For three days a young Gqeberha man was tied up, beaten and forced to phone his hysterical sister to negotiate his own ransom after he was kidnapped and held hostage in Johannesburg.
But thankfully the nightmare ordeal ended in tears of joy on Friday afternoon as Divan Visagie, a student nurse at a private hospital in the Bay, embraced his sobbing sister in the arrivals hall of Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport.
Since a rescue operation on Wednesday that culminated in Visagie’s released and two suspects being arrested, information has surfaced that allegedly places a close relative at the centre of the kidnapping and ransom plot.
However, the police are remaining tight-lipped about details surrounding the case because the investigation is ongoing.
The small group of family and friends who gathered at the airport cried openly when they spotted Visagie, 28, limping through the baggage claim area.
They tried to wipe away tears as they held him and helped him collect his bags.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he struggled to walk, supported by his sister.
His left eye was badly bruised and swollen, while his right eye was bloodshot, apparently from a burst blood vessel due to the abuse he had endured.
“I cannot describe the relief of being back home with my family. I am grateful to be back and to be alive,” Visagie said once he had composed himself.
He had attended the Johannesburg Pride event on October 28 and 29 and was scheduled to travel back to Gqeberha on Monday.
However, Visagie never made it to the terminus where he was scheduled to board a bus home.
Instead, his sister Roxy received a chilling phone call on Monday afternoon.
Visagie told her he had been taken and his kidnappers demanded R40,000 for his release.
Besides phoning the police, Roxy also employed the services of a family friend and private investigator, Des Finnis, of Uniq Investigations.
Finnis ran the investigation with the help of the police’s crime intelligence and the Bedfordview police.
According to Finnis’s account of the last few days, the help of crime intelligence units and some creative detective work were crucial in ensuring Visagie’s safe return.
Visagie had been waiting for his e-hailing taxi to take him to the bus station, but the vehicle he got into took a different route, and he ended up in the Cleveland area, where he was held hostage.
“Shortly after he was picked up, R3,000 was withdrawn from his account, and afterwards he was forced to make several phone calls and send messages to his sister to negotiate his own ransom, set at R40,000,” Finnis said.
Over the next two days, negotiations continued and the alleged kidnappers sent the family pictures of a bound and badly beaten Visagie.
However, crime intelligence members were able to analyse the pictures and voice recordings to determine a possible location where Visagie was being held.
They also traced his cellphone and made the connection that a close relative, who might have known Visagie’s plans while in Johannesburg, could allegedly have been involved in the kidnapping plot.
“On Wednesday, the noose started tightening and through continued communication with the suspects, we could tell they realised their operation was in jeopardy.
“They started negotiating terms for Divan’s release, and luckily the local police stations and crime intelligence were able to mobilise enough resources to execute a successful operation,” Finnis said.
A drop-off point for Visagie’s release was confirmed, and on Wednesday evening police arrested two suspects, aged 29 and 35.
Police spokesperson Captain Johann Jordaan confirmed that a case of kidnapping was opened at the Bedfordview police station and later transferred to the Cleveland station, where the investigation continues.
More charges could be added to the docket and more arrests were expected, Jordaan said.
Among the allegations still under investigation is that the kidnappers are part of a crime syndicate that lures victims by using fake profiles on online dating apps, and then invites them to meet at a location where they can be abducted.
Standing in the Gqeberha airport, Roxy was never out of arm’s reach from her brother.
Asked what it felt like to have him home safely, she sobbed.
“These last couple of days I fought so hard to stay strong. I had to keep my composure because I had to deal with the negotiations.
“I had to speak to Divan over the phone and I had to stay strong for him because it would have helped neither of us if I started crying.
“I knew he was being abused, so I had to stay strong for his sake.
“Our grandmother lives with me. She is old and frail and I could not allow her to find out, because it would have broken her.
“So I had to keep a straight face while my phone was going crazy and all I wanted to do was cry.
“But now that my brother is back I can finally let go of all the emotions I bottled up,” she said.
Visagie said he was not in a state to share much about his ordeal at this stage and had a lot of trauma he needed to digest.
“The moment they took me I just assumed I was going to die, and I resigned myself to my fate. So being back home with my family is surreal.
“Right now I can’t really put into words what happened while I was in Johannesburg.
“For now, I just want to enjoy this time with my friends and family,” he said.
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