Kempton Park records Gauteng’s highest kidnapping tally as cases rise 58.3% - IOL
Kempton Park has emerged as Gauteng’s kidnapping hotspot, recording 76 cases between April and June, a 58.3% increase from the same period last year, as lawmakers call for urgent action.
The Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety raised concerns during a stakeholder engagement on Friday, September 18, after crime statistics showed Kempton Park recorded the highest number of kidnapping cases in Gauteng during the quarter.
Across Gauteng, 2 367 kidnapping cases were recorded between April and June, accounting for more than half of the 4 638 reported nationally.
The figures come as Ekurhuleni reels from the discovery of the bodies of nine women across the municipality in recent weeks.
The latest SAPS crime statistics, released on August 28, show that Kempton Park police station recorded 76 kidnapping cases between April and June 2026, compared with 48 cases during the same period in 2025, representing a 58.3% increase.
At Ivory Park police station, 50 kidnapping cases were recorded during the latest quarter, up from 41 in the same period last year, a 22% increase.
Meanwhile, Vosloorus police station recorded 52 cases, down from 69 during the same period last year, representing a 24.6% decrease.
“The figures are particularly concerning given the recent discovery of the bodies of several women in the broader Ekurhuleni area. While investigations into these deaths remain ongoing, the committee believes the exceptionally high kidnapping figures in Kempton Park demand intensified policing, intelligence-led investigations and visible interventions to protect residents,” the committee said.
It warned that kidnapping could not be treated in isolation because of its links to hijacking, organised crime, and ransom demands.
“These figures should serve as a wake-up call to every law enforcement agency and every level of government. Kidnapping cannot be treated as an isolated crime when its tentacles extend into hijacking, organised crime, ransom demands, and the targeting of vulnerable people,” the committee said.
The province is also seeing different forms of kidnapping, including hijacking-related abductions and ransom cases.
A SAPS presentation revealed that its organised crime team had dealt with ransom cases in Bekkersdal and Roodepoort, where millions of rand were demanded.
Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said most kidnappings were “express kidnappings”, in which victims were abducted for a short period while suspects emptied their bank accounts or transferred money before releasing them.
“Each kidnapping complaint is investigated on its own merits, while broader trends are analysed through Crime Intelligence and the Crime Registrar,” Nevhuhulwi said, cautioning against concluding the causes of the increase without considering individual cases.
SAPS also acknowledged that poor lighting, overgrown areas, and abandoned or poorly monitored spaces could affect public safety and police visibility. It urged victims and families to report kidnappings immediately, saying early reporting was critical to activating investigative, intelligence, and operational resources.
Crime expert and anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee said Ekurhuleni’s position as a major transport, logistics and economic hub, with extensive road networks, industrial areas and movement of people, could create opportunities for organised criminal groups to identify and target victims.
He said kidnappings had also become increasingly commercialised, being used for ransom, extortion, debt collection, and other criminal purposes.
Abramjee said organised crime groups could also operate across policing jurisdictions, making intelligence-sharing and coordinated operations critical.
“The authorities need to identify the networks behind these crimes, rather than focusing only on individual arrests,” Abramjee said, calling for intelligence-led policing, stronger investigations, improved surveillance, and the disruption of financial networks behind kidnappings.
Nehson Pillay, Gauteng Provincial Community Police Board executive public relations officer and Provincial Joint Operations Centre (JOC) lead, said the response needed to involve more than police.
“Kidnapping is not defeated by any one agency. The Board’s position is that SAPS, EMPD (Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department), the City of Ekurhuleni, and community structures must plan and operate together at station level,” Pillay said.
He said poor lighting, overgrown ground, abandoned buildings, and unmonitored open spaces were regularly raised by Community Police Forums with municipalities.
“That is where a dark street or an abandoned building becomes an action item with a name against it,” Pillay said.
ActionSA Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate and councillor Xolani Khumalo said the state of Kempton Park’s CBD was adding to the safety problems, pointing to hijacked buildings, broken streetlights, and poorly maintained public spaces.
“Kempton Park, particularly the CBD, has been neglected by the City of Ekurhuleni,” Khumalo said.
He alleged hijacked buildings were being used as brothels and drug dens and had become a major contributor to criminality, including reported kidnappings and murders of sex workers.
“The issue of hijacked buildings in Kempton Park is the biggest contributor to what is emerging out of the area.”
Khumalo also cited overgrown grass, poorly maintained public spaces, and broken streetlights, saying SAPS and EMPD alone could not address the problem.
The committee called for stronger intelligence gathering, better coordination between law enforcement agencies, targeted operations in identified hotspots, and deeper engagement with communities.
The City of Ekurhuleni was approached for comment on the concerns raised about the state of the Kempton Park CBD, but had not responded by the time of publication.
