Limpopo - Waterberg ANC secretary Tollie Mashamaite has been abducted and attacked, allegedly by three armed men, Limpopo police said on Tuesday.
Mashamaite told police he was kidnapped on Sunday around 9pm when he was coming out of a shop, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.
“He was... bundled into his car by three unknown suspects, who were armed.”
Mashamaite said he was taken to the Steiloop area and assaulted. The attackers allegedly took R6 000 and two cellphones from him before leaving him in the boot of his car. He was freed on Monday morning when a passerby heard a banging noise from inside the boot.
The ANC in Limpopo condemned the attack.
“We call upon the police to spare no effort in hunting down these criminals so that they are brought to book in the shortest time possible,” provincial task team spokesman Sello Lediga said in a statement.
“We also take this opportunity to call upon our leaders to be vigilant as they travel around the province.”
The motive for the attack was not yet known, he said.
Mashamaite was elected regional secretary in December.
Cosatu in Limpopo expressed shock at the news that Mashamaite had been attacked.
"This heinous crime and cowardly action we condemn with the strongest possible terms and call upon our law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned and to effect an arrest," provincial secretary Dan Sibabi said in a statement.
He said the trade union federation believed the attack was politically motivated. - Sapa