By Buziwe Nocuze
When Siyabonga Jakuja was violently kidnapped from his own home on Saturday, his sister Portia thought that Gugulethu Police would spring into action. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
She was speechless when the cops allegedly told her and her family the next day to look for Siyabonga themselves because they were not going to help them.
“We went to the police station after a group of men barged into our home and ruthlessly attacked my brother and his friend,” she said.
“We weren’t present but my brother’s friend, who managed to escape, informed us that they beat them brutally until my brother was unconscious and was unable to walk.”
The abductors wrapped him in a blanket and put him in the back seat of a car before speeding away.
“We don’t know what his condition is, but we are devastated by the way we were treated at the police station. The officers callously instructed us to search for him ourselves,” she said.
The family believes that if the SAPS had acted quickly, Siyabonga might already be back home. As it is, the family still doesn’t know whether he is even alive.
“He was kidnapped on Saturday, and we visited the police station on Sunday. To this day, we have not received any assistance, and my brother is still missing,” said Portia.
A concerned resident who requested anonymity said they are sick of the negligence on the part of police officers.
“Every day, people are killed and kidnapped in Cape Town because those who break the law know they can act with impunity,” said the resident.
“The SAPS seems more interested in bureaucratic tasks and drinking alcohol in taverns than
in fulfilling their duties.”
Western Cape SAPS spokesperson, Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, encouraged the family to make an appointment with the station commander of Gugulethu Police Station to bring the allegations to his attention.
Pictured above: Siyabonga Jakuja was abducted from his home while in the company of a friend
Image source: Supplied
