Two boys who were on Monday kidnapped and taken to a mountain school yesterday relived how they were abducted.
Buti Makhoba, 16, and Skhumbuzo Sibiya, 13, were reported missing on Tuesday morning at the Orange Farm police station by their parents after they disappeared from home the previous evening.
The two were rescued by police in thick bush near Weillersfarm, south of Johannesburg, a few kilometres away from their homes in Orange Farm, late on Tuesday.
Skhumbuzo told Sowetan that he was walking home with his friend Buti after playing with other friends when they were called by a group of men who were standing a few metres from a truck.
Initiates sold for R150 - teenagers paid a fee to kidnap friends
"We went to them and they grabbed us and threw us inside the back of a truck. Inside the truck, the men assaulted us with open hands and covered us with a blanket. They ordered us to remain silent while they beat us.
"Along the way, I heard the truck stop and two more boys were thrown inside. They were also assaulted by the men, who then told us they were taking us to the mountain," Skhumbuzo said.
He said they told their alleged kidnappers that they were already circumcised, but their response was that they did not care.
"[The truck] stopped at a thick bush near Weillersfarm and [they] ordered us to jump out," Skhumbuzo continued.
He said they did not know their abductors, but he said they would be able to identify them should they meet them in future. The boys spent the night without food. When their abductors walked away on Tuesday afternoon, heading to De Deur in the Vaal, they managed to escape on foot. "One boy told us that we must escape, and we all did that. While running, we heard a gunshot and thought it was [from] those men who abducted us. Another shot went off but we kept on running. A third shot was fired, then we heard someone calling us - it was a policeman.
"We went to him and he took us to a van and drove us to the police station where we were joined by our parents," Skhumbuzo said. The two boys were happy to be back home with their parents.
By Tuesday evening, Sowetan was not aware that the boys had been found as their parents were still looking for them.
Buti, who confirmed everything his friend said, added that he hated being on the mountain. "I don't want to go there again. My future is very important and I want to focus on my studies and become a better man. My family have advised me about the dangers of going there."
Police spokesman Captain Keke Motsiri confirmed his colleagues rescued the two teenagers and three other boys.
He said they have not arrested anybody yet and were still investigating how the teenagers disappeared from home.
ntwagaes@sowetan.co.za
Missing boys back home
Two boys who were on Monday kidnapped and taken to a mountain school yesterday relived how they were abducted.
Buti Makhoba, 16, and Skhumbuzo Sibiya, 13, were reported missing on Tuesday morning at the Orange Farm police station by their parents after they disappeared from home the previous evening.
The two were rescued by police in thick bush near Weillersfarm, south of Johannesburg, a few kilometres away from their homes in Orange Farm, late on Tuesday.
Skhumbuzo told Sowetan that he was walking home with his friend Buti after playing with other friends when they were called by a group of men who were standing a few metres from a truck.
Initiates sold for R150 - teenagers paid a fee to kidnap friends
"We went to them and they grabbed us and threw us inside the back of a truck. Inside the truck, the men assaulted us with open hands and covered us with a blanket. They ordered us to remain silent while they beat us.
"Along the way, I heard the truck stop and two more boys were thrown inside. They were also assaulted by the men, who then told us they were taking us to the mountain," Skhumbuzo said.
He said they told their alleged kidnappers that they were already circumcised, but their response was that they did not care.
"[The truck] stopped at a thick bush near Weillersfarm and [they] ordered us to jump out," Skhumbuzo continued.
He said they did not know their abductors, but he said they would be able to identify them should they meet them in future. The boys spent the night without food. When their abductors walked away on Tuesday afternoon, heading to De Deur in the Vaal, they managed to escape on foot. "One boy told us that we must escape, and we all did that. While running, we heard a gunshot and thought it was [from] those men who abducted us. Another shot went off but we kept on running. A third shot was fired, then we heard someone calling us - it was a policeman.
"We went to him and he took us to a van and drove us to the police station where we were joined by our parents," Skhumbuzo said. The two boys were happy to be back home with their parents.
By Tuesday evening, Sowetan was not aware that the boys had been found as their parents were still looking for them.
Buti, who confirmed everything his friend said, added that he hated being on the mountain. "I don't want to go there again. My future is very important and I want to focus on my studies and become a better man. My family have advised me about the dangers of going there."
Police spokesman Captain Keke Motsiri confirmed his colleagues rescued the two teenagers and three other boys.
He said they have not arrested anybody yet and were still investigating how the teenagers disappeared from home.
ntwagaes@sowetan.co.za
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