Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile and Minister of Police Bheki Cele at the briefing on provincial crime matters on Thursday, 15 September. Photo: SAPS.
‘Kidnapping crisis’: 32 cases since March – Cape Town calls for dedicated task team
Hill-Lewis described the rise in the number of kidnappings as a crisis and called for a ‘multi-disciplinary operational task team focused on tackling kidnapping and extortion activities in Cape Town.’
Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile and Minister of Police Bheki Cele at the briefing on provincial crime matters on Thursday, 15 September. Photo: SAPS.
There have been 32 kidnapping cases investigated in the Western Cape between 1 March and September 2022, the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, revealed on Thursday, 15 September. On the same day, Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, described the crime as a crisis in the city and called for action from Cele.
15 ARRESTS SINCE MARCH
Cele was speaking at a media briefing on crime matters in the Western Cape on Thursday. He said 32 cases are under investigation and 15 suspects have been arrested.
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“It remains encouraging that the SAPS in the province continue to make inroads regarding kidnapping cases,” said the Minister.
The arrested suspects include the five men who were nabbed over the weekend and appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
As previously reported, the alleged kidnapping gang were caught after a businesswoman reported a car that was following her on Saturday afternoon.
The car was intercepted and police found “a prohibited firearm whose serial number had been filed off and rounds of ammunition” and false license plates.
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“The five-member gang appeared on charges of conspiracy to commit a kidnapping and other charges related to the failed kidnapping of a businesswoman of Chinese nationality,” said Cele.
Their case was postponed to 6 October 2022 for a bail application, said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila.
In terms of extortion, which has been rife in the province, Cele said the police’s Operation Restore continue to “obstruct extortion rackets and related crimes.”
Sixteen people were arrested for their alleged involvement in multiple shootings – which are believed to be linked to extortion gangs – that have claimed 58 lives in Khayelitsha and Gugulethu.
“This includes three suspects arrested in July this year for the multiple murder case of eight people shot and killed in Gugulethu during a traditional cleansing ceremony in June 2021.
“The unrelenting efforts and investigations have resulted in all three suspects from Phillipi East and Gugulethu namely, Thabo Dyasi, Sivuyile Matoti and Lundi Zweni answering to the courts and they remain in custody,” said the Minister.
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ALARMING RISE IN KIDNAPPINGS
Before Cele’s briefing on Thursday, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the alarming increase in the number of kidnapping cases in the City and across the country requires urgent action from the police’s top brass.
“I am calling on the national police management and Police Minister to immediately establish a multi-disciplinary operational task team focused on tackling kidnapping and extortion activities in Cape Town,” he said.
According to the mayor, South Africa had 11 kidnappings per 100 000 people in 2021-2022 – a higher figure than was recorded in 2017 when the country was ranked third out of 65 countries for the crime. Hill-Lewis does not cite his sources but it appears to be taken from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
In February 2022, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said the current South African rate was 10 kidnappings per 100 000 people.
According to the latest crime statistics released in August, which reflected the period of April to June 2022, the Western Cape recorded 237 cases (-3.7%) compared to 246 cases during the same period last year. During the same period, there were 3550 cases recorded in the country, which is an increase of 59.1%.
The mayor said to effectively tackle kidnapping and extortion in Cape Town, a “fully-fledged extortion and kidnapping task team” made up of SAPS, the Western Cape government and the municipal government is needed. Both the province and City have been pushing for the devolution of policing power to local government.
On Friday, 8 September, Cape Town businessman, Khalid Parker, was shot and killed in Lansdowne during an alleged kidnapping gone wrong.
The City of Cape Town met with an international consulting group that specialises in kidnapping and extortion training on the same day, said Mayoral Committee (MayCo) Member for Safety, JP Smith.
“Instead of waiting for the national government and Minister Bheki Cele to find a solution, we are exploring ways in which the City can become better equipped to protect our citizens in this regard,” said Smith.
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