Adequate resources must be allocated to SAPS to investigate and apprehend suspects involved in child abduction incidents

18 November 2021

The residents of Gauteng are living in fear of their lives and those of their children, following the alleged kidnapping of a Grade 5 pupil at E.P. Baumann Primary School in Mayfair, Johannesburg. These learners have no one to protect them and ensure their safety as the SAPS is severely impacted by a lack of adequate resources to execute its core mandate.

The DA is shocked and saddened about this incident and many that have been reported over the last few weeks. We demand that more resources must be allocated to SAPS to find the culprits and to investigate whether there is a syndicate involved in these kidnapping incidents.

Last week, a 28-year-old man was allegedly kidnapped by four unknown men in a parking lot in Benoni as well as several known cases of kidnapping of businessman from the Mayfair and Fordsburg area and the well-known case of the four brothers that were kidnapped on their way to school in Limpopo who were later reunited with their families three weeks later.

These incidents are just a drop on the ocean as there are many such incidents that are not reported by the media.

The DA demands that both the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko and Gauteng SAPS Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela urgently liaise with their national counterpart Minister of Police, Bheki Cele to ensure that adequate resources are allocated to SAPS to investigate and apprehend kidnapping syndicates operating across the country.

Without a well-resourced police service to keep our people safe and protected, their lives remain under threat.

Issued by Sergio Dos Santos, DA Johannesburg Central Constituency Head, 18 November 2021