The Bekkersdal community was up in arms during a violent protest yesterday, after an alleged string of abductions of four children and a woman.
Claims were apparently doing the rounds on social media platforms that three children had been kidnapped since Monday, while it was claimed that a woman and her child were snatched in broad daylight.
The latest abduction, the community said, took place yesterday morning, which sparked the volatile protest. This was despite police saying there was no evidence or information substantiating the abduction claims.
Police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele said no abduction cases had been opened since the reports began circulating.
“We appeal to the community to open a case if anyone has gone missing or report a kidnapping if they know the circumstances surrounding it.
“We will take it from there by circulating the information and investigating,” Makhubele told The Star.
“But how are we expected to carry out our duties if cases are not opened and we don’t have information about the abductions?”
Streets in Bekkersdal were barricaded with rocks and burning tyres as residents stopped to search vehicles in what they claimed were attempts to ensure that no children were being kept hidden in them.
“We want to see if there are no kids in your boot,” said one of the protesters.
Nomasonto Ngidi, a community member, said: “What’s happening is that two children were abducted at Isiqalo Primary School on Monday and then (the kidnappers) went to Ipeleng Primary School.”
She claimed another child was abducted on Wednesday, along with their mother and another child yesterday morning before the protest got under way.
Petrus Lehohla said the community’s gripe was that police had allegedly arrested a suspect, but were refusing to reveal his identity.
“We are not protesting, we just want to search cars that are passing here, because we want to ensure that no children have been kidnapped,” he said.
Lehohla added that the kidnappers’ modus operandi was to lure the children with sweets and ice cream.
He said the community was angered by what it regarded as the nonchalant stance adopted by the police and their alleged reluctance to act.
The Star, however, failed in its attempt to locate the families of those who were allegedly abducted, with community members saying they were not sure where the families could be located.