By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, William Mabapa was hijacked and kidnapped in Gauteng last week.
Mabapa was driving in his Range Rover when the suspects, armed with shotguns, accosted him as he arrived at his house in Noordwyk, Midrand at about 8pm on Wednesday.
They smashed the windows of his road monster, violently pulled him out and bundled him into a Mercedes-Benz before driving off with him. The suspects then tried to access his union’s bank account, which had more than R400-million, but they failed, as the withdrawal needed approval from different signatories.
Mabapa was then forced to withdraw R50 000 from his bank accounts before being dropped off at a garage in Samrand in Centurion.
The union boss approached security guards patrolling the area and related his story. He then implored them to take him home.
In a brief statement on Wednesday, “The NUM is breathing a sigh of relief that the General-Secretary did manage to survive the ordeal and came out of it unharmed. These are very bad and regrettable news. We are urging the police to thoroughly investigate and swiftly arrest the perpetrators,” the union said.
NUM urged law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in bringing those criminals to book.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo confirmed that a case of kidnapping and hijacking was opened at the Midrand police station.
“The investigation is underway, no arrests have been made yet, “Masondo said on Wednesday.
The kidnapping and hijacking came after a former national spokesperson for the Young Communist League of South Africa, Dloze Matooane, was hijacked and kidnapped over the weekend in Sebokeng, Gauteng.