Pretoria - The case against three people arrested for the kidnapping of Amy’Leigh de Jager was yesterday postponed to September 19 for a formal bail application.
Laetitia Nel, Pieter Jacobus van Zyl and Tharina Human, who is a teacher at the school, appeared in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court.
The child, 6, was kidnapped from in front of Laerskool Kollegepark on Monday morning last week.
Among those arrested is Human, a Grade RR teacher at the school. She has since been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing.
The child was snatched in front of the school as she, her mother and little brother were getting out of the car.
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. She was returned unharmed to her family a day later following intense media coverage and a frantic search for the little girl. After initially demanding R2 million as ransom, her kidnappers abandoned their plan.
The three, two women and a man, were arrested at their homes in Vanderbijlpark.
Principal Connie Herbst said they were shocked at learning of the teacher’s link to the kidnapping.
He added that they hadn’t spoken to the woman, who’s on suspension pending a disciplinary hearing.
Echoing this was the school governing body chairperson Andries Pienaar, who described Amy’Leigh ‘s kidnapping as a “freak” incident
“It’s still a shock to us. It felt as if we woke up from a movie. You only see these things on TV and actually it’s starting to become a reality in your own community.”
Pienaar thanked the governing body for the way it handled the incident and maintaining professionalism throughout. Staff Reporter
Pretoria News