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A Mataffin, Mpumalanga, man narrowly escaped death after he was allegedly kidnapped and shot multiple times by three unidentified men in Pienaar yesterday (May 12).

Lowvelder reports that the victim has been identified as Leonard Milandze (47).

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane says the victim was discovered by the Police Search and Rescue Unit while searching for a missing woman in the area.

According to Ndubane, the man, who installs CCTV cameras for a living, received a call from an unknown person requesting his services to install cameras at a school.

He then took a taxi to Pienaar to meet the supposed client.

“When he arrived, he met up with the man, who was driving an old Mercedes-Benz without [a] back window, but [that was] covered with tape,” says Ndubane.

She adds that Milandze got into the vehicle to go to the supposed job site, and while they were on their way, the car stopped to pick up another man who pretended to need a lift.

The suspects allegedly drove the victim to a graveyard, where they asked Milandze to get out of the vehicle. They proceeded to interrogate him regarding a stolen laptop.

When he told them he knew nothing about it, they instructed him to lie on the ground and robbed him of his money and cellphone before shooting him nine times and leaving him for dead.

Milandze managed to drag himself towards the main road to seek help.

A Mpumalanga EMS helicopter that was assisting in the search for a missing woman airlifted him to Rob Ferreira Hospital, where he is receiving medical treatment.

Police have urged members of the public with information regarding the kidnapping and attempted murder to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or submit information via the My SAPS app.

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