Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za

3-minute read
11 May 2024 | 09:22 CAT

Image: ActionSA

Two ActionSA members who were hijacked and kidnapped in Gauteng on Tuesday evening have been found unharmed.
The party’s Gauteng premier candidate, Funzi Ngobeni, and chairperson of the Youth Forum, Hluphi Gafane, were in the area preparing for a poster unveiling event that was set to take place on Wednesday when they were attacked. Their ordeal ended just before 23:00 Tuesday when they were found in Benoni in the Ekurhuleni metro.

Hlupbi Gafane spoke to Radio Islam International about surviving the kidnapping and hijacking ordeal. Gafane had offered her generator to the province since the generator had broken down. Plans were made for Funzi to collect the generator from Gafane’s home in Olievenhoutbosch after attending the campaigns on the ground.

“The generator was already at the gate, but inside. When he arrived, I came out, opened the big gate and pulled the generator outside. As we were lifting the generator onto his buckey, when three guys arrived at gun point, each one had a gun and ordered us into the car and drove us to an unknown land,” explains Gafane.

“They had drawn funds from Funzi’s bank account of which his bank blocked his card for suspicious behaviour. Another vehicle that came and picked us up with two extra males and drove us to a different location and left us on the side of the road,” Gafane recalled.

ActionSA’s Michael Beaumont confirmed the incident, saying the pair were unharmed.

“We were fearing for the worst yesterday when we heard that they were missing, but we are glad that they are unharmed. We have offered them counselling and the party will provide any other support they need.”

Meanwhile, from a dark road with no street lights working and barely any cars driving by, with no response from drivers who did drive by, Gafane & Funzi came across an estate from which they sought help. Gafane said the security opened the gate and allowed her to call her mum from his phone.

“I called my mum who was already at the Police station in Olievenhoutsbosch receiving absolutely no help from the officers but eventually the commissioner was called and that’s when the case was taken seriously,” she pointed out.

Gafane expresses her appreciation to the officers who picked them up and took charge of the case.

Listen to the full interview on Your World Today with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie.