy kidnapping: Four accused abandon bail

The four people accused of kidnapping Durban businesswoman Sandra Moonsamy will not apply to be released on bail, it emerged in court on Monday during their second appearance in the Durban Magistrate’s Court.

Representing two of the accused, former national director of public prosecutions Mxolisi Nxasana said his clients would only consider applying for bail once they saw the police docket.

The court ordered that none of the accused could be named, saying there was a dispute over the location of their ID cards.

The accused say police took their cards, but prosecutor Kuveshnie Pillay disputed this, saying authorities were only in possession of their passports.

Previously, the court cited security reasons and a pending identity parade as reasons for the protection of their identities.

Some of the accused needed a Portuguese translator for the brief proceedings before Magistrate Anand Maharaj.

Family members of two Mozambican nationals accused of the kidnapping were also in the public gallery.

The men, who were previously held at Durban Central police station, will be moved to Westville Prison, Maharaj said.

Outside court, Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said two of the accused claimed to be South Africans.

“That is with Home Affairs now. We are waiting for their verification on that.”

He added that the Hawks hoped to finalise various aspects of the case before it returned to court on January 20, 2020.

“We want to finalise the international part of the investigation. We previously announced that there are matters we are looking at in Mozambique to see if the suspects are linked to anything there.”

Last week, the Hawks confirmed that four people had been arrested in connection with the kidnapping. They allegedly demanded R140m for her release.

Moonsamy was kidnapped in May on the M13 in Stapleton Road, Pinetown, while driving her black Range Rover.

The Hawks confirmed that she had been found alive in Witbank on Thursday evening – six months after her disappearance.

Mulaudzi previously told News24 that Munsamy had been found bound in chains in Emalahleni.

Mulaudzi had said an international syndicate was allegedly behind the kidnapping, but said more information would be revealed once the case was before court.

He added that one of the men arrested could be a senior member of the syndicate, but that this could not be officially confirmed.

The syndicate allegedly behind the kidnapping may be involved in the kidnappings of Pretoria businessman Omar Carrim and Johannesburg businessman Shiraz Ghatoo, which were reportedly linked to the case through evidence, The Saturday Star reported.

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