TO: ALL MEDIA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: 17 SEPTEMBER 2026
GAUTENG LEGISLATURE TO CONVENE CRITICAL STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AS KIDNAPPING CRISIS DEEPENS
The Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety will convene a critical stakeholder engagement on kidnapping in Gauteng, bringing together legislators, law-enforcement agencies, security experts, academics and other key stakeholders to interrogate the scale, drivers and impact of kidnapping in the province.
The engagement comes at a time when kidnapping has emerged as one of Gauteng’s most pressing organised crime and public safety challenges.
The latest crime statistics paint a bad picture as Gauteng recorded 2,367 kidnapping cases between April and June 2026 alone, the highest number recorded by any province and more than half of all 4,638 kidnapping cases recorded nationally during the quarter.
The engagement comes amid heightened concern over a series of cases involving women whose bodies were recently discovered in Ekurhuleni, with kidnapping being investigated as a possible factor in some of the incidents. While investigations remain ongoing, law enforcement authorities are examining whether there may be links between some of the cases.
The concerns have been further intensified by the shocking death of former SABC sports presenter Owen Ndlovu, who was reportedly hijacked and kidnapped in Katlehong on Tuesday night while on his way to fetch his wife from church. His body was subsequently found in Thokoza.
The engagement will interrogate the broader criminal ecosystem surrounding abductions, including hijacking, organised crime, ransom-related kidnappings, human trafficking, gender-based violence, murder, illegal firearms and the targeting of vulnerable communities.
Details of the engagement are as follows:
Date: Friday, 18 September 2026
Time: 09h00
Venue: Southern Sun Hotel, Rosebank
ISSUED BY GPL’S MEDIA SERVICES ON BEHALF OF CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON COMMUNITY SAFETY, HONOURABLE BANDILE MASUKU
For interview requests with the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee please contact: Mr Thebe Khumalo on 072 266 1021 email: TKhumalo@gpl.gov.za
