A suspect is expected to appear in the Gqeberha Magistrates’ Court on Monday after a Perridgevale businessman was kidnapped last week. (Photo: Riaan Marais) 
Video footage from a supermarket security camera shed light on the identity of a kidnapping suspect allegedly involved in the abduction of a 62-year-old Gqeberha woman and subsequent ransom demand.
And after evading the first attempt to arrest him, Lulamani Phandla made his first appearance in court on Thursday, shortly before joining his six co-accused in the dock at the Gqeberha Magistrates’ Court.
“Criminals may run, but they cannot hide. We will track them down, we will dismantle their networks and we will ensure justice is served,” said provincial Hawks head Major General Mboiki Ngwenya.
He praised his personnel for their efforts in maintaining surveillance on the suspect’s possible locations and executing a well-planned operation on Tuesday night to apprehend Phandla.
During court proceedings, State prosecutor Dail Andrews told the court that Phandla was allegedly implicated in the kidnapping of Tracey Fourie from video footage at a supermarket in the vicinity of where she was held captive.
It is alleged that Phandla went to the supermarket to buy Fourie food and was caught on the security camera. No further explanation was given.
Andrew said Phandla evaded police when his co-accused were taken into custody, but follow-up operations were successful. He was allegedly found in possession of ransom money during his arrest.
Prior conviction
Phandla, who applied for legal representation from Legal Aid SA, indicated that he had one prior conviction for theft, dating back to 2018. He also opted to abandon his formal bail application at this stage.
After proceedings, he was transferred to another courtroom where he joined Mthetho Ntleko, Mzameni Matyunza, Malibongwe Dayile, Nyaniso Sabundla, Aviwe Twatwa and Tamsanqa Matlabe in the dock.
Read More: Six in court for Gqeberha kidnapping of 62-year-old Tracey Fourie
The seven accused face a litany of charges, including kidnapping, extortion, human trafficking, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and possession of a signal blocking device.
They are also charged with contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act since they are believed to be part of an organised criminal syndicate labelled “The Kidnapping Extortion Gang” throughout the charge sheet.
The list of charges against them stems from the kidnapping of Fourie, who was abducted in Sydenham on 20 August, before a ransom demand of R5-million was made.
She was released five days later after an amount of R200,000 was paid to her captors. All the accused, bar Sabundla, have abandoned formal bail applications.
According to their defence counsel, Sabundla is still “undecided” on whether he wants to proceed with a bail application and will require further consultation with his attorney. Should he decide to go ahead, his attorney will approach the court for a suitable date.
All the accused are scheduled to return to court on 28 October after the matter was postponed for further investigation. DM