Ex-Top Billing presenter, Lorna Maseko reveals that she recently witnessed an attempted kidnapping in Rosebank.The celebrity chef and cookbook author Lorna Maseko took to X on Sunday, 14 April to share that she almost witnessed a kidnapping.“I can’t believe I almost witnessed a kidnapping in broad daylight on Oxford Street near Rosebank. This car reg: LL13SWGP has a black and Indian guy in it.”“I’m so glad once I realized what was going on – I stopped and picked up the lady and dropped her home. I’m so flustered,” says Maseko.An emotional Maseko has advised South Africans to be careful and adds that she’s flustered by the whole thing.
“She could have just disappeared, and no one would have known what happened to her. What’s even more scary is this happened in broad daylight.The South African reached out to Maseko for an update. She was not available for a comment at the time of publishing this story.
I
can’t belive I almost witnessed a k idnapping in broad daylight on Oxford street near Rosebank. This car reg:LL13SWGP has a black & Indian guy in it. I’m so glad once I realised what was going on – I stopped & picked up the lady and dropped her home. I’m so flustered pic.twitter.com/v8Xv2Weqp7
— Lorna Maseko (@Lorns_Maseko) April 14, 2024
IOL reports that more than 16 000 kidnappings are recorded annually by Statistics SA in South Africa. An estimated 85% of people kidnapped are women and children.
People are kidnapped for ransom, sex and human trafficking, abuse, drugs, business debts and feuds and many more.
Pretoria West social worker Linda Mandanda-Zulu tells the publication that South Africa is sitting on a situation so explosive it blinds us.
Zulu adds that the reality is, unless we devise a strategy to appeal to the conscience of people, there is not much law enforcement and security groups can do. Criminologist and case officer at Missing Children South Africa, Bianca van Aswegen tells the SABC that there’s a big increase in kidnappings for ransom.
“We’ve got our special unit within the Hawks that deals directly with the kidnapping cases such as the ransom, but it is very difficult. There are so many kidnapping cases being reported as an organisation and to the police to handle all of them is very difficult.”
Aswegen advises South Africans to change their routine, maybe leave the house five minutes earlier or five minutes later, and take different routes to work or school.