Woman Recounts Terrifying Alleged Kidnapping Attempt While Using Popular E-hailing Service

• A young girl and her friend managed to escape an alleged attempted kidnapping by a Bolt driver
• The girl, Twitter user @nokuthulaxo, posted a video of the ordeal on Twitter, which has since been deleted
• The latest crime statistics for South Africa show that there were 4 124 reported kidnappings in the last three months of 2022

PRETORIA - One woman has shared a terrifying experience she and her friend endured while using the popular e-hailing service, Bolt.

Twitter user @nokuthulaxo took to the social media platform and shared a video of the entire ordeal that she has since deleted.

Passenger and friend plead with Bolt driver to be let out of the car

In the deleted video, the passenger and her friend can be heard screaming for the driver to stop the car so they can get out but the driver refused, saying he could drive them to the police station.

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The girls banged on the door and screamed to be let out until the driver eventually complied and stopped the car. The girls jumped out of the Bolt and began running away.

Though the video was deleted, @nokuthulaxo posted a series of tweets showing the route and accusing the Bolt driver of passing the alleged police station he claimed to be driving to.

Latest crime statistics show an increase in kidnappings in South Africa between October and December 2022

The Twitter user and her friend's harrowing ordeal comes after the latest crime statistics for South Africa show an increase in the number of kidnappings reported between October 2022 and December 2022.

According to the stats released by the South African Police Services, compared to the same period in 2021, there was a 58.3% increase in the number of kidnappings reported, from 2 605 between October and December 2021 to 4 124 in the last three months of 2023.

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South Africans complain about how unsafe e-hailing services have become in SA

People flooded the comments section of the deleted video with messages of concern.

Below are some comments:

@fatherratoo said:

"Yoh I’m so sorry, that’s really scary."

@callme_athel accused:

"Does @bolt even verify nationalities and identities though? Or do these people keep selling each other @bolt profiles? Because we know drivers sell profiles on Facebook."

@bhuddalaflame30 asked:

"How do @Boltapp_za allow such guys to work in SA? Yall don't take people seriously for real."

@_justrare_ exclaimed:

"Bathong! This is my area."

@Rea93704091 commented:

"Hey I'm sorry this happened to you guys and I'm glad you guys are okay. Hope you can track him down and that he can be charged."

@kamo_gxlo offered:

"Did the pic match the driver? If so, I could ask a couple of Uber/Bolt drivers that I know in the area to keep an eye out for these people."

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“Our kids are not safe”: Teen girl, 16, managed to escape after being kidnapped by 4 men in KZN

Similarly, Briefly News reported that a 16-year-old girl fortunately escaped from a car after being allegedly kidnapped by four men in Zwelisha in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, 12 February.

The teenage girl had walked to a tuckshop close to her home at around 2pm when a Volkswagen Polo stopped beside her.

The men then forced the girl into the car and gagged her when she tried to scream for help. One of the suspects threatened her with a knife, ensuring she obeyed their demands.

Source: Briefly News