Three people accused of kidnapping two British nationals appear in court
A trio accused of the kidnapping of Britons Rod and Rachel Saunders appeared in the dock together for the first time in the Verulam Magistrate’s court on Thursday. Fatima Patel‚ Sayfydeen Aslam del Vecchio and Themba Xulu stood huddled together in the dimly lit courtroom. The three are alleged to have kidnapped the prominent botanists while they were travelling in the northern reaches of KwaZulu-Natal. Patel‚ her face obscured by a niqab‚ stood close to Del Vecchio who had a bookbag with a Koran inside it‚ slung over his shoulder. The matter was adjourned until next week for a formal bail application. The Saunders‚ of Kenilworth in Cape Town‚ remain missing. The court heard on Wednesday that cellphones stolen from the abducted couple‚ which were found in the possession of Xulu‚ are expected to help police decode the circumstances around their kidnapping. Since the pair went missing‚ R734,000 was drained from their accounts and their car‚ a Toyota Land Cruiser‚ was found dumped with ...
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