Kidnappings spike alarm Soweto residents

A sudden surge in the number of kidnappings recorded at Jabulani police station in Soweto has raised fears in the community, with residents saying they feel vulnerable and in danger.

According to the recent crime stats, the number of kidnappings reported in the area has more than tripled between January and March this year compared to the same time last year. 

“The spike in kidnappings is scary and I am genuinely concerned about my safety,” said Nonhlanhla Mona, a 43-year-old hawker who works near Jabulani Mall.

According to Mona, they are constantly on high alert. “We live with risk and fear every day.

“In our community WhatsApp groups, you would see an alert and it's either about a hijacking or a kidnapping. It’s frightening,” she said. 

Between January and March this year, Jabulani police station saw 47 kidnapping cases, which is up from just 15 cases during the same period last year.

e-hailing vehicles have in some instances been found to have been involved in kidnapping cases which in some instances turned to murder.

Two weeks ago, a Soweto teacher took an e-hailing taxi on a Thursday afternoon at about 2pm. His body was found in the veld the following day.

A petrified Mona said: “We rely heavily on e-hailing services for transport, but those are now the same platforms where many of these [kidnapping] incidents are happening.

“You hear of a driver being hijacked and thrown in the boot, and the next thing, an unsuspecting customer like myself requests a ride, only to become a victim.“.

According to a police source, vehicle hijackings  have contributed to the rise in kidnappings.

“Every hijacking has kidnapping. That is why we are seeing an increase, criminals don't hijack you and leave you in the streets, they take you with them so that they can get money.

“There have been a lot of hijackings in the area, and in some cases, the victims are kidnapped during the hijacking. There are a few ransom-related kidnappings around the hostels, but most of the cases we are seeing are directly linked to hijackings,” the source said.

Jabulani councillor Dumisani Modladlaba said the rise in kidnappings was concerning because women were more affected. 

“We don't trust e-hailing services anymore. We are no longer safe in them. I am told that even the e-hailing drivers are also victims, they also get robbed. We are all vulnerable and in danger. 

“We are trying to raise awareness for people to check the number plates of the vehicles they have requested. Don't just go into a vehicle if you have not checked if it is the one you requested and also take photos ... but also that does not assist because once you are in a car, it is a matter of trust — you don't know if you will be a victim.”

Police's fourth quarter crime statistics show that between January and March, there has been a 6.8% increase in kidnappings compared to the period the previous year. 

Gauteng increased by 15.8%. 

Half of Johannesburg's police stations were in the top 30 nationwide. 

According to Institute for Security Studies' crime and justice information hub manager Lizette Lancaster, the 6.8% increase in kidnappings countrywide meant that 51 kidnappings per day were reported to the police. 

“Gauteng kidnapping statistics show that about 80% are driven by so-called express kidnappings perpetrated during robberies such as carjackings, truckjackings, business or residential robberies.

“This involves holding the victim captive until funds can be extracted from banking cards or applications and even demanding ransoms from relatives. Some are also linked to extortion attempts against business owners,” she said. 

Unisa's crime expert Thabang Bogopa, who studied kidnappings and also investigated kidnapping cases, said the rise might indicate that residents of Jabulani are more confident in reporting kidnappings to the police. 

“It also implies that the police are now registering these cases on the Crime Administration System. Previously, it was prevalent that certain sensitive cases were not recorded accurately by police,” he said. 

“Currently, kidnapping has been portrayed to be an easily conductable crime but also a hardly detectable crime. The victims normally do not report kidnappings because the first priority is to get their loved ones alive. 

“Looking at the socioeconomic issues or activities around Jabulani, you will find out that there is a lot of people who never completed school, who are unfortunately categorised as unemployable in the formal sector.

“Those are the people who grew up seeing and admiring crime. They now rely on crime [for survival],” he said. 

He also said that if kidnapping gets cracked by law enforcement, the criminals “will simply move to another type of crime that has a high reward”.

“Criminals are always looking for any high reward crime. Low crime reporting does not imply that crime is not occurring,” he said. 

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