Pretoria court postpones case against man charged with kidnapping wife
George’s estranged husband remained behind bars after he failed to make bail.
The Pretoria magistrate’s court has postponed a case against radiologist Roshan George’s estranged husband Joseph Alexander (37) until January 29.
According to North Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjane, the purpose of the postponement was for the court to verify the accused information.
“On 23 January, the matter was postponed to January 29 for verification of information for purposes of bail. The accused is the husband, Joseph Alexander, and he is facing a charge of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder,” said Mahanjane.
George’s husband Alexander remained behind bars following his arrest at the weekend for kidnapping his soon-to-be ex-wife.
He appeared in the Pretoria magistrate’s court on Monday. The NPA spokesperson said Alexander is accused of kidnapping and conspiracy to murder.
At the time of the ordeal, it was believed the couple were in the process of a divorce.
The 37-year-old radiologist was kidnapped on Saturday at Cedar Junction family resort.
However, George was safely rescued by the combination of the SAPS anti-kidnapping task team working closely with crime intelligence officers, a team of detectives and private security.
“The victim’s ex-husband, who is also a doctor, has been arrested in connection with her kidnapping. Police have since launched a manhunt for four persons of interest who are believed to have been used to kidnap the doctor,” police spokesperson Brigadier Alleta Mathe said at the time.
There has been a rise in kidnappings in the country since last year, with over 3 600 cases recorded in the last quarter alone.
According to SAPS statistics, 3 641 cases of kidnapping were registered in South Africa in the first quarter of 2023/2024 – April to June 2023.
The stats further revealed that Gauteng has the highest number of cases, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
The Institute for Security Studies said kidnappings currently are four times higher than they were 10 years ago.
“The SAPS crime registrar’s office routinely analyses the motives for kidnappings in each province across the country. Their analysis shows that most attacks are perpetrated during car or truck hijackings or armed robberies at businesses, homes or public spaces,” the institute said.
“The main motive for abducting victims during these robberies include stealing cash via mobile banking applications drawn from bank cards, overriding tracking devices, or delaying the victim from raising the alarm.”
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