The latest SAPS crime statistics have revealed that parts of Pretoria are among the country’s leading kidnapping hotspots, with Mamelodi East and Loate both featuring in the national top 30 for reported kidnapping cases.
The figures form part of a worrying trend that saw Gauteng account for more than half of all kidnappings reported in South Africa between January and March 2026.
Mamelodi East and Loate have emerged as Pretoria’s kidnapping hotspots after the latest SAPS crime statistics revealed a sharp rise in reported kidnapping cases in the two policing precincts.
The figures show that both precincts recorded significant increases in kidnapping cases compared to the same period last year.
According to the SAPS Fourth Quarter Crime Statistics for the 2025/2026 financial year, Gauteng remains the kidnapping capital of South Africa, accounting for 54.8% of all kidnapping cases reported nationally.
The statistics reveal that Gauteng recorded 2 452 kidnapping cases between January and March 2026, up from 2 414 cases during the same period the previous year — an increase of 38 cases or 1.6%.
This means an average of 27 kidnappings were reported daily in South Africa during the reporting period.
Among the top 30 police stations nationally for kidnappings, 19 are in Gauteng.
In Pretoria, Mamelodi East ranked 13th nationally for kidnapping cases after recording 39 kidnappings, up from 27 cases during the previous reporting period.
Loate ranked 18th nationally with 36 kidnapping cases, compared to 24 the previous year.
Gauteng also recorded 163 ransom-related kidnappings, accounting for 75.5% of all ransom kidnappings nationally.
DA Gauteng spokesperson for community safety, Crezane Bosch, said the statistics paint a deeply concerning picture of residents’ safety in the province.
“Gauteng accounted for 54.8% of all kidnapping cases recorded nationally, making it the highest contributor in the country and further confirming the province’s status as South Africa’s kidnapping epicentre,” Bosch said.
“This means that residents in Gauteng are more at risk of being kidnapped than anywhere else in the country, highlighting not only the scale of the crisis but also the growing gravity of kidnapping as organised criminal syndicates roam our streets with increasing confidence and little fear of apprehension.”
Bosch added that recent incidents in Gauteng highlighted the increasingly organised and violent nature of kidnappings in the province.
“In January 2026, kidnappers abducted two women on New Year’s Eve and later killed them. In May 2026, criminals kidnapped a man during a housebreaking in Kagiso and demanded a R500 000 ransom,” she said.
“In April 2026, abductors seized a Vosloorus spaza shop owner and kept him in hijacked buildings for nearly a month.”
Bosch said crime and kidnappings are also affecting the economy in Gauteng.
“Business owners and investors are increasingly disgruntled, with some considering shutting down operations. At the same time, the investors the province should be attracting are not coming because of the persistent scourge of crime and the lack of solutions,” she said.
She criticised the provincial government’s crime-fighting strategies, saying they are failing to address increasingly organised criminal activity.
“The 27 kidnappings taking place daily demand urgent, decisive intervention, not political slogans, or soundbites of imagined safety.”
Bosch said the DA would request Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to appear before the Community Safety Portfolio Committee to explain the government’s strategy to combat kidnappings and organised crime in the province.
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