The kidnapping of Abidah Dekhta ended after 10 days and miraculously, the eight-year-old was reunited with her family.
Abidah Dekhta kidnapping: How police rescued the Rylands girl
The two-week-long horror Dekhta’s family endured when the little girl was snatched by unidentified kidnappers on her way to school ended on Monday when a multidisciplinary task team tracked her down to an informal settlement in Khayelitsha.
In a statement, Cape Town police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg revealed that a mixture of technology and the best detective brains from various law enforcement departments resulted in the rescue of the eight-year-old girl from Rylands, who was found in a shack situated in Town 2, Khayelitsha, on Monday evening.
Immediately after the rescue, Abidah Dekhta was rushed to a nearby healthcare facility where she underwent a full medical assessment and was later reunited with her family for the first time since she was kidnapped on Friday, 4 November 2022.
In a statement quoted by EWN, Gatesville Neighbourhood Watch head Fowzia Veerasamy thanked all roleplayers for their efforts in raising awareness about the kidnapping and providing assistance in bringing Dekhta back home safely and, as far as we know, unharmed.
“All we can say is thank you to everyone, every activist, every community person who took time to be part of this initiative this is a whole new meaning of community, ubuntu,” Veerasamy said
Here’s the latest on the suspects
Following the rescue, police confirmed that several individuals had been taken in for questioning in relation to the discovery of Dekhta in Khayelitsha. From what we understand, however, the persons questioned in the kidnapping case have, as yet, not been considered prime suspects.
“Investigations into the crime of kidnapping continue with police detectives currently questioning several individuals with a view to apprehending the perpetrators of the crime,” Sgt Twigg noted.
At the time this article was published, the suspects involved in the Abidah Dekhta kidnapping were still at large and considered very dangerous.
This is a developing story.