A victim of kidnapping will never be the same.
These were sentiments shared by experts who have been dealing with the surge of kidnappings for ransom in South Africa.
But what happens to the victims after their traumatic ordeal is a story that is seldom told.
Some of the most recent kidnappings was that of PE businessman Calvin Naidoo and the four Moti brothers, who were kidnapped in October 2022 while on the way to school.
The family who allegedly paid a R50 million ransom for the safe release of their four sons, aged between seven and 14, have since relocated to Dubai.
Another kidnap victim Durban woman, Sandra Munsamy, whose trial is currently playing itself out in the Durban High Court was kidnapped over five years ago.
Munsamy, a successful businesswoman, was snatched on the M19 Stapleton by balaclava-clad gunmen on May 30, 2019.
She was one of the longest kept victims in captivity, released six months after her kidnapping in November 2019.
The four men, two of them Mozambican nationals, are on trial for her kidnapping and are accused of demanding a $10 million (around R182 million) for her release. Whether they were paid the ransom has not been revealed.
The men have pleaded not guilty and are behinds bars as awaiting trial prisoners. During her testimony in the Durban High Court in March 2022, Munsamy broke down during her evidence-in-chief. She also did not testify in open court but in-camera.
This week, a police officer who rescued Munsamy said that she was held in the boot of the car from Durban to Gauteng and spent almost eight hours there.
A person close to the investigation said Munsamy was a “shadow of her former self”.
The person said she was still living in fear and that the trauma she went through resurfaced during the trial.
He said only prayer got her through tough times.
Speaking about the psychological effects of kidnapping is Kerry Frizelle, a psychologist from the University of Western Cape.
“A really interesting case that comes to mind of the ways in which kidnapping impacts on an individual is the story of Alison Botha.”
Frizelle said many healthcare experts refer to effects of Post Traumatic Stress disorder like guilt, anxiety, intrusive memories etc., that occur after a kidnapping.
“But I don't think this does justice to the intricate ways in which this kind of trauma infuses itself into the psyche. Alison was kidnapped and horrifically attacked. It was a miracle she survived,” Frizelle said.
“She wrote a book called I Have Life that celebrated her survival. Interesting she later said the following and I quote: ‘People want the happy fairy tale ending for me, so do I. But for now it keeps eluding me’.”
Frizelle said this was one example of how trauma from an incident like this impacts on the autonomic nervous system and makes the survivor/victim hyper vigilant for threat.
“This results in things like social thinning. Hypervigiliance means you are likely to read a social interaction as threatening, even if it isn't,” Frizelle said.
“Alison survived but carried the wounds. She found hope, but she also struggled. Despite all she has achieved there is no fairy tale ending.”
Frizelle said while trauma hardly ever resolves itself, survivors learn ways of coping, processing and making meaning despite the trauma.
“But the horror will always sit close to the surface. Recently, she had to hear the news that the two men who attacked her have been released, leaving her scared and overwhelmed again,” Frizelle said.
“In my line of work I have found that while talking therapy may be effective and important for processing, the survivor of something like a kidnapping will also need some somatic work to assist them in addressing the impact it has had on the body and nervous system,” said Frizelle.
“A survivor will need ongoing support of different forms as they live out their personal story of trauma and the ways in which it is understood differently at different times in one's life.”
Mike Bolhuis, owner of Specialised Security Services (SSS) said they deal with a majority of serious kidnapping cases in South Africa.
He said after the victims are rescued they are found in a traumatic state.
“Especially the person kidnapped and then the wife or husband. It has a severe effect on the kids as well.”
He said when the person is being kidnapped there is an adrenaline rush.
“Those first few seconds when someone is taken has a lifelong imprint. The victim never forgets that.”
He said the victim then tries to figure out how they can escape or how they will be found.
“What’s this going to do to my family and what losses am I going to incur. Overriding thought is that I could be killed.”
Bolhuis said at the third stage the victims are taken to a location where they are given food and water and ransom is asked for and so forth.
“Once the person has been released, that scenario will never leave the mind and will always live in a state of uncertainty and fear,” Bolhuis said.
“So much so, many of these businessmen have a complete turnaround. Some people become religious, some leave the country, or move to another place,” he said.
“There is not a kidnapped person that we have dealt with that is not completely and totally changed.”
Bolhuis said they also noted reports of extreme paranoia amongst victims who felt it would happen to family or business partners.
“It is not imaginable what kidnapped victims go through, there is a difference between knowing something and realising something.”
Bolhuis said the person needs extreme support.
“We find women who are victims of kidnapping handle the situation better. But kidnappings of women are fewer. They generally target bread winners,” he said.
“This has happened and I have to deal with it,” Bolhuis said.
“I always encourage victims to talk as much about what happened as much as possible to their loved ones. That’s the first step of taking the wonder out of any situation and then move forward.”
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