Ranga Gova, a 35-year-old businessman from Centurion was kidnapped while driving his wife’s car. The incident happened at the traffic lights near the Midstream Mediclinic in Centurion on Thursday, November 3.
Ranga was at the Midstream Mediclinic traffic lights last Thursday when he was hijacked and kidnapped.
His wife, Mamelo, said the incident was caught on CCTV cameras and an Uber driver and a security guard witnessed the ordeal.
The footage shows Gova driving up to the intersection in a grey Mercedez-Benz CLA200D. A vehicle stops next to him while a second parks behind him.
The suspects exit the two cars and Gova is grabbed and bundled into a silver vehicle. The driver then makes a U-turn and drives off. A man gets into the Mercedes and the second vehicle speeds off.
A week after his car-jacking and kidnapping, Gova’s family has appealed for his safe return.
Otilia Gova, the businessman’s mother, has since flown from Zimbabwe to South Africa after learning of her son’s kidnapping.
Otilia Gova said,
“When I came out of church, I called him, and he told me he was at the golf course having coffee. After coffee, he was going to go home.
“Before I got home, I received a call from his wife. She was crying. Then I asked her what had gone wrong, and she told me Ranga has been hijacked and kidnapped.”
Otilia added,
“I feel very devastated. I am at a loss for words. I don’t know who would want to hurt my son. As far as I know, from primary, secondary and even at university, he has never had any squabbles with anyone even his friends can vouch for him.
“The local police have been very helpful since I got here. They have been to the house several times to update us about the ongoing investigation. They have been sympathetic towards us.”
The kidnapped Zimbabwean businessman’s wife Mamelo said the kidnapping has been extremely hard on the family.
“It has been extremely hard. It is too much. My daughter goes to the garage and calls for her dad.
“They got the vehicle registration for the cars and realised it was my car. They have our details so they came to our house. They thought it was me but I told them my husband was driving my car. They then took me to the police station.”
Mamelo said the Mercedes was recovered on Saturday, a short distance from their estate. Olifantsfontein police are investigating a case of kidnapping.
Below is video footage showing when the Zimbabwean businessman was kidnapped: