‘Communities must protect kids’, as kidnappings increase

The recent kidnapping of a newborn baby at Lakeside Mall in Benoni and that of a Grade 8 boy waiting for his lift at a school gate, has sparked a national public debate about the wave of abductions hitting the country.

The pupil at Queens High School In Kensington in Johannesburg who went missing on Monday afternoon was found alive at Maponya Mall in Soweto this morning, after a R5 million ransom was demanded for the safe return of the 14-year-old.

It is not clear whether the ransom was paid, but Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said it was concerning that pupils were being targeted at schools.

A Vanderbijlpark school teacher accused of kidnapping a six-year-old Grade R pupil from Kollegepark Laerskool in September last year is presently standing trial along with her three co-accused.

They will be back in court on 27 March for a trial date to be set in the High Court in Johannesburg. Lesufi said that on 24 February a 15-year-old Grade 8 female pupil from Lantern School, a remedial school for children with special needs, in Roodepoort was reported missing.

“According to information at our disposal, she was not picked up by her parents as accustomed. Police are also investigating the circumstances surrounding this case.”

Captain Nomsa Sekele said the mother of the baby, Pretty Mphenemene, 39, left her baby and her handbag with a suspect named Katlego.

“It was not the first time that they had met so she trusted her [Katlego].”

She said Katlego held the baby while Mphenemene went into a store. When she came out of the shop the woman had disappeared with the baby.

According to the South African Police Service, kidnapping has increased by 139% in the past decade.

The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union ( SADTU) has insisted that preventing kidnappings and other school safety issues are not just the government’s problem.

The union was shocked by this weeks incidents, both of which happened right after school.

“We are concerned about this issue of safety some of which have taken place on school property and some outside the premises,” said SADTU Gauteng provincial chairperson Tseliso Ledimo.

“A classic example are these cases of kidnapping where the children are last seen outside the school. That is why we have been making the call to say that this is not only an issue for the department of education to solve. This is a societal issue and it demands that all stakeholders especially the communities around the school must rally around the institution. Community safety organizations and the police must also be be involved.”

he Citizen spoke briefly to a family member of the boy who went missing yesterday. The relative asked not to be named,but said the circumstances around the boy’s reunion with his family was not yet clear.

Meanwhile it was understood that the parents 15 year-old Grade 8 pupil, Kate Spies, from Lantern School for Learners with Special Needs, had registered their missing child’s case with NGO Pink Ladies. She went missing, supposedly after school on Wednesday.

According to Gauteng education department Spokesperson Steve Mabona, the girl was normally picked up daily by her  parents, but was not picked up by her parents on the day on question.

A missing persons docket was opened at the Roodepoort Police Station.

Tips to keep your children safe:

According to Bessie Rechner, Director of crime fighting NGO Pink Ladies, the safety of school learners begins at home. She shared her 16 pointers for preventing abduction:

1.Teach your children to run away from danger, never towards it. Danger is anyone or anything that invades their personal space.  Teach them to yell loudly.  Their safety is more important than being polite.  Teach your children that if they are ever followed by a car to turn around and run the other direction to you or a trusted adult. If someone grabs them try throw themselves on the floor kick scream move around fight because it is difficult to be picked up when your full weight is on the ground.

2. Never let your children go places alone, and always supervise your young children or make sure there is a trusted adult present to supervise them if you cannot. Make sure your older children always take a friend when they go somewhere.
3. At all times know where and who your children are with.  Remind children never to take anything or respond in any way if approached by someone they do not know.  Teach them to run away as quickly as they can to you or a trusted adult.
4. Talk openly to your children about safety and encourage them to tell you or a trusted adult if anyone or anything makes them feel frightened, confused, or uncomfortable.  Discuss security issues with your children so that they will understand the need for precautions.  *Advise your older children about steps they can take to help safeguard themselves.  Know your children’s friends and their families.   Pay attention to your children and listen to them.  If you do not, there is always someone else who will.*
5. Practice what you teach by creating “what if” scenarios with your children to make sure they understand the safety message and can use it in a real situation.
6. Consider installing an alarm system in your home with a monitoring feature.   Make sure your home is secured with deadbolt locks, and ensure that landscaping around it does not provide places for people to hide. Check other access points, such as gates, and make sure they have been secured.  Consider installing exterior lighting around your home.  Make sure that your home is fully secured before you go to sleep and items, such as ladders, have been stored inside.  Prepare a plan to vacate your home in case of any emergency.  This should include but is not limited to a fire. Have a plan if an intruder tries or gets into your home.
7. Make your children part of securing your home.  If you have installed analarm system, demonstrate it to your children and show them how to make certain that doors and windows are locked.  This will not only help calm their fears but will also help make them part of your “safety plan” at home. Have a safe room in the house keep a cell phone in there in emergency lock door and don’t come out before a chosen word by family is said.
8. Have a list of family members who could be contacted in case of an emergency.   Designate a family member or close associate who would be able to fill the role of advisor in case of an emergency.
9. Be alert to and aware of your surroundings.  Know the “escape routes” and plan what you would do in different emergencies.  Practice “what if” scenarios, so you will be well prepared.  Know the location of local hospitals and best routes to reach them.  Know how to reach the nearest local law-enforcement agency.
10. Know your employees and co-workers.  Do background screening and reference checks on everyone who works at your home, particularly those individuals who care for your children.  Their knowledge of your family is extensive so make sure that you have an equivalent understanding of who they are.
11. Consider varying your daily routines and habits.  Do not take the same routes or go at the same time on your regular errands.  If you take your children to school change that route as well.
12. Take steps to secure personal information about yourself.  Consider getting a post office box and a safety deposit box.  Have your personal bills sent to your place of work or the post office box.  Be discreet about your possessions and familys personal habits and information.
13. Report any suspicious persons or activities to law enforcement.  If you feel that you or your children have been targeted or are being stalked, report this information to law-enforcement authorities immediately.  *DO NOT WAIT.*
14. Remember that you are your best resource for better safeguarding your family.  Do not become complacent about personal security issues.
15. In a mall, and a child gets kidnapped make sure that the child call on the name of the parent than on mommy or daddy because at that moment anyone can be a mommy or daddy. Make sure that at the age of 5 a child at least knows one cellphone number of a parent or close family member.
16. Teach them self defense mechanisms to attack the eyes, nose, groin etc.

Simnikiweh@citizenco.za

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