New Brighton shop owner kidnapped, Hawks investigation under way

A 38-year-old man was kidnapped outside his business in New Brighton, Gqeberha, on Tuesday evening – the latest in a disturbing trend of abductions across the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.

According to Hawks spokesperson Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana the incident took place on Tuesday evening just as the victim was preparing to close his shop. 

He was ambushed by a group of unidentified suspects who forced him into his Suzuki sedan and drove off. Minutes later, the kidnappers issued a ransom demand, Mhlakuvana said.

“There have been no further updates at this stage. Law enforcement agencies are on the ground and the investigation is ongoing.”

Troubling pattern

Over the past 12 months at least nine kidnappings – primarily motivated by ransom – have taken place in Nelson Mandela Bay:

• A 45-year-old teacher was kidnapped in March 2025 outside Happydale Special School in Algoa Park. Armed men dragged her from her Toyota Fortuner shortly after she arrived. She was reunited with her family three days later. It is unclear if a ransom was paid;
• Josh Sullivan, an American missionary, was abducted in April 2025 during a church service in Motherwell. He was rescued in KwaMagxaki five days later during a police operation in which three suspects were killed;
• Ebrahim Moosa, a businessman from Kruisrivier near Kariega, was kidnapped in February from his business premises. He was rescued by police a week later. Two people were arrested;
• Two foreign nationals were kidnapped in mid-February 2025 in an undisclosed part of Nelson Mandela Bay. Police have confirmed the case but provided few details. Investigations are ongoing;
• A Dutch tourist couple were hijacked and kidnapped in December 2024 near the R335, between Jeffreys Bay and Addo. They were robbed and later released unharmed;
• A Somali was abducted in Gelvandale in November 2024, held for ransom and released three days later with minor injuries. His kidnappers remain at large;
• Qays Mohaned Hersi Mohamoud, a Somali student, was kidnapped in Gelvandale in November 2024. He was later released unharmed;
• Kelvin Naidoo, the deputy president of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, was abducted in July 2024 and released six days later. The case sparked widespread public concern and condemnation from business leaders; and
• A 56-year-old man was lured to his gate in Nemato, Port Alfred, in May 2024, where he was abducted by a woman and a group of accomplices. He was rescued by police in Gqeberha. One suspect was arrested.

In 2024, after Naidoo was abducted, the Nelson Mandela Bay Civil Society Coalition wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa to ask for urgent intervention in the metro to deal with “alarming and escalating levels of crime”.

“This metro used to be one of the safer metros in the country, but due to the systematic breakdown of law and order enforcement, this has become an exceptionally dangerous place for its citizens and communities. The alarming crime statistics, which include high levels of brutal shootings, robberies, hijackings, kidnappings, cybercrimes and vandalism of public and private infrastructure, cannot proceed unabated.

“These crimes have severe consequences upon the safety and security of people, especially vulnerable communities, and have serious economic ramifications in terms of the retention of much-needed investment and employment in our metro, which is in a province which now has more people unemployed than employed,” the coalition’s Mongameli Peter wrote. DM