Child taken from mom for ransom

A feud between neighbours resulted in a little boy, Michael Goldsmith, being abducted from his parents.

“When you come back with my keys I will give you your child,” were Ms Pricilla Skhosana’s words that sparked a mother’s cry for help on the Zello – Witbank 911 open channel.

Her plea for help came through at about 10:30 on December 17 and was responded to swiftly.

Tears of joy flowed from Annette Goldsmith’s eyes as her little boy Michael was returned to her.

“We heard over the channel that the boy had been taken and responded as quickly as we could, we drove from town,” said Mr Lindes ‘Vaatjie’ Lubbe, from Vaatjies Towing, a respondent of Witbank 911.

On arriving at house 22 on the Old Ogies Road, Lubbe was told by the Goldsmith family that the boy was taken to house 8.

“I stopped there and the woman told me I wasn’t allowed to come in, my first thought was to get the kid so I forced the gate open and got the child,” said Lubbe.

He then handed the child over to his wife who was sitting in the towing vehicle and together they drove back to the boy’s parents and handed him over to the Goldsmiths.
When Lubbe handed little Michael over to Ms Annette Goldsmith’s tears turned from those of sadness to tears of joy.
Mr David Goldsmith explained that Skhosana had asked him to repair her Uno and that he was waiting for a business in town to sort out the harness of the car.

“She doesn’t seem to understand that there was a fault on the fuse box,” said Goldsmith.

On stopping at his house to collect some things he found Skhosana, another woman and two men at his house, she apparently began shouting and screaming, and according to Goldsmith one of the men that was with Skhosana broke a beer bottle on the pavement outside the yard.

Lindes Lubbe’s wife Janie holds the little boy who was allegedly abducted.

“They wanted to fight, she then took my son from me and walked back towards her house,” he said.
“They were holding him by the hand and when he tried to get away they pulled him closer,” said Ms Goldsmith.

According to Skhosana Goldsmith had promised to fix her car, she gave him a deposit of R1 000 on December 11 and he told her that he would have it fixed within a few days, later finding out that they were using her car to move their belongings.

That Sunday Skhosana visited the Goldsmith family to find out how the progress with her car was coming along, when she arrived at the gate she was told that they were no longer staying there; she tried calling his phone, which was off.

“I got a call yesterday from my mother saying that they were there at the house to fetch their stuff,” said Skhosana.

On December 17 she confronted the Goldsmith family asking why they didn’t answer their phone, she was told that they were moving and questioned where her keys to her Uno were.

“They told me that they were using my car keys for the Uno, and were planning on taking the car to town to have it fixed,” said Skhosana.

They broke out into an argument and according to Skhosana, the Goldsmith’s said they would push the car out into the road. That was when she allegedly took the child.
Skhosana said

“I don’t want to fight, I want the car keys and if you are going I am going to take your child, when you come back with my keys I will give you your child.”

At this point a lot of people arrived at Skhosana’s mother’s house shouting out ‘kidnapper!’

“They can take me to court I am not worried,” were Skhosana’s words when WITBANK NEWS reminded her that taking a child is kidnapping.