A Grade 11 Fairmount High School pupil is recovering from the shock of having been abducted by three men who stole her belongings and injured her with a knife after they had forced her into their car.
The incident happened last Thursday while Azra Majiet was
on her way to the Grassy Park school.
Azra’s mother Shameega, called Southern Mail to allow her daughter to talk about her ordeal, after a message from Ms Majiet went viral on social media.
Ms Majiet said she had posted the message on her Hajj group chat, which had eight members, all of whom were family. She said she had posted on the group chat that she was taking her daughter to Victoria Hospital, in Wynberg after men had tried to kidnap her on her way to school. “I don’t know how the message ended up on Facebook,” she said, adding that before the story was blown out of proportion, she wanted Azra to explain what had happened.
Azra, who lives close to her school, said she left home at 7am, with her younger brother who attended a primary school in Grassy Park.
She walked along Ontong Road where her brother joined a group of his friends who were walking to school. She said when she got to Second Avenue, close to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) a white Toyota Tazz approached from behind and “two men came out and pulled me into the car.”
She tried to fight them, but they put a “white tablet” in her mouth and forced her to swallow it, she said.
“Two men were in the back with me while a third man drove the car, but not too fast. The men took my jacket off me, my money, my phone and my school bag, which they later threw out of the car,” Azra explained.
She said in the struggle, the men, who had knives, stabbed her. “They stabbed me into my right arm, scraped over my face and hand.” She said she fought hard and noticed the right door was not closed properly. “I kicked one man out and jumped over him as I fell out of the car.”
When asked why the other man hadn’t tried to stop her, she said “his hands were full with my jacket, money and phone”.
Disorientated, she stumbled, picked up a few of her books which were lying in the street, and went to look for her brother. “No one was around, but eventually I found a neighbour who took me to school.”
She said her “head was spinning”, but she can’t be sure if it was because of the tablet they gave her.
Mr Klassen said when Azra got to school she was immediately assisted by fellow pupils and the school got hold of the police and ambulance who responded immediately. “She told us about the stabbing and how she managed to get away.”
“(Doctors at) Victoria Hospital couldn’t find out what type of tablet they (perpetrators) gave her, but when she came home her mother said she slept for an hour and a half. She was put off by the doctor on Thursday and Friday but she came to school on Friday.
“She is a fighter and she performs well in school,” Mr Klassen said.
Mr Klassen said a psychologist came to counsel Azra on Monday August 14. “I also spoke to the children, in assembly, and asked them not to walk alone to school.”
“Ladies should be more careful when walking in the streets. I advised them not to walk with earphones while listening to music.
“I also want to encourage parents who are working, to see that they get their children safely to school.”
He said they often found children being robbed of their cellphones and money when they walk to and from school. “We have spoken to Grassy Park police but are waiting on them to get back to us regarding regular patrolling.”
Detective head at Grassy Park police station, Colonel Etienne van Ede, confirmed that a case had been opened and that “we are currently investigating the case. We have received the J88 docket (detailing) her injuries.”
He advised children to be “aware of their surroundings and of what route they took to school”.
“Don’t take the same route every day,” he said.
When asked if officers had been deployed to patrol the area, he said: “Yes, we are more visible and are patrolling in the area.”