A 9-year-old boy from Tynwald North in Harare was allegedly kidnapped last Friday while coming from school at a railway crossing by six men.
The boy was allegedly bundled into the boot of a vehicle along Kirkman Road near Sanganayi Inn as he was dusting his shoes on his way home.
He was allegedly gagged and had both legs tied together before he was reportedly blindfolded and shoved into the boot.
A 32-year-old man, Isa Linje from Antony Farm just outside Harare, was arrested and charged with the boy’s kidnapping after allegedly being positively identified.
Linje’s alleged accomplices are still at large. However, he was not asked to plead when he appeared before regional magistrate Daniel Shonhiwa who remanded him in custody to July 26. Linje was advised to apply for bail at the High Court.
According to prosecutor Valerie Ngoma the boy was driven to Dzivarasekwa suburb where he was locked in a wooden cabin.
The blindfold was allegedly removed and his legs loosened before the boy was given three options.
It is alleged he was asked to choose between being killed, thrown into a hole or staying with Linje and his colleagues.
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The boy allegedly chose to stay with them and was left in the wooden cabin alone. He reportedly managed to sneak out through a plastic sheet covering a portion of the cabin and took to his heels, heading home.
He allegedly reported the ordeal to his father and a search for the house proved fruitless as the boy reportedly failed to locate it.
However, Linje was allegedly spotted by the boy while loitering near their residence and he alerted his father, leading to the kidnapper’s arrest.
