Kidnapped, chained and abandoned — man escapes sugar cane horror in Mayville

Mayville, KwaZulu-Natal – A 31-year-old man narrowly escaped a kidnapping ordeal after fleeing his captors in a sugarcane field early Monday morning, Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) confirmed.

The victim, an unemployed builder and father of a young daughter, told officers he was offered a lift near Bassas Mall in Mayville on Sunday evening at approximately 19:30. The vehicle, a silver Toyota Etios, was occupied by three men and one woman.

“Minutes into the ride, they took my phone and began assaulting me,” the victim said.

“They chained my feet together using padlocks and shoved me into the trunk of the car.”

According to the victim, the group drove to several locations, including taverns, before stopping near a sugarcane plantation at around 04:00 on Monday.

“I thought they were going to kill me and dump my body,” he said.

Seizing an opportunity when the kidnappers were distracted by an approaching vehicle, he fled into the cane fields, hid, and eventually made his way to a road where he flagged down a passing taxi.

The driver transported him to RUSA headquarters.

Reaction Officers used a bolt cutter to remove the chains and two padlocks restraining the man.

“We freed him and handed him over to the South African Police Service (SAPS),” a RUSA spokesperson said.

The taxi driver who brought the victim to RUSA had to leave briefly to drop off passengers, so the precise location where he was picked up could not be established.

The victim’s ordeal reportedly lasted about eight hours. Authorities have urged the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity while investigations into the incident continue.