Police have arrested a suspect for the kidnapping of a 22-year-old Johannesburg man who was lured using the dating app Grindr. The company said it was 'acutely aware of this deeply troubling situation'.
A suspect has been charged after a 22-year-old man was abducted in Kensington, Johannesburg, on Thursday, 9 November, after going to meet someone he met on the dating app Grindr.
"This case is already in the court after one suspect was arrested, and it is now in the hands of the NPA," said Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo.
The case was postponed to 7 December for further investigations.
The victim, whose name is known to Daily Maverick, was released on Monday, 13 November, and found in Denver, according to Virginia Magwaza, who runs Parents, Families and Friends of South African Queers (PFFSAQ).
The kidnapper allegedly used the victim's phone to send threatening messages to the victim's contacts and his mother, saying the victim would be killed if she didn't pay R50,000.
A horrifying video of the kidnapping circulated on social media. In the video, the kidnappers hold the victim's genitals and tongue, and seem to be cutting them with a knife. Daily Maverick was unable to confirm whether any payments were made.
Under attack
Thami Dish of the Thami Dish Foundation, which provides counselling and other trauma services to queer victims, said such kidnappings had been going on...
