Kempton Park emerges as Gauteng kidnapping hotspot as committee calls for urgent action

Kempton Park recorded the highest number of kidnapping cases in Gauteng between April and June 2026, with 76 cases reported during the period, according to the latest crime statistics.

The figure represents a 58.3% increase from the 48 cases recorded in the same period in 2025.

The statistics were presented during a Gauteng Provincial Legislature Portfolio Committee on Community Safety stakeholder engagement on Friday, where the committee raised concerns over the growing kidnapping crisis in the province.

Gauteng recorded 2,367 kidnapping cases between April and June 2026, accounting for more than half of the 4,638 cases recorded nationally during the quarter.

The committee said the figures were particularly concerning amid the recent discovery of the bodies of several women in the broader Ekurhuleni area. Investigations into those deaths are ongoing.

The committee also heard that kidnapping in Gauteng includes hijacking-related abductions and kidnapping for ransom.

According to a SAPS presentation, the organised crime team dealt with ransom kidnapping cases in Bekkersdal and Roodepoort during the first quarter of the current financial year. A ransom of R5 million was reportedly demanded in the Bekkersdal case, while R3 million was demanded in the Roodepoort case.

Committee chairperson Bandile Masuku called for strengthened intelligence gathering, improved coordination between law enforcement agencies, targeted operations in identified hotspots and greater community engagement.

Residents were also urged to report suspicious activity and provide information that could assist police investigations.

The committee said kidnapping should not be normalised and called for criminal networks involved in such offences to be disrupted.