Rich people getting kidnapped for ransom is becoming a major concern.
I used to read with fascination about the same issue in some South American countries years ago.
Business people couldn’t go there without bodyguards.
It became so bad in countries like Colombia and Ecuador, that whole private protection service industries sprung up to cater to the demand from business people, diplomats and even ordinary tourists.
I have been noticing a similar thing developing here in South Africa – a steady and certain increase in kidnapping stories.
The latest is of 69-year-old Ismail Rajah, who was taken while parked outside his construction business in Parow Valley last week.
The most high-profile so far was of the four young Moti brothers, who were held for three weeks, before being released, apparently after their family paid a hefty ransom of R50 million, which they have denied.
Local crime experts agree that kidnappings for ransom have been steadily climbing, and have seen a dramatic increase in the past few years.
Together with extortion, these crimes have a real potential to drive fear into the hearts of entrepreneurs hoping to get wealthy through honest, hard work.
Yes, there are many different reasons behind these crimes, but most often the common motive is money.
And because this type of crime has been ignored by the authorities for so long, it has become a lucrative option for criminals, who see easy money, with little to no chance of getting caught.
It seems that with success, now comes the very real fear of being kidnapped and possibly killed, if ransom money does not exchange hands.
And it’s not just rich business people who are targets either.
Three years ago, gangsters shot dead Loretta Rubain in front of her children, inside her home in Elsies River, after she refused to give them money.
They tried to extort her, after she got millions from a Road Accident Fund payout meant for her daughter, who was left disabled after a car accident.
This was a regular, unemployed 42-year-old mother-of-four trying to make a living for her family and who finally got a much-needed windfall, only to be murdered in cold blood by criminals.
Several small business people and spaza shop owners on the Cape Flats have also been victims.
The fear now is that as so few of these crimes are solved, more and more criminals may expand into the business of kidnapping.
In other words, incidents could skyrocket even more and we could become the new South America, with a massive snowball effect on our economy, as business people go elsewhere.
But it could also mean local entrepreneurs will rather take their skills and expertise overseas.
The idea that criminals who choose unproductive lives, extorting fortunes from honest, hard-working people is quite sickening, but is a reality we have to deal with.