By Everson Luhanga
Within 24 hours of it surfacing, a viral video of a suspected kidnapper in Johannesburg CBD triggered a large-scale police operation and the suspects were tracked down.
But there was more to this seemingly sinister crime than meets the eye – and it ended with the “suspect” and the “victim” hugging it out!
The video, captured on a security camera on Saturday, quickly gained traction on social media. It shows what looks to be a kidnapper being pulled out of his car by a group of men.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba chimed in to instruct Joburg MMC for Public Safety David Tembe to track the suspects down and bring them to justice.
By Sunday, both the suspects and the supposed victim had been traced, but no charges were made and both parties were pictured smiling and shaking hands.
Scrolla.Africa caught up with MMC Tembe who explained what happened – and it’s not what you would think!
He said after the video of the “kidnapper” on Commissioner Street emerged on social media, officers worked hard to trace and arrest the suspects.
“Officers managed to trace the victim who is a Bolt driver by using his car registration,” he said, referring to the suspected kidnapper who was pulled from his car as the victim.
“Officers proceeded to where the man resides which is Cosmo City and the victim was located. We then managed to trace down one of the suspects using the Bolt app as he had requested a ride.”
MMC Tembe said the police then proceeded to Joburg CBD after locating one of the suspects – that is, one of the men who pulled him from the car.
“The victim explained to officers that it was not a hijacking.”
He explained that the suspect who pulled him from his car was actually a passenger in his taxi. He ordered the taxi for his wife and three children.
However, as soon as two of the children got in the car, “the driver noticed that Metered Taxi drivers were coming to attack him”.
“In fear for his life, he sped off with two kids, leaving the father, mother, and one child behind,” Tembe explained.
“The father started to run after the car which was skipping red robots. He noticed that he couldn’t keep up with the car so he stopped a Gold Toyota Corolla with four occupants and asked them to help chase the car,” explained Tembe.
He further explained that the e-hailing driver was stopped but he said he had dropped the children a few robots behind.
The occupants driving the Gold Toyota who helped stop the e-hailing driver were also located and it turned out they were members of a local security company.
The Bolt driver met the father of the children on Sunday and the two managed to smile about the confusion. Needless to say, the men did not want to open a case against each other.
Pictured above: The “victim” and “suspect” of a “kidnapping” shake hands and smile
Image source: Johannesburg Public Safety
