Umamah Bakharia | ub@radioislam.co.za

2 min read
14 November 2022 | 16:00 CAT

Gatesville Neighbourhood Watch in Cape Town says it is continuing its search for missing 8-year-old Abira Dekhta after being kidnapped last week on her way to school.

Photo credit: Facebook

Gatesville community chairperson Fawzia Veerasamy says they were planning a march to Parliament this week to demand the involvement of lawmakers.

She added that the community is disappointed that Police Minister Bheki Cele failed to show his support for the missing girl.

“I have had enough of Bheki Cele touring the whole country. He is forgetting about our race of children here and he has not come to our area to sympathise with the children. Is our culture or our religion, our children not important to him to fly on his carpet to our side?,” says Veerasamy.

According to Gatesville Neighbourhood Watch, CCTV footage shows that a white Nissan double cab bakkie drove into the driveway at Amber Court, where the lift club driver had been parked to pick children up for school.

Two men then jumped out of the vehicle with firearms and held the driver at gunpoint. They stole the driver’s cell phone and grabbed Abirah by the neck, forcing her into the Nissan bakkie.

According to local media reports, Abirah’s case is the latest in at least 200 kidnappings in the Western Cape.

Police say they are still investigating the matter and appeal to anyone with information to come forward.

This is a developing story.