A project manager working on the multimillion-rand Sanral project to upgrade the R335 between Motherwell and Addo has been kidnapped.
The man, employed by one of the companies contracted by Sanral, was abducted on Wednesday morning.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said the Swartkops police were notified of a kidnapping on Addo Road near Monument Crossing at about 10.30am.
A case of kidnapping is being investigated.
“It is alleged that a 37-year-old male was busy on a construction site on Addo Road when a white Mercedes sedan stopped next to him.
“Two [men] got out and then forced him into the Mercedes and drove off with him.
“One of the [men] also took [the victim’s] white Toyota Hilux bakkie, which was found abandoned again in Ikamvelihle a short while later.
“No ransom demands have been made yet,” Gantana said.
Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has previously spoken out about attacks on the construction project.
During his state of the province address in 2024, he revealed that “construction mafias” had threatened to stop the upgrade, demanding R450,000 a month in protection fees.
The road is a vital citrus export route from the Sundays River Valley municipality to Nelson Mandela Bay’s two ports.
The project is divided in two, with the first phase cutting across wards 53, 54, 55, 56 and 23 in Motherwell.
The second phase is from Addo to Ngqweba (formerly Kirkwood).
A source close to the project said the assailants had visited the area for the second time in the space of a week.
“Last week Friday, the site manager for phase two of the project [had a gun pointed at him] by unknown people who came on site and made some demands.
“Since that incident, the site manager left and has not returned to work,” he said.
“And now today the project manager employed by the same company has been abducted.
“This has been an ongoing problem here in Motherwell.
“At one point last year people came and demanded a monthly protection fee of R450,000 which meant the project had to temporarily be stopped for safety reasons.”
A second source said they were concerned for the kidnapped manager’s safety and the repercussions this would have for the project.
“From what I heard, the guys came last week and shot in the air and on the road to scare people.
“The fear by residents and councillors is that the project might have to be closed because threats are not happening for the first time and people’s lives are at risk.
“Even Mabuyane has spoken publicly about these threats on construction companies, but they don’t seem to have stopped,” the insider said.
The Herald
Project manager working on road upgrade kidnapped
Image: NOMAZIMA NKOSI
A project manager working on the multimillion-rand Sanral project to upgrade the R335 between Motherwell and Addo has been kidnapped.
The man, employed by one of the companies contracted by Sanral, was abducted on Wednesday morning.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said the Swartkops police were notified of a kidnapping on Addo Road near Monument Crossing at about 10.30am.
A case of kidnapping is being investigated.
“It is alleged that a 37-year-old male was busy on a construction site on Addo Road when a white Mercedes sedan stopped next to him.
“Two [men] got out and then forced him into the Mercedes and drove off with him.
“One of the [men] also took [the victim’s] white Toyota Hilux bakkie, which was found abandoned again in Ikamvelihle a short while later.
“No ransom demands have been made yet,” Gantana said.
Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has previously spoken out about attacks on the construction project.
During his state of the province address in 2024, he revealed that “construction mafias” had threatened to stop the upgrade, demanding R450,000 a month in protection fees.
The road is a vital citrus export route from the Sundays River Valley municipality to Nelson Mandela Bay’s two ports.
The project is divided in two, with the first phase cutting across wards 53, 54, 55, 56 and 23 in Motherwell.
The second phase is from Addo to Ngqweba (formerly Kirkwood).
A source close to the project said the assailants had visited the area for the second time in the space of a week.
“Last week Friday, the site manager for phase two of the project [had a gun pointed at him] by unknown people who came on site and made some demands.
“Since that incident, the site manager left and has not returned to work,” he said.
“And now today the project manager employed by the same company has been abducted.
“This has been an ongoing problem here in Motherwell.
“At one point last year people came and demanded a monthly protection fee of R450,000 which meant the project had to temporarily be stopped for safety reasons.”
A second source said they were concerned for the kidnapped manager’s safety and the repercussions this would have for the project.
“From what I heard, the guys came last week and shot in the air and on the road to scare people.
“The fear by residents and councillors is that the project might have to be closed because threats are not happening for the first time and people’s lives are at risk.
“Even Mabuyane has spoken publicly about these threats on construction companies, but they don’t seem to have stopped,” the insider said.
The Herald
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