A Johannesburg lady has detailed her horrific account of her kidnapping and beating by the hands of criminals in a taxi experience from hell this week.
In a prolonged Twitter thread, the girl additionally urged fellow commuters to be “vigilant” when travelling in public transport.
PASSENGER DETAILS KIDNAPPING HORROR
The lady, named Maranatha Marara – who makes use of the Twitter deal with @Marara_Natha – revealed that she was a “victim of kidnapping and robbery in Fourways” on Monday afternoon.
The Wits graduate shared her harrowing account – including in “red flags” she ignored throughout the horrific taxi experience.
She tweeted:
“I acquired on a taxi (Quantum) yesterday at round 17:40 simply exterior The Parks close to McDonald’s as I often do. There have been two males in it (1st mistake) so it was simply the three of us, and my intention was to get to Randburg.
“The driver requested me properly the place I used to be going (common chats) and I paid accordingly. At first, I seen that this taxi didn’t have the yellow stickers that I often see on the windshield of the taxi. But I didn’t suppose a lot of it as a result of I’d used one prefer it earlier than (2nd mistake).
Just then the experience took a harmful detour.
She continued:
“Not too far from Dainfern Square along William Nicol, the passenger pulled out a gun, jumped from the passenger seat to the row I was sitting at, and told me that this was a robbery. He forced me to sit on the floor of the taxi and not dare scream.
“I couldn’t believe that this was happening to me. I just remember thinking to myself that these people are going to shoot me and kill me anyway because I’ve seen their faces, and I prayed to God for dear life”.
The lady handed the abductors her banks playing cards and pins in addition to her telephone and passwords which they used to entry her banking app and enhance her withdrawal limits
Feeling courageous, the girl then tried to make a daring escape, a choice that may value her a beating.
She continued: “I had pepper spray in my bag and was trying to see if I could escape by jumping out of the moving taxi from the passenger door (3rd mistake). Once they saw was I was trying to do, I got strangled to almost the point of passing out. This aggravated them and the driver then changed the route to turn into the area that I think is near Lonehill into a bushy deserted field
“I then received the slapping of my life, being told that I just needed to co-operate. And at this point, they said I’d get to see how a person dies.
“I then apologised and we went back to William Nicol and then at some point what looked like Bryanston, but on Witkoppen road. This is where they stopped and the driver went out to go make his withdrawals”.
‘THEY CLEANED MY ACCOUNTS OUT’
Fearing for her life, the girl waited while her financial institution accounts have been emptied throughout her kidnapping.
She continued:
“They eventually finished with their transactions and dropped me off at Monte Circle where they warned me that if I dared scream or try anything (i.e. try to get their number plates), they’d shoot me.
“Those guys cleaned both my Absa and Capitec accounts out, including my savings meaning I’m left with zero for the rest of this month”.
The lady then known as her financial institution’s fraud hotlines and was instructed that an “investigation” can be launched.
“I honestly have no hope will reimburse me for all my losses. I don’t have a car, and I can’t afford to travel around using Ubers so the same taxis that I’ve been traumatised in are the same taxis I’ll still need to use to get around God knows however long.
“I’m just hoping that this will serve as a warning to the people who do use taxis to never get on to a taxi with only 2 or 3 men (I used to think nothing would ever happen but I got proven wrong yesterday).
“I wish none of this on anyone. It’s one of the most traumatic things I’ve ever been through. I guess I’m only sharing this for anyone that might have better luck than me in a situation like this”.
Read the full thread here
TWEEPS SHARE SIMILAR STORIES
Shockingly, many tweeps shared comparable tales of kidnappings, beatings, and in a single case, even a rape, after boarding a taxi.
@bongi_annointed: “I was raped in the same type of setup and beaten and left for dead in a veld. Taking taxis to date is still very traumatic. I even hate seeing a fire extinguisher because I was beaten with it”
@crodiaa: “This is exactly what happened to me in the same area. All events, everything. It has to be the same guys because the tactics are the same”
@pam_shoziii: “The same thing happened to two of my colleagues a couple of weeks ago, exactly as you described it. They got the taxi next to Steyn City”
@MmathaboMaloma3: “This happened to me in Boksburg last year with my cousin. There were three men inside the taxi. These days I make sure that the taxi has plenty of people before I jump into it. It was a traumatic experience”
ALSO READ: ‘Kidnapping crisis’: 32 circumstances since March – Cape Town requires devoted activity group
