Africa-Press – South-Africa. The first thing Abirah Dekhta wanted when she got back home was a hug from her mom and dad.
“She didn’t cry, not once,” relieved family friend Mian Ramzan, who is acting as a spokesperson for the elated Dekhtas, said.
“Her parents are so happy, so grateful to have her back. She got the biggest hug. And she is well, she was very, very strong!”
Abirah was kidnapped from her lift club vehicle while on her way to school almost two weeks ago. Armed men in a Nissan double-cab bakkie snatched her outside Amber Court on Yusuf Gool Boulevard in Gatesville, News24 reported at the time.
A ransom demand had been made, but not paid, Ramzan confirmed. The family, who own a cellphone business, had requested that the amount demanded not be disclosed.
After 10 angst-filled days, the Dekhtas finally have their bubbly little girl back.
“She was taking pictures with everyone, smiling like someone who returned from a trip,” Ramzan said.
“She said they didn’t hurt her. She was fed, watched TV, and played. Her little face was clean and she was still dressed in the clothes she had been taken in.”
Authorities swooped on a shack in Town Two, Khayelitsha, on Monday night in an intelligence-led integrated operation.
Police spokesperson, Sergeant Wesley Twigg, said various specialised units and law enforcement officials had been involved in the breakthrough, using “state-of-the-art technology” to find where she was located.
A group of suspects were taken in for questioning, “with a view to apprehending the perpetrators of the crime”.
Ramzan said the family, who had not paid any ransom, was working with the police and was hopeful it would be established who had taken their daughter.
“They want to know who is behind this. They have no idea who did this,” he said.
“But for now, they are happier than you can imagine.”
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