Johannesburg - The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has called for the speedy arrest of the criminals who violently hijacked and kidnapped its General-Secretary, William Mabapa, last Wednesday, armed with guns.
"The NUM is breathing a sigh of relief that the General-Secretary did manage to survive the ordeal and came out of it unharmed. These are very bad and regrettable news. We are urging the police to thoroughly investigate and swiftly arrest the perpetrators," the union said.
NUM urged law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in bringing those criminals to book.
The kidnapping and hijacking came after a former national spokesperson for the Young Communist League of South Africa, Dloze Matooane, was hijacked and kidnapped over the weekend in Sebokeng, Gauteng.
Meanwhile, the car he used and the belongings he had in it were stolen by the hijackers who had kidnapped him.
"I managed to escape terror, and I am home. I sustained some injuries," said Matooane.
The SACP said that it strongly condemns the threat to Matooane’s life and the violation of his rights.
"As part of the wider effort to build safer communities and fight crime, it is essential for the state and communities, respectively, to strengthen the capacity and functioning of law enforcement authorities and organs of people’s power, such as community policing forums and neighbourhood watches" said the SACP.
The party said there needs to be more community members who are active in gathering and sharing information, exposing crime or conspiracy to commit a crime to the law enforcement authorities to act to prevent, combat, and investigate criminality.
Nkangala municipal manager Maggie Skhosana made headlines for being kidnapped, along with her driver, outside the municipal offices, allegedly by a group of men impersonating police officers.
There are reports that the alleged kidnappers have demanded a R5 million ransom for the release of the two.
SAPS crime stats show that from 2010/11 to 2019/20, there has been a 133% increase in reported kidnappings, from 2 839 to 6 623.
Lizette Lancaster, Crime Hub Manager, Justice and Violence Prevention for the Institute of Security Studies, says the risk of being targeted is linked to the kidnapper’s motive.
"In 2019/20, most attacks (three in four) were committed during other crimes, such as armed robberies and sexual assaults," she said.
The Star