Durban – Four people involved in the kidnapping of Vanderbijlpark girl Amy'Leigh de Jager last year have been sentenced in the Gauteng High Court, sitting in Palm Ridge, on Thursday.
The four – Tharina Human Laetitia Nel, Pieter Jacobus van Zyl and Bafokeng Molemohi – were found guilty of kidnapping and attempted extortion.
Human, who is believed to have been the mastermind behind the kidnapping, was a teacher at the school at the time. She was a friend of the family and had taught Amy’Leigh’s brother in Grade RR.
She was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment while Nel was handed a five-year sentence. Van Zyl was sentenced to eight years and Molemohi to seven years years behind bars.
The four were arrested after Amy’Leigh was snatched in front of the Laerskool Kollegepark in Vanderbijlpark in September last year.
Four balaclava-clad men shoved her brother to the side before grabbing the girl and making off with her in an unmarked white Toyota Fortuner.
After initially demanding R2 million as ransom, her kidnappers abandoned their plan. She was returned unharmed to her family a day later, following intense media coverage and a frantic search for the little girl.
Amy'Leigh's father, Wynand, said he was happy that the matter was over.
"I am happy that it came to an end so that we can move on with our lives and my daughter can actually start living a normal life as a child and we can start looking forward now to improve her as my daughter and improve her way of living," he told News24.
IOL