Nelson Mandela Bay Reels from Kidnapping of Business Chamber Deputy President Amidst Crime Wave

In a disturbing uptick of high-profile abductions in Nelson Mandela Bay, Kelvin Naidoo, the deputy president of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, was kidnapped by a group of suspects in the early hours of Friday, 19 July 2024. Naidoo, 51, was accosted while driving to Auto X's factory, a company known for its manufacturing excellence in the battery sector.

The chilling operation saw assailants in balaclavas intercepting Naidoo's Mercedes-Benz with a Nissan NP200 bakkie on Lindsay Road, Korsten. After bumping into Naidoo's car and boxing him in with another bakkie, the kidnappers forcibly removed Naidoo and sped away, leaving the hijacked NP200 and Naidoo's car behind.

Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg confirmed that the NP200 was reported hijacked in Motherwell in June. A ransom demand for Naidoo’s release materialized hours after his kidnapping generating a pulsating urgency for his safe recuperation.

The case, echoing a worrying tendency for kidnappings in the metro, has been escalated to the elite Hawks unit. Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana from the Hawks disclosed that intensive efforts are underway to secure Naidoo's release unscathed, but stressed that Naidoo's kidnapping seems separate from other known incidents.

The seizure of Naidoo has cast a shadow over Nelson Mandela Bay mere days before a bail ruling for Nyamezeli Tete, a suspect linked to a spate of kidnappings, including that of Sonam Gajjar and Rodney Chen, earlier in the year. The Hawks have also successfully executed a recent rescue of Dr Bongani Nqini from a similar abduction scenario.

Denise van Huyssteen, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, expressed her organization's devastation over Naidoo's kidnapping. Naidoo's abduction follows closely behind a rallying call from the Nelson Mandela Bay Civil Society Coalition to President Cyril Ramaphosa, petitioning for crucial intervention against escalating crime in the metro.

The coalition's plea, coupled with the Democratic Alliance's push for amplified police resources and modern crime-fighting technology, underscores the community's alarm at the growing lawlessness afflicting the city. This comes at a time when the local economy is wrestling with the grip of a recession and when investment and economic upgrading are of paramount importance.

The response to this spate of crime is emergent, as demonstrated by the new Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s visit to the metro amid loud calls for action from rattled businesses and citizens alike. Mchunu's engagement with police and community stakeholders signifies a potential turning point in addressing the crime crisis engulfing Nelson Mandela Bay.