- Almost everyone is a potential target
Article by Kotie Geldenhuys
Images courtesy of Pixels and Freepik
From ruthless syndicates that operate like ghost networks to predators who strike without warning, kidnapping has become a shape-shifting threat. Each new tactic leaves families terrified and communities wondering who will be next.
There is often confusion between kidnapping and abduction, despite key differences between the two crimes according to common law. Kidnapping consists of unlawfully and intentionally depriving a person of his or her freedom of movement and/or, if such person is a child, the custodians of their control over the child. In contrast, abduction consists of unlawfully taking a minor out of the control of his or her custodian with the intention of enabling someone to marry or have sexual intercourse with that minor.
Mlambo and Niyitunga (2024) argue that within the broader context of kidnapping, several types of kidnapping have become increasingly common in today’s globalised world. These include kidnap-for-ransom, tiger kidnappings or proxy bombings, express kidnappings, political or ideological kidnappings and virtual kidnappings. Kidnapping can be used to facilitate human trafficking (we are not going to discuss the latter in this article).
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[This is only an extract of an article published in Servamus: January 2026. This article is available for purchase.]