The body of a retired Eastern Cape civil servant, who was reported missing after being abducted during a hijacking between Shawburry and Tsitsa Bridge in Qumbu on Thursday afternoon, has been found.
Children found the body of Nosipho Sidabuka-Jombile, 51, who had been shot and strangled, around 5pm on Saturday near Zandukwana, Libode, police said.
At the time of the hijacking, Sidabuka-Jombile had been driving with her 22-year-old son when a motorist flagged them to stop on the pretence of asking for directions.
While his accomplice was talking to her son in the passenger seat, another man tried to grab the keys from the ignition. A scuffle ensued in which the woman was pulled out of the car.
In an attempt to assist his mother, who was being dragged to her abductors' car, her son was struck on the head with a gun. The kidnappers then sped off in the direction of Mthatha.
“My mother asked what they wanted and they said money and valuables. She gave them her handbag but they did not leave,” the young man told DispatchLIVE.
“There were gunshots fired and my mother was hit in the chest. I ran to the back of the car. I could not run far because it was an open space and I would have been exposed and got shot had I run,” he said.
He said his mother had deliberately snapped the key in the ignition so the hijackers could not take the vehicle.
“They took my mother with them, saying it was for her own benefit that she was with them,” he said.
“That was the last time I saw my mother. What happened is painful. Why did they have to shoot her? We gave them what they wanted.”
Police are asking the public to assist with any information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects. Anyone with information can contact Lieutenant-Colonel Nceba Mshiyo on 071 475 2292.