Following an ordeal of being dragged out of the house, then abducted and robbed of their personal possessions by suspects at Schoemansdal in Nkomazi, three victims—a lady (45), her 18-month-old child, and the nanny (31)—survived to recount their tale.
According to reports, on July 19, 2022, at around 19:30, three masked and balaclavaed male suspects held their victims at gunpoint while demanding cash, cell phones, bank cards, and car keys from a residence in Buffelspruit (Schoemansdal region). The victims further claim that they were coerced into a gold Toyota Run-X belonging to the home’s owner. At Hectorspruit, close to Komatipoort, they were then pushed off into the wilderness.
The thieves reportedly gave the home owner instructions to open a bank app on her phone after breaking in. A subsequent unspecified monetary transaction was completed. The three victims reportedly remained in the woods with the other two suspects while one of the suspects reportedly walked to Malelane to pay out the money.
They (the victims) were told by their attackers to go and never look back on the next day, at 3:00. A kind stranger then gave the victims a ride, and they eventually made it home. They subsequently reported the event to Schoemansdal police, who started a case of kidnapping with a related accusation of robbery.
Police request that anybody with information that might result in the arrest of the culprits phone Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or provide information via MySAPSApp since there have been no arrests to yet. Callers have the option to remain anonymous, and all information received will be handled as confidential.
In the meantime, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, the Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, has strongly denounced the incident and expressed her concern over similar cases that have recently been reported in the province, including the one in which a 13-year-old girl survived the ordeal in Witbank a few days ago.
“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.
Before another victim is abducted, we must mobilize the public to put a stop to this trend. It is lucky that every sufferer managed to get back home without incident.
Who can predict what will happen to the following victim. Therefore, it is crucial that members of the public who are aware of these offenders’ whereabouts inform the police as soon as possible, according to the General.