SA Horrified After Free State Toddler Survives After Being Kidnapped, Stabbed and Held Hostage
- A toddler firm the Free State was kidnapped and held hostage in Oranjeville
- the incident happened on 19 February 2025 and the toddler was stabbed multiple times before he was rescued
- the suspect was arrested and charged with attempted murder and the incident left South Africans shaken
Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered criminal activities, police investigations, police shootouts and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.
Source: Getty Images
FREE STATE– South Africans were horrified when a Free State toddler was rushed to hospital after he was kidnapped and stabbed multiple times on 19 February 2025.
What happened to the toddler?
According to The South African, the South African Police Service was alerted to a hostage situation at a house in Metsimaholo. A man held a two-year-old toddler hostage and repeatedly stabbed him multiple times. When the police arrived, they shot him in the leg and rescued the toddler. The suspect was arrested and charged with attempted murder. he appeared before court two days later.
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Statistics of crimes affecting children
In the crime statistics the South African Police Service released on 21 February, the police recorded 480 cases of the attempted murder of children in the third quarter of 2024. The police also recorded 2164 cases of assault GBH for the same period. The assault rate went up from 52,965 cases in the third quarter of 2023 to 56,486 cases in the third quarter of 2024. The number of kidnappings also increased from 4,577 in 2023 to 4,748 in 2024’s third quarter.
Cases of kidnapped children
- The police arrested five suspects in Tshwane on 24 January 2025 after a toddler was kidnapped and held hostage for three days
- Two teenagers were kidnapped outside of a high school in the North West in March 2024 while on their way to school
- The police rescued a child who was kidnapped at a tavern in the North West in May 2024 in the North West
Source: Getty Images
South Africans shaken
Netizens commenting on The South African’s Facebook page condemned the incident.
Georgina Chadhina Gomes said:
“This is brutal and inhumane.”
Sarag Kristi Stoddart asked:
“What is wrong with these men? Can they just leave the innocent children alone?”
Basetsana Dikobe asked:
“Who in their right mind holds a toddler hostage and stabs them?”
Milly Chilly said:
“A toddler held hostage also got stabbed? Whoever did this is a lunatic.”
Jackie Van De Venter said:
“That poor child! I pray for full emotional and physical healing.”
Ashmeer Loknat said:
“This is why the death penalty is necessary. It was the only time criminals thought twice.”
KZN kidnapped boy found on his birthday
In another article, Briefly News reported that the South African Police Service rescued a kidnapped eight-year-old in KwaZulu-Natal in April 2024. The police rescued him on his birthday.
He was taken from his primary school and the kidnappers demanded R9000 ransom money. The police mobilized multiple units and he was found a day after he was kidnapped. South Africans were touched by the rescue, and one noted that it was an unforgettable birthday for the child.
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Source: Briefly News
