Disturbing crime trend targeting people in South Africa’s richest province

• Kidnappings have emerged as a serious concern in South Africa's richest province, with Gauteng accounting for 56.9% of all reported kidnappings nationally in the first quarter of 2025/26.
• The province accounted for between 60% and 75.5% of ransom-related kidnappings across the reporting periods, with Gauteng recording 140 of the country's 231 ransom kidnappings in the first quarter of 2026/27.
• Gauteng's dominance in kidnapping cases has raised concerns, with the province's precincts dominating the list of the country's 30 kidnapping hotspots.