KIDNAPPINGS ON THE RISE

Girl (8) snatched during school run

THERE’S growing concern around the rising number of kidnappings in South Africa – in the first six months of 2022 an average of 1 143 kidnappings a month were reported to the police. The monthly average in 2021 was 700. In the latest case to make headlines around the country, an eightyear-old girl was snatched while on her way to school in Rylands, Cape Town. Abirah Dekhta left her home after 7am and was sitting in the school transport vehicle with a fellow pupil when they were confronted by two armed men who took her, bundled her into a white bakkie and sped off. At the time of going to print, she had not been returned and no arrests had been made. Her father, an Indian-born businessman who owns a cellphone shop, has pleaded for her safe return.