Thulisile Mapongwana
Hundreds of foreign nationals living in the Buffalo City Metro closed up shop and marched to the Provincial Capital on Tuesday, calling for an end to kidnappings for ransom.
The march in scorching heat to the Office of the Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, in Bhisho, followed a spate of kidnappings that saw hundreds of business people falling victim to extortion gangs using kidnapping as a method to obtain money from business owners.
The Eastern Cape president of PAKSA and Islamic Circle of Southern Africa, Mohammed Zayed, said many foreign nationals have fled the province, while those who stayed live in constant fear.
Recent incidents included the kidnapping of an East London businessman, Pramesh Hooka, in July and the arrest of several suspects for allegedly extorting business owners in Stutterheim.
Zayed says they have previously handed over a memorandum to authorities, but he said this yielded little to no results.
Meanwhile, the Vice President of the Islamic Circle of Southern Africa, Dr Naveet Anjum, says they've made several unsuccessful attempts to secure meetings to with relevant officials to address the spike in kidnappings.
"It has been happening so frequently that there are almost 200 cases within a few months. There are days when you have seven people kidnapped in one day, that's unbelievable," he told Algoa FM News.
Dr Anjum asked why it was not possible for SAPS, Crime Intelligence, or the Hawks, as well as politicians, to help them.
"We want them to respond. We are giving them the memorandum, we are (even) giving them the cases. We want them to give feedback on each, and every case, of what they have done. Because it is not really enough to have a hundred cases open, but then there is only one or two arrests," he said.
Police received the memorandum on behalf of the Premier, and promised to provide feedback within 14 days.
