JOHANNESBURG
– In under 40 seconds, a gardener raking leaves on the verge of a
suburban home in southern Joburg was grabbed by kidnappers, wrestled
into a vehicle and driven away.
The incident was captured on a CCTV camera mounted on the wall of an Oakdene home on Monday afternoon, showing how the man was grabbed by armed men who robbed him of the gate remote and side gate key to the property.
The four assailants took the gardener – who has worked for the homeowner every Monday for the past “six or seven years” – and beat him up while demanding information about his employer and the property.
“They manhandled him badly and forced him to tell them everything. They wanted to know who is in the house, what dogs are there, what cars, everything about alarms and beams, what is in the house,” said the homeowner, who asked to be identified only as “Leon”.
He said his gardener, who was badly traumatised, said he had been taken by four men, two of them with guns.
Leon, who runs a business from home, spotted the incident on his CCTV monitor as it happened, and ran out to help, but was too late.
He reported the incident to Moffat View police and to Stallion Security, the armed response company he is linked to.
“The police and security guys have been fantastic. They patrolled my house all through the night,” said Leon, who believes he is now targeted.
“I have changed the gate lock, we have changed the remote frequency and we are keeping the dogs away from the front of the property because they will probably be poisoned next,” Leon said, explaining that he was readying himself for an armed attack.
“I’m really sick of this. But I want it to go out as a warning to people that this is now happening. They need to be aware and be careful,” he said.
The footage was uploaded onto YouTube by anti-crime initiative e-Blockwatch on Monday night to serve as a warning to suburban residents, showing how quickly their security can be compromised.
Within a short time of the footage being released, another Joburg resident reported that their gardener had been kidnapped in a similar fashion.
Andre Snyman, founder of e-Blockwatch, said the organization was currently offering panic buttons to domestic workers free of charge.
“Security guards and domestic workers are the most vulnerable to intimidation by criminals because they are targeted by people who threaten them and their families if they don’t cooperate,” said Snyman.
The incident was captured on a CCTV camera mounted on the wall of an Oakdene home on Monday afternoon, showing how the man was grabbed by armed men who robbed him of the gate remote and side gate key to the property.
The four assailants took the gardener – who has worked for the homeowner every Monday for the past “six or seven years” – and beat him up while demanding information about his employer and the property.
“They manhandled him badly and forced him to tell them everything. They wanted to know who is in the house, what dogs are there, what cars, everything about alarms and beams, what is in the house,” said the homeowner, who asked to be identified only as “Leon”.
He said his gardener, who was badly traumatised, said he had been taken by four men, two of them with guns.
Leon, who runs a business from home, spotted the incident on his CCTV monitor as it happened, and ran out to help, but was too late.
He reported the incident to Moffat View police and to Stallion Security, the armed response company he is linked to.
“The police and security guys have been fantastic. They patrolled my house all through the night,” said Leon, who believes he is now targeted.
“I have changed the gate lock, we have changed the remote frequency and we are keeping the dogs away from the front of the property because they will probably be poisoned next,” Leon said, explaining that he was readying himself for an armed attack.
“I’m really sick of this. But I want it to go out as a warning to people that this is now happening. They need to be aware and be careful,” he said.
The footage was uploaded onto YouTube by anti-crime initiative e-Blockwatch on Monday night to serve as a warning to suburban residents, showing how quickly their security can be compromised.
Within a short time of the footage being released, another Joburg resident reported that their gardener had been kidnapped in a similar fashion.
Andre Snyman, founder of e-Blockwatch, said the organization was currently offering panic buttons to domestic workers free of charge.
“Security guards and domestic workers are the most vulnerable to intimidation by criminals because they are targeted by people who threaten them and their families if they don’t cooperate,” said Snyman.
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