A prominent young Mthatha businessman, who was kidnapped and tortured for a week, while his abductors demanded a R1m ransom, broke down and wept when he was rescued by police on Saturday.
Stunned Vuyo Fadana, 24, came stumbling out of a room in Tyumbu village where he had lain bound, his head covered with a balaclava and plastic bag.
With tears pouring down his face, he begged for water and pleaded with police not to abandon him.
He believed he was about to be killed when he was rescued by police from a rented room in the village near Mthatha at about 2pm on Saturday.
His abductors, one of whom was killed in a shootout during the rescue, had told Fadana’s mother he would be killed by Saturday if the money was not handed over.
“I cannot believe I am out of hell and free from a week of torture and death threats,” he told the media as he wept.
He described the dramatic police rescue mission “as God’s mercy to grant me a second chance in life. Just now, I was counting hours and minutes. I was told by my kidnappers they would kill me before sunset today. I still cannot believe that I am alive. I had accepted that today was my last day and I prayed to God to accept my soul as I thought it was just a matter of hours before I died. Thank you, Lord, for the police you sent to save my life.”
Police shot and killed one man and arrested another two during the rescue operation.
Fadana is the business partner of Eastern Cape government spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo. They are involved in property and farming businesses in Mthatha and Libode.
Fadana was kidnapped at the gate of his home in Corhana near Mthatha on Monday at about 9.30pm.
Police spokesperson Captain Dineo Koena said the two men arrested were aged between 20 and 37 years and the one killed in an exchange of fire at Lower Ngqwarha village near Mqanduli, was 35.
“The victim’s vehicle was recovered abandoned on Tuesday near Marhambeni village in Mthatha along the N2,” said Koena.
She said after an intensive investigation and negotiations, it was decided that on Saturday at 10am, the money would be taken to the kidnappers and the police would strike.
The operation involved police units, including crime intelligence gathering, Hawks, National Intervention Unit, and the Tactical Response Team.
The surviving suspects are expected to appear in Mthatha magistrate’s court soon, facing charges of kidnapping and extortion.
The police and family thanked the community of Lower Ngqwarha for assisting with the arrests when the men tried to escape.
Kupelo, speaking on behalf of the Fadana family, said they had been losing hope when the death threats intensified.
“It has been a week of hell, being threatened almost daily and having to raise a huge amount of ransom money.
“They gave us only two days on the first day and we bought time. It was even worse yesterday [Friday] because when we were ready to give them money with the help of police, they [suspects] became very aggressive,” said Kupelo.Fadana said: “As five days passed without the ransom money paid, I lost hope that I would ever again see my mother alive. The kidnappers discussed in front of me how I was to be killed on Saturday. They said that they would dispose of my body by throwing it into the sea in Coffee Bay,” said Fadana.After his kidnapping on Monday night, his head was covered in a balaclava and a plastic bag, a cloth was shoved into his mouth and his hands and legs were tied.“I prayed my mother would make a plan and pay the R1m. They tortured me and assaulted me when I tried to fight them off,” he said.Fadana came out of the captivity barefoot, thirsty and with blood dripping from an injured right hand.Lower Ngqwarha villagers who heard gunshots down the hill overlooking the village, had seen police in pursuit of two men.Witnesses Nolutho Madlikinya and Khanyile Mavumengwana said the villagers, armed with sticks and stones, took their dogs with them.“One ran down the stream on the left and another ran to the right. We stoned them. One dived deep into the river, but we saw him and pointed him out to the police,” said Madlikinya.Mavumengwana said: “Another man ran and shot at the police. The police shot back and killed him. It was like in the movies.”MaRhadebe George, who rented the room to one of the kidnappers since November, said he ran a welding business.“I never noticed anything until police came and I was shocked that someone had been kept captive in my yard.”In November 2017, self-styled hitman Mkhuthazi Gxaleka was sentenced to four years imprisonment, suspended for five years, for calling and sending text messages to Kupelo and Ngcobo-based medical doctor Litha Mboyana, claiming he had been hired to kill them.He demanded they pay him to not kill them.lulamilef@dispatch.co.za..