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- A well-known Cape Town businessman has been kidnapped.
- The founder of Good Hope Construction was abducted on Wednesday morning.
- This is the latest in a series of kidnappings to have taken place recently.
Cape Town businessman Ismail Rajah was kidnapped at Good Hope Construction in Parow on Tuesday.
His son, Raziek, confirmed this to News24 in a brief conversation in the hours following the shocking abduction of his 69-year-old dad.
"Yes, he has been kidnapped," he said, adding that the family would issue a statement later.
According to its website, Good Hope Construction is a legacy construction company in Cape Town, started four decades ago by Rajah senior.
It specialises in construction, project management and building costs consulting.
READ | Cash-in-transit gunmen look to kidnappings for high-value, low-risk payday - experts
Western Cape police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said Parow police were on the case.
Raja was abducted between 11:00 and 11:10 in broad daylight in front of the company's offices in Joubert Street.
"According to reports, the victim was getting out of his vehicle when two persons, armed with AK-47s, exited a Charcoal Audi Q7 and kidnapped him. They fled the scene in the direction of De La Rey Road," said Van Wyk.
Information that can help the police should be passed on via Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
The company has been in the news before. In 2017, a court ordered the National Union of Mineworkers to pay the company R1.25 million in compensation for damages caused during a strike over personal protective equipment and skills-related pay scales.
The company also withdrew from a building project in Manenberg when the main contractor did not pay R9.5 million - which, it said, it was owed.
GroundUp reported at the time that some residents claimed the impasse was over extortion demands by gangsters. Good Hope Construction at the time denied paying protection money to secure the safety of its sites.
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