Ethiopian Businessman Rescued in Joburg, 5 Alleged Kidnappers Arrested, 1 Killed in Police Shootout

• One suspect was killed and five others were arrested following a shootout in the Johannesburg suburb of Kensington
• Law enforcement, comprising several role players, rescued an Ethiopian businessman kidnapped one day earlier
• Lt-Col Mavela Masondo, in a statement sent to Briefly News, said police confiscated several illegal firearms
• The incident added to the police's successes after law enforcement arrested over 14,000 suspects for various crimes

Tshepiso Mametela is a seasoned journalist and the Head of Current Affairs at Briefly News. He reported live from President Cyril Ramaphosa's inauguration and has written articles on politics, crime, courts, accidents, and topics including sports at The Herald and Opera News SA over several years.

JOHANNESBURG — Police shot and killed one suspect and arrested five others during a kidnapping rescue in Kensington, east of the Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD), on Monday, 10 March 2025.

A team comprising various South African Police Service (SAPS) units, led by the anti-kidnapping task team, supported by private security, moved in on a property where a kidnapped Ethiopian businessman was being held captive.

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Kensington kidnappers face police might

Gauteng police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo, in a statement sent to Briefly News, said a shootout with an armed group of suspects ensued.

"One kidnapper was shot dead, and police arrested five others," he said.

Four illegal firearms, including an AK47, were recovered following the rescue of the businessman from an alleged ring after he was kidnapped outside a restaurant in Norwood, on Sunday, 9 March, about 7km away.

Masondo said some cars and the victim's belongings, including luxury watches and jewellery, were seized.

The incident comes as the National Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, applauded law enforcement across all nine provinces for arresting over 14,000 suspects for various crimes from 4 to 10 March.

Police confiscated more than 150 illegal firearms during this time.

The weapons included 112 handguns, 25 rifles, 13 shotguns, and five homemade guns. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the police were focused on stamping and affirming the state's authority.

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Mathe noted in a post on X that in the one week highlighted, police had recovered 50 hijacked and stolen vehicles, while teams had destroyed drugs worth an estimated R340 million, seized during operations in Cape Town.

It added to a reported R5.2 billion worth of drugs destroyed over three years.

Mathe had not responded to a Briefly News inquiry about when the suspects were due in court in the Kensington incident when this story was published.

Woman bravely staves off kidnapping

In a related story, Briefly News reported that an attempted abduction, caught on CCTV, sent shivers down SA's spine, several weeks after the chilling incident in Johannesburg.

It comes after a Tanzanian national visiting South Africa fended off would-be abductors in footage which went viral online. Netwerk24 first reported on the story after Sarah Scott fought her attackers while visiting her friend in an affluent part of the city — Hyde Park — on Friday, 21 February.

Source: Briefly News