KZN businesswoman Sandra Munsamy 'was not initial kidnapping target'

A KwaZulu-Natal businesswoman who was kidnapped in May 2019 and held captive for six months by a sophisticated syndicate of kidnappers was not their initial target.

This was revealed by Gen Gopal Govender in the Durban high court on Wednesday during the trial of four men accused of kidnapping Sandra Munsamy, the CFO of the multibillion-rand Xmoor Transport family business empire.

Munsamy’s captors were arrested 162 days after she was kept captive while they waiting for her family to come up with their $10m (R154m) ransom demand. 

The accused are Lucas John Ndlovu, Dumisani Radebe, Jose Tembe and Arthur Mondlane, who also face charges of extortion, robbery with aggravated circumstances and entering the country without a valid permit.

Govender, from the Hawks and who was part of the arresting team, said the men decided to kidnap Munsamy only after considering kidnapping her father and her brother.

“Tembe told me after some time of surveillance it was decided that it was not going to be a good idea to kidnap the father as he was old and looking sickly. Inderan, the second brother, then became the target. But it was decided that Inderan did not have a fixed address, he knew all the back roads and he was a fast driver,” said Govender.

It was then decided it would be easier to target Munsamy, who was followed to and from her place of work. He said the plan was discussed among Radebe, Tembe and Mondlane.

Another two people, known as Amelka and Chris and who were known to Mondlane, were also involved in the planning.

An investigation by the Sunday Times revealed that Tembe and Mondlane were the kingpins behind two of South Africa's biggest kidnapping gangs. Govender said Amelka was a notorious criminal who was wanted for a string of offences in South Africa and Mozambique, and enjoyed an unrivalled status for being able to cross borders [illegally].

“This is a strategy which normally gets used and it was purposefully done to evade arrest and manipulate the tracking system. This is also because South Africa cellphone networks are unable to track in neighbouring country.” said Govender.

He said the high-profile kidnapping was hatched when Amelka had gone to Zimbabwe with another of Munsamy's brothers.

“Alvin the brother had boasted on how he had loaned someone $12m,” said Govender.

This lead to Tembe and Mondlane deciding that $10m would be an ideal ransom amount.

He said the initial funding to secure the kidnapping came from a person who was identified as Amelka, while Mondlane was responsible for the technical aspects of their plot and involved a Mercedes C63 which was driven by Tembe.

He said the planning of the kidnapping was a meticulous process and involved an overnight stay at a Durban flat belonging to a woman identified as Luleka.

“There were many times they came to KZN. Mondlane was good with cellphones. Radebe and Chris were more involved with the co-ordination and the safe keeping of the victim until the ransom was paid,” said Govender.

He said Tembe indicated there was often money exchanged and discussions on how the ransom money would be distributed — with 30% going to Radebe, Tembe and Mondlane, and 10% reserved for Munsamy's housekeeping needs.

The case got under way on Wednesday after proceedings were halted on Tuesday after a bomb scare.

Proceedings hit another snag on Wednesday when lawyer Shahin Azmut asked for an adjournment so she could take further instructions from her client, Radebe. When the court resumed Radebe said he wanted to plead guilty to the kidnapping.

This was not accepted by senior state advocate Cheryl Naidoo, who felt the plea was not consistent with aspects of the state’s evidence.

However, judge Hendricks allowed Radebe's signed affidavits to be accepted.

In his affidavit, he said that in June 2019 a friend, identified as Bheki, who was a plumber, had called on him to help with some gardening and the general maintenance of the property in Witbank, where Munsamy was being held captive.

He said he was paid to stay at the property where he would clean the house but there was a room he was not allowed to enter. He later found out it was where Munsamy was being held. 

At the house there three people, himself, Dan and another person who often kept to himself.

In October 2019, three weeks’ shy of their arrest, Bheki became ill and called him to say he was not returning and also told him of “a woman who was being kept in one of the rooms”. 

Bheki instructed Tembe to care for Munsamy. When he questioned Bheki on why she was there, he said the lady owed his bosses money and was being kept until she paid up.

He further instructed him to allow the bosses to communicate with Munsamy via another phone. He then contacted Lucas Ndlovu to seek his assistance.

The matter was adjourned until Monday.