Private security warns of kidnapping surge in South Africa.

ORANGE FARM - Private security group Fidelity has warned South Africans of a spike in kidnappings in the country this year. According to SAPS statistics, 3,641 cases of kidnapping were registered in South Africa from April to June 2023. While there are kidnappings in all nine provinces, Gauteng had the highest number of cases. Gauteng’s top five hotspots are Orange Farm in the Vaal Triangle, Vosloorus, Thembisa, Midrand and Protea. CEO of Fidelity Services Group, Wahl Bartmann told BusinessTech that the public should not be naïve about the profile of victims or kidnappers’ motivations. Bartmann stressed that it’s not only high-net-worth businesspeople being held for ransom of millions but that “the ordinary man on the street” is a target for criminals too. According to Bartmann, an increasingly prevalent trend in recent times is ‘express kidnappings’, where motorists are hijacked and driven in their own vehicle or another vehicle to an ATM and forced to withdraw cash. They are then also robbed of valuables before being left at an isolated location. Bartmann says to avoid falling victim to kidnappers, residents should be vigilant around personal safety at all times.