We’re scared to visit SA,’ security companies told as kidnappings spark demand for protection

A surge in kidnappings in South Africa has led to a booming demand for bodyguards and private armoured vehicles.

Security companies report a significant increase in requests from businesspeople and international delegates because they fear being kidnapped and robbed.

Armoured vehicle services are also experiencing a spike in demand, directly linked to the number of kidnappings.

A spike in kidnappings in South Africa has ignited the demand for bodyguards and private armoured vehicles – even from across the seas, according to industry firms.

It costs more than R500 000 to amour a vehicle, says one company, but the fear that has gripped ordinary people and businesspeople is so intense that some of them are prepared to fork out the exorbitant fees for their protection.

Four security companies spoke to News24 about the significant increase in demand for protection.

“We are getting a lot more requests from delegates visiting from other countries coming to South Africa. Whether it’s for a day or a week, they refuse to come to South Africa without bodyguards,” said Pierre Gildenhuys, the head of forensic investigations at D&K Management Consultants.

He said the firm was handling numerous international delegates.

The company conducts risk assessments on clients to determine the need for bodyguards or protection services and, often, clients cite the high crime rate in South Africa as the primary reason for their concerns.

Gildenhuys recounted two recent requests for bodyguard services.

“There’s a businesswoman who requested our services because she received a death threat. This is not necessarily a kidnapping, but it is a threat that arose from certain business decisions that were made. The information was shared with us, and we kicked off with a protection detail, especially custom-made for her.”

The other incident involved a business robbery. About eight armed individuals entered the business premises and stole valuables, including laptops, cellphones, and wallets.

Among the stolen items was his client’s briefcase, which contained banking documents that revealed account balances.

“Immediately he feared that the people would come back for him to kidnap him because his documents were in this briefcase and they could see the large amounts of money that he had lying in their accounts and, ever since then, we have also been giving him a service with close protection officers,” Gildenhuys said.

Grove Storm, operational director of Oryx International, said the company has also seen an increase in the demand for bodyguards with the spike in kidnappings in South Africa.

“We have seen a rise, especially [among] the Portuguese shop owners. [The] Muslim and Indian community are [also] definitely being targeted,” he said.

He said more private civilians were also seeking protection.

“They approach us with the fear of being kidnapped because like me, they also read news and they see that there’s a problem,” he said.

Increase in demand for armoured vehicles

Meanwhile, armoured vehicle services are also experiencing a spike in demand – also directly linked to recent kidnappings.

Michael Broom, Armormax sales and marketing manager, said:

There is a direct correlation between the increase in kidnappings and the increase in demand we have seen in our business.

The clients are mostly private civilians.

“The simple reason is that we are often at our most vulnerable in our vehicles in transitory spaces such as leaving or arriving at home, the office, shopping centres, and so on. Having an armoured vehicle means that you can resist the attack and buy yourself sometime to get away to safety, even if your attacker fires his weapon,” Broom said.

He added that his clients mainly fear being kidnapped.

“The most common is that there has been an incident – perhaps a hijacking or kidnapping or threat – which causes the client a great amount of trauma… They turn to armouring their vehicle as there is no guarantee they could be as lucky if it happens again.”

Another company, SVI Armoured Vehicles, has seen the demand for armoured vehicles rise by more than 50%, according to Nicol Louw.

“We’ve got a lot of businessmen who do cash business and need to run on cash, so if you transport a valuable you will always need an armoured vehicle because that’s a risk.”

Louw said it cost more than R500 000 to amour a vehicle.

This week, News24 reported that the Nelson Mandela Bay mayor would meet National Treasury to discuss a budget for CCTV cameras because of the surge in kidnappings in the metro, with at least 10 victims since the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile, in Johannesburg, police officers seized R300 million worth of drugs in Fourways on 31 July while rescuing a kidnapped businessman.