A BRAVE father has recounted how he followed instructions from his son’s kidnappers into the unknown and without a police escort, to rescue 5-year-old Shanawaaz Asghar.
This week little Shanawaaz became a crime statistic after he was snatched by six unknown, armed men who brazenly accosted the Pakistani family as they were walking to school and took him in broad daylight.
His father Muhammad Asghar detailed a frantic 48-hours negotiating with the kidnappers who let him listen to Shanawaaz playing in the background.
“We did not sleep. We did not eat. We just prayed. Right now all we can do is thank the community and everyone who helped share the posts and pray for us,” said Asghar.
The fruit and vegetable seller, added that the kidnappers looked after his son and even called him to ask what Shanawaaz eats.
“They bought him KFC and allowed him to play. My son told us he thought he was on holiday.
“The first day they called, he said he was playing, and the second day he said ‘daddy you can come fetch me now’.
“I knew I had to make a plan.”
Asghar said he followed the kidnappers’ careful instructions for where to pick up his son on Thursday night.
“I can’t exactly say where I drove to because I don’t know the townships very well. I know Mitchells Plain because of a garage there, but it wasn’t there because the place I drove to was very dark and had no lights.
“I told them I am driving a white bakkie, and then they flashed their lights to say when to stop.
“When I stopped they were standing with him (outside), they didn’t just leave him on the side of the road and he was clean.
“They took my cellphone before I left, probably because they were scared I would call the police. But I wouldn’t because all I wanted was my son.”
As the Asghar family breathed a sigh of relief following their son’s return, activists have weighed in on the latest crime statistics and stated that they did not portray the true extent of kidnapping trends in the Western Cape.
Friday’s figures showed that the province was the only one to record a decrease in kidnappings by -3.7% while the country saw a 59.1% increase.
According to the stats, of the 212 sampled kidnapping cases between April and June, only three incidents were for ransom.
• In May, 21-year-old Huzaifa Sange was kidnapped during a house robbery and released after the family allegedly paid R100 000 in ransom.
• In June, the daughter of a Cape Town furniture chain store owner was kidnapped and released following a R25 million ransom demand.
Crime analysts have warned that the statistics were not an accurate reflection as the majority of kidnapped victims and their families were unlikely to report cases in fear of their loved one’s being killed and mistrust in the police’s ability to return them home safely.
Asghar said Shanawaaz was in good spirits when he was returned but has been sharing his parents’ bed.
“We took him to the doctor, and they said he’s okay, he wasn’t hurt, so that’s why I can just say shukran to the Almighty for His mercy.”
While the family would not confirm whether they paid a ransom, sources close to the investigation said there was first a R500 000 demand before a R300 000 one.
Crime expert, Albert van Zyl, said the reason crime stats were possibly inaccurate was due to under-reporting.
“With the low reporting rate the crime stats can easily be misconstrued, it should be an indication that what we see currently is not working,” he said.
Van Zyl said it was why he believed introducing a more localised law enforcement agency to help with crimes within jurisdictions was important.
“Certain crimes like fraud or Ponzi schemes require a national approach, however, crimes such as murder, rape and kidnappings, where jurisdiction is not a problem, provincial or local authorities should have the power to investigate. They are closer to the communities, and they are trusted by the community. Some crimes can even be prevented if you have a focused approach. There needs to be measures in place and it is important to have that distinction,” Van Zyl said.
Western Cape MEC of Policing and Oversight Reagan Allen said the under reporting of cases made it difficult to see the true extent of the problem.
“I’ll continue having discussions with provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile and all relevant stakeholders about not only improving relations with the community, but to rebuild trust in policing and encourage citizens to report all crimes.”
This week, Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis called for
the devolution of police to allow localised policing units powers to investigate cases.
Civil society organisation, Action Society voiced its support for Hill-Lewis’ call to give the City’s law enforcement officers full crime-fighting powers. “We have also repeatedly asked for the devolution of powers of the Western Cape police,” said the organisation’s Ian Cameron.
I will again say that the national government has blood on its hands and a good way to start the clean-up process is to have Cele’s head rolling, he is like a Medusa with many snake heads.
“What is happening in the Western Cape should be an example for the national government. The improvement in our crime stats has been massive and it’s all also thanks to the partnership between communities, law enforcement officers, metro police, traffic police and private stakeholders.”
Hill-Lewis said policing at a local level would be effective explaining that the City’s teams were for start more visible than that of the SAPS.
“Every detective (in the SAPS) has more than 250 dockets on their desks, there’s no way you can properly investigate when you have a big load.
“Having a team at a local level will help manage (cases) better, these teams can use insights from our understanding of communities here instead of managing SAPS from Pretoria
“There will be much more police effectiveness in actually bringing down crime and catching criminals,” he said.
Hill-Lewis said they proposed the formation of a kidnapping and extortion unit to deal with the trend that’s gripped Cape communities.