Manhunt after Cape Town boy (6) kidnapped on way to school
South African police said they have launched a manhunt after a six-year-old boy was kidnapped on his way to school in Cape Town on Wednesday, the latest in a surge in abductions.
"Six suspects fled with the victim, and are yet to be arrested," police said in a statement.
"Due to the sensitive nature of our investigation, we will not be disclosing any further information regarding the incident at this premature stage."
Official statistics have shown a sharp increase in kidnappings, with 3,306 cases reported in the first three months of 2022, more than double the number from the same period last year.
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Police Minister Bheki Cele in June blamed an increase in violent crime in the country –- already among the world's most dangerous -- on the "triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment".
Police sources said the boy, identified as Shanawaaz Asghar, was abducted in front of his family home in Cape Town's northern suburb of Kensington.
"They were walking towards the vehicle with his father, his brother and his sister, in the yard in front of their house, when he was kidnapped," a source close to the investigation told AFP.
The motive for the abduction was not yet clear.
