Pretoria – A Mpumalanga woman, her child and nanny were abducted from their home by three armed assailants who robbed them of an undisclosed amount of money.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the three were taken to a bushy area, and were only freed after the money had been withdrawn by one of the assailants at Malelane.
“Three victims, aged 45 (the female homeowner), her 18-month-old baby, and their 31-year-old nanny survived to tell their fate after an ordeal of being snatched out of the house then kidnapped and robbed of their personal belongings by suspects at Schoemansdal in Nkomazi,” Mohlala said.
“It is said that on Tuesday at about 19h30, three armed male suspects wearing balaclavas and face masks stormed into a certain house at Buffelspruit, Schoemansdal area, and then held their victims at gunpoint and demanded cash, mobile phones, bank cards as well as car keys.”
The family members say they were forced into a gold Toyota RunX which belongs to homeowner and they were then driven away into the bush at Hectorspruit near Komatipoort.
“Upon intruding, the suspects allegedly instructed the house owner to log on into a bank app on her mobile phone. Subsequently a transaction of undisclosed amount of cash was made.
“One of the suspects is said to have then went to Malelane and cashed out the money whilst the three victims remained in the bush with the other two suspects.
“On the following day, around 3am, the victims were instructed by their assailants to walk away and never look back,” Mohlala said.
“The victims were given a lift by a good Samaritan and subsequently reached home. They reported the incident to the police at Schoemansdal whereby a case of kidnapping with an additional charge of robbery was opened.”
Police said no arrests have been made and appealed to community members with information to call the Crime Stop number at 08600 10111 or send information via the MySAPS App.
“All received information will be treated as confidential and callers may opt to remain anonymous,” Mohlala said.
Provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant-General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has condemned the incident and raised concern about such incidents in the province.
“We cannot allow a situation engineered by criminals which will force citizens to live in fear inside their own houses. We believe that there is someone who knows or saw something somewhere. The public must come on board so that we can put an end to this trend before another victim is kidnapped,” Manamela said.
“It is fortunate that all victims somehow returned home safely. Who knows what might happen to the next victim? So, it is paramount that members of the public who know the whereabouts of these criminals to immediately report them to the authorities.”
In May, a 21-year-old Mpumalanga woman dramatically survived kidnapping when her alleged kidnappers dropped her off after failing to get R10 000 from her family. The men took her cellphone.
The woman was kidnapped allegedly by two men while she was waiting for a taxi in Nkomazi.
The kidnappers allegedly forced her to contact her family and demanded R10 000 for her release.
Mohlala said the woman was waiting to board a taxi to take her home to Driekoppies at about 6.15pm when she was accosted by two men. They allegedly pointed a firearm at her and ordered her to get inside their green Toyota Corolla.
One of the suspects forced her to contact her family and they then demanded R10 000 for her release.
IOL