Zim businessman fears for SA partner

Chronicle Reporter

A ZIMBABWEAN businessman who owns a construction company in South Africa has claimed he had to escape the neighbouring country after his partner, a South African was abducted with the abductees demanding 40 million Rands in ransom.

Richard Dube revealed that he has been in partnership with Nosipho Soya who owns African Business Revelations Pty Ltd for some time before the alleged abduction.

“Our business was operating in Sunnyside, Pretoria and I was acting as Soya’s mentor as her company was classified grade 1. On the day she was kidnapped which was on 2 June 2023, I was in the Eastern Cape where we were submitting our papers for a construction job there.

“She informed us upon her eventual release that she had been bundled into a car by unknown assailants, who she suspects were speaking in Tswana hence she could not really get what they were saying,” said Dube in an exclusive interview.

He revealed that Soya was tortured, threatened and even sexually abused during the abduction leading her to reveal Dube as her business partner, of which the assailants then called him demanding the ransom money.

“Upon hearing that we were into construction that is when they become aggressive as they said we had access to big government tenders. They only released Soya after I committed to pay the 40 million Rands in three weeks’ time of which they informed us that they had every information about us and that I was a foreigner hence if we failed to honour our promise they will come for us.

“My intention when I made the promise was that we secure Soya’s release then we report the matter to the police, however since then I did not managed to see her and even her mobile phone is no longer going through, some of my acquittances have advised that at times these gangs work with the police hence my fear to approach the police,” said Dube.

“Initially I dismissed this but realised it was true as when I went to the police they said there was no proof to our story,” he added.

Dube revealed that he had to escape back to his home country as he knew he would not be able to raise the money which was being demanded by the gang.

“As is, I do not know what became of Soya as to me it became I apparent that we were not safe at all. We had no means of raising what was being demanded and worse for me a foreigner anything was possible; we were basically in a catch-22 situation.

“What pains me is Soya was running a legitimate small business and she was destined for greater heights as an individual, now she is living in fear and I am not even sure whether she will still be able to operate that business, ” said Dube.