Durban chef hijacked and held hostage for 20 hours

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Durban - A chef at a Durban hotel is suffering flashbacks after he was allegedly hijacked, assaulted and held captive for more than 20 hours. The man, 26, who declined to be named, was hijacked on Percy Osbourne Street in Morningside on Friday. His sister, Shazia Kajee, said just as he unlocked and entered his VW Polo an armed man got into the passenger seat. “My brother was on his way to work for his shift at 2pm when this guy entered his car, pointed a gun to his head and instructed him to drive.” She said her brother was then told to stop near a shopping complex and withdraw money from an ATM.

While they both walked to the ATM, Kajee said her brother threw the car keys and ran but the suspect and an accomplice caught up with him and took him to another car, a white Toyota Corolla.

He was assaulted in the back seat.

Two more suspects were allegedly present - a man who drove the car and a woman who sat in the passenger seat.

The victim’s cellphone was taken and he was allegedly told to withdraw a further R1000 at an ATM on Florida Road.

After the transaction, he returned to the car and claimed a powder was thrown at this face and he passed out.

“He got up hours later and was alone in the car. It was dark and he did not know where he was.

“When he tried to get out of the car, he was assaulted and his tongue was burnt with a cigarette.”

She said her sibling was bundled into the boot.

He was taken to another ATM on Florida Road the following morning to make another withdrawal of R1000.

“They threw the powder substance at him again and they left him on a grassy patch near the Greyville racecourse.”

She said no one wanted to help him and he walked to Currie Road where he collapsed.

Kajee said the car belonged to their dad and when her sister viewed the vehicle’s tracker app, the vehicle appeared to be stationary in Ntuzuma and not at her sibling’s workplace.

She said when he failed to answer his cellphone, they called his workplace and were told he had not shown up.

Kajee said, her brother was found, after they posted a missing person’s report on social media and a member of the public notified them of his whereabouts. They saw him at around noon on Saturday. Her brother sustained soft tissue damage.

“He is still in pain and has flashbacks of the incident. He refuses to return to work or drive. We intend to send him for trauma counselling.”

The car, which was stripped for its parts, was found in Ntuzuma.

The family said a case of theft of a motor vehicle was opened, as they did not have a chance to open a missing person’s case.

Police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala, confirmed the case was opened.

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