The Surge: How Kidnapping Became South Africa’s Fastest-Growing Crime

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  The rain slicks the asphalt, streetlights reflecting in shallow puddles. In Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, a BMW glides to a stop at a red robot. A mother adjusts the rearview mirror while her child hums along to the radio. A dark sedan slides up behind her. Within seconds, a masked figure leans through the window, pressing a gun against her temple. She is dragged into the waiting car, her child left screaming at the curb. Scenes like this have become almost routine. In South Africa today, kidnapping is no longer confined to headlines about wealthy families or politicians. It has become an organised, adaptable, and highly profitable criminal enterprise that spans the country. From the busy streets of Gauteng to quiet townships in KwaZulu-Natal, kidnapping has become one of the most rapidly expanding forms of violent crime. From Footnote to Central Crime A decade ago, kidnapping was a minor blip in South Africa’s crime statistics. In the 2014/15 reporting year, the South African...
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