A man alleged to have kidnapped a mom and daughter for access to Road Accident Fund money remains behind bars following his arrest and first appearance in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Durban — A man, alleged to have kidnapped a woman and her daughter forcing them to transfer money to him, will make his second appearance in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court in a week.
Jonathan Banda appeared in court on Monday following his arrest where the matter was adjourned for his bail application to be heard.
It is alleged that the woman’s daughter is a beneficiary of the Road Accident Fund.
According to police, the 29-year-old is alleged to have kidnapped the 59-year-old mother and her daughter from their Wyebank home on Friday.
Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said that a woman was with her daughter at their home in Wyebank when an unknown man allegedly entered their house and pointed a firearm at them.
She explained that three more men joined the one who was already inside.
“The victims were blindfolded and taken to an unknown location where they were forced to transfer money,” said Constable Ngcobo.
According to Statistics SA in the 2022/2023 financial year, the total number of kidnappings in South Africa reached 15 343 cases. Gauteng had the highest number of kidnappings, with 7 818 reports.
KwaZulu-Natal followed with 3 081 cases of kidnapping in the same period.
Recently the banking division of the National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO) said it had received some complaints relating to kidnappings where consumers disclosed their confidential banking information under duress.
“When investigating kidnapping-related complaints reported to the NFO, it has been identified that criminals force the banking customer to disclose their online banking and banking app passwords under the threat of violence (duress) after kidnapping and detaining them. Once criminals gain access to these platforms, they can alter account limits and make unauthorised transfers leading to significant financial losses in addition to the trauma of the kidnapping itself,” says Lead Ombudsman Nerosha Maseti.
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