Sandra Munsamy's alleged kidnappers moved to maximum-security KZN prison

Four men who have been charged with the kidnapping of Durban businesswoman Sandra Munsamy in May 2019 have been moved to a high-security prison in Kokstad.
Four men who have been charged with the kidnapping of Durban businesswoman Sandra Munsamy in May 2019 have been moved to a high-security prison in Kokstad.
Image: THULI DLAMINI

Four men implicated in the multimillion-rand “kidnapping” case of Durban businesswoman Sandra Munsamy are being detained at SA's only super-maximum prison facility.

This was revealed when the accused, two South Africans and two Mozambicans, appeared in the Durban magistrate's court on Monday.

The decision to move the accused was taken by the department of correctional services.

Only members of the media and immediate family of the accused were allowed in the gallery. The state reiterated that details and photographs of the accused were not to be made public, given the sensitive nature of the case.

Former national director of public prosecutions (NDPP) Mxolisi Nxasana, representing the South Africans, said he was unaware of the decision to move his clients from Westville prison to Ebongweni C-max prison in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal.

“It was brought to our attention that my clients were moved from Westville to Kokstad. It is very difficult for us to travel for consultation in this regard. We were not even consulted on this.”

Nxasana applied for correctional services department officials to appear in court to explain the rationale behind the decision.

Meanwhile, prosecutor Kuveshnie Pillay said the state was awaiting the conclusion of investigations into the analysis of cellphone records and DNA of the accused.

“Cellphone evidence is complicated as international borders have been used.”

Pillay told magistrate FB Mohamed that cellphone records and DNA analysis were not the only outstanding investigations in the matter.

The case has been postponed to January 28 for an inquiry into why the men were moved to C-max.

Munsamy, a key figure in the multibillion-rand Xmoor Transport family business empire, was allegedly snatched in a daylight kidnapping by armed men, setting in motion a hostage and ransom drama that lasted six months.

Hawks detectives found the KwaZulu-Natal businesswoman alive and shackled in a house in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, in November, 162 days after she disappeared.

The Hawks said Munsamy's captors had demanded a ransom of R140m.

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