Sandra Moonsamy: Four men accused of her abduction due back in court

Four men accused of kidnapping Durban businesswoman Sandra Moonsamy, 45, is expected to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday 28 January.

As reported by EWN, Moonsamy was kidnapped in May 2019 and found six months later chained to a bed in a luxury house in Emalahleni. The Emalahleni Local Municipality is located in the Nkangala District Municipality of Mpumalanga. 

The accused were allegedly moved to the Ebongweni C-Max prison, in Kokstad, which is the country’s only super-maximum security prison.

At Tuesday’s court appearance, correctional services officials are expected to explain why the men were moved to Kokstad.

Moonsamy suspects charged with kidnapping and attempted murder  

According to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crimes Unit spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, the four men, between the ages of 30 and 34, were charged with kidnapping, extortion, attempted murder, robbery and entering the country without a valid permit.

They have been charged with two counts of attempted murder, one alleged against Moonsamy and another for a security guard. 

Details of Moonsamy’s disappearance 

Malaudzi confirmed that Moonsamy was kidnapped from her black Range Rover after allegedly being forced off the road by three vehicles on the M13 off-ramp on Stapleton Road, in Pinetown, on the evening of 30 May at around 18:30.  

She was found alive around six months later on Thursday 7 November 2019. 

Moonsamy is a Westville mother of two and was a financial director at Crossmoor Transport. She is one of two daughters of transport logistics moguls, Lutchmee and Poonsamy Naicker.

Moonsamy was allegedly kidnapped by a gang targeting rich families to extort money from them. It was alleged that shortly after she went missing, a ransom of R140 million was sought from her family.

Media barred from first court appearance 

The media were barred from the first court appearance of the four men due to the sensitivity of the case. 

It is believed that the state made an application in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday 11 November 2019 to bar the media from court proceedings. 

State Senior Advocate Cheryl Naidu asked the media to wait outside. The media had initially been told not to name the accused and not to take pictures or visuals of the accused as the police were yet to conduct an identification parade.

However, before proceedings could start, the state made the application for the media to be completely excluded.