A 47-year-old Ethiopian national appeared in court on kidnapping charges after 12 half-naked young adults were spotted walking through Mulbarton, Johannesburg.
Mantesnot Lendido Erisado appeared before the Booysens Magistrates’ Court on Friday. He was initially accused of human trafficking.
Accused faces 12 kidnapping charges
He faces 12 counts of kidnapping and one count of failing to stop when instructed to do so by the police.
Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) officers were patrolling Mulbarton on Tuesday when they were alerted to a group of 10 half-naked teenage boys walking on foot on The Broads Street.
JMPD officers questioned those involved further and established that the alleged victims were foreign nationals who could not speak English.
During the investigation, officers also learned that Erisado had taken two other victims in a blue Volkswagen Jetta.
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The JMPD, the South African Police Service (Saps) Mondeor, and the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation’s Trafficking in Persons later intercepted the vehicle.
However, Erisado fled the scene, resulting in a high-speed chase, which ended with his arrest on Commissioner Street in the Johannesburg CBD.
The police subsequently rescued the 12 victims.
Rescued victims not teenagers
Erisado appeared in court, and according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the victims were Ethiopian nationals, aged between 20 and 30.
The matter was postponed to 12 January to allow the accused to obtain legal representation and for the possible launch of a bail application.
The court also postponed the case so that it can source an Amharic interpreter.
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“The NPA remains committed to prosecuting offences of this nature to protect vulnerable persons and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable,” NPA regional spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said.
Ethiopian victims also appear in court
After Erisado’s appearance, the 12 victims also appeared in the same court on charges of being illegal in the country.
Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said that the 12 young men’s case was postponed to 15 January for possible guilty pleas.
“The medical assessment has since established that the 12 weren’t necessarily teenagers as previously reported, but young adults between the ages of 22 and 33,” Mogale said.
Erisado and the 12 men were all remanded in custody.
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