South African police rescue Portuguese businessman kidnapped 10 days ago in Soweto

South African police have rescued alive a 69-year-old Portuguese businessman who was kidnapped 10 days ago in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, a source in the national security command told Lusa on Saturday.

“A multidisciplinary team led by the Special Intervention and Intelligence Unit has arrested an illegal Zimbabwean national in connection with the kidnapping of a 69-year-old Portuguese businessman,” said South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Atlenda Mate.

“The man was rescued and taken to a private hospital,” he said.

A South African police spokesman told Lusa that the businessman was found in the Muslim-majority suburb of Lenasia, near Soweto, and was rescued alive at 11:45 p.m. (12:45 a.m. in Lisbon) this Friday, August 9.

When asked by Lusa Atlenda, Mate stressed that “the ransom was requested but not paid,” without giving details.

According to South African authorities, the businessman was kidnapped on July 31 in Soweto.

At least 33 Portuguese-South African businessmen have been kidnapped in the South African province of Gauteng, home to the city of Johannesburg, the epicentre of violent crime and kidnappings in the African country, over the past 19 months, according to several sources, Lusa said.

Kidnapping crimes involving large sums of money being demanded to rescue victims are on the rise in South Africa, according to South African police.

According to the same sources, most of the incidents occurred in Gauteng.

Official figures seen by Lusa show that in the last quarter of 2023 alone, South African police recorded 4,577 kidnappings in the country, an 11% increase (453 more cases) compared to the same period the previous year.

According to the South African government, there are about 200,000 Portuguese citizens and about half a million Portuguese descendants living in South Africa.