ActionSA has welcomed the safe recovery of its Gauteng premier candidate, Funzi Ngobeni and its youth leader, Hlupi Gafane.
It has been reported that Ngobeni and Gafane were hijacked at about 7pm in the area of Centurion on Tuesday evening. Ngobeni had gone to visit Gafane when the pair was hijacked by unidentified assailants.
They were subsequently found near an open field in Benoni unharmed but shaken, the party said.
This is after their frantic search through their vehicle tracking company and law enforcement agencies managed to locate them more than four hours after their ordeal.
The party issued a statement through its national chairperson, Michael Beaumont, shortly before midnight saying they were grateful for their safe return.
“ActionSA confirms and welcome the news of the retrieval of Gauteng premier candidate, Funzi Ngobeni, and youth forum chairperson, Hlupi Gafane, at approximately 22:45 this evening.
“It is confirmed that these ActionSA leaders were hijacked in Olivenhoutbosch at approximately 19:00 this evening and held by hijackers, eventually being located in the Benoni area,” Beaumont said.
The circumstances of the hijacking were still not clear, however, the party said it was pleased that the two were safe at their homes and with their families following this horrific incident.
The party has confirmed that a case of kidnapping was opened by Ngobeni’s wife at Olievenhoutbosch Police Station in Centurion.
“ActionSA expresses its profound gratitude to the members of the SAPS who were incredibly responsive and deeply humbled by the overwhelming outpouring of support and concern from South Africans,” the party said.
In his maiden crime statistics report in March 2024, Gauteng provincial police commissioner, General Tommy Mthombeni, indicated that the country was seeing a surge in kidnappings and other contact crimes.
He said the province had recorded 77 kidnappings for ransom between October and December 2023, with an additional seven people being kidnapped for human trafficking purposes.
“Law enforcement agencies are actively working to track and trace kidnappers using vehicle tracking devices and community networks,” the police commissioner said.
The Star