The kidnapping occurred in the West Rand region, on the outskirts of Johannesburg, the economic capital of South Africa, according to an urgent alert published at 9:00 am (8:00 am in Lisbon) on the Whatsapp social network of Portuguese associations in South Africa.
The alert, which released a photo of the victim, indicated that the Portuguese trader, owner of a butcher's shop, was kidnapped from his place of work by two pickup trucks.
Previously, via SMS, the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Portuguese Forum of South Africa, announced that it was investigating "two new kidnappings and a case of homicide", without providing details.
Contacted by Lusa, the Portuguese-South African NGO, as well as the national command of the South African Police (SAPS), have not responded to a request for clarification about the incident so far.
South Africa is facing an increase in the crime of kidnapping in which large amounts of money are demanded to rescue victims, according to the South African police.
Official data consulted by Lusa indicate that in the last quarter of 2023 the South African police recorded 4,577 kidnappings in the country, meaning an increase of 11% (453 more cases) compared to 4,124 cases reported to the security forces in the same period of the previous year.
According to the South African police, the country's provinces most affected by the crime of kidnapping are Gauteng (51.7%), where Johannesburg and Pretoria, the country's capital, are located; and KwaZulu-Natal (1.4%), which borders Mozambique, and where the port city of Durban is located.
According to data from the South African Government, around 200,000 Portuguese citizens and close to half a million Portuguese descendants reside in South Africa.
