The community of Lavender Hill on the Cape Flats is reeling in shock after the body of a woman who was kidnapped last month was found buried.
Charlene Josephs, 57, was having a normal evening on July 10, when masked gunmen entered her St Montague Village home during a power outage with flashlights and kidnapped her at gunpoint.
She was dragged into a silver car and had simply never been seen again.
Residents were left baffled by this movie-like scenario that took place, and the motive for the kidnapping remains unknown.
The incident was reported to Steenberg police station for investigation.
However, the provincial police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie confirmed Josephs’ body was found.
He said a meticulous investigation into the kidnapping was led by a multidisciplinary team comprising of Provincial Organised Crime’s Anti-Kidnapping Team, Crime Scene Investigations (CSI), Operation Lockdown, Steenberg Visible Policing and detectives, Muizenberg Visible Policing and the City of Cape Town’s Law Enforcement.
“A multi-disciplinary investigation team was established to probe the matter. Their persistence paid off when they followed up on clues and information which led to the arrest of a 23-year-old man on Friday, August 18, 2024, in connection with the kidnapping. The accused already appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on a charge of kidnapping on August 20,” Pojie said.
He said further investigation led the teams to another suspect and the discovery of Josephs’ body.
“A 49-year-old suspect was apprehended on Monday, August 19. The arrest of this suspect ultimately led to the discovery of the body of the kidnapped woman who was recovered from a sand grave in a deserted area behind the municipal landfill site in Muizenberg on the same day. The body had multiple stab wounds,” Pojie said.
The suspects appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on charges of murder and kidnapping.
The matter has been postponed until September 6, for a formal bail application.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
IOL