Another Grindr kidnap thrusts safety of queer people back into the spotlight

Queer activist, Yaya Mavundla, has lashed out at the police for their alleged lack of urgency in rescuing kidnap victim, Mohau Pholo.

Pholo was kidnapped by seven suspects last week through the gay dating app, Grindr.

Videos and pictures of the victim that were allegedly taken by his kidnappers have been widely shared on social media.

The perpetrators allegedly demanded a R50 000 ransom from the victim’s family.

Pholo, who was released yesterday, has since been taken to hospital for observation and has gone back to his mother in Bloemfontein, where he apparently feels safe.

Speaking to YNews, Mavundla accused the police of possibly working with the kidnappers, saying that their behaviour from the onset reemphasised what they have experienced whenever they would alert authorities about such cases.

The 18-year-old was found unconscious at a hostel in Denver by the police after his roommate reported him missing.

Specialist investigator, Mike Bolhuis, says they’ve received an overwhelming number of cases of young people who are lured and extorted on dating sites.

“We have found that also on these dating sites, the false identities and information theft is enormous. The social media world out there is a dangerous world.”