The South African Police Service (SAPS) has deployed specialised units to the scene to investigate the kidnapping.

• A Grade 5 pupil was kidnapped outside Allied School in Robertsham, Johannesburg, on Friday morning while being dropped off by her father.
• SAPS has deployed specialised units to investigate the kidnapping.
• The incident follows a pattern of school-related kidnappings in the country, including the 2022 abduction of two Brits cousins and the 2025 kidnapping of Free State teen Kamogelo Baukudi.

A Grade 5 pupil was kidnapped outside Allied School in Robertsham, Johannesburg, on Friday morning, in what the school has described as a targeted incident.

The child was snatched from outside the school premises while being dropped off by her father, the school confirmed in a statement.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has deployed specialised units to the scene to investigate the kidnapping.

The school has announced that it will provide trauma counselling resources to the affected family, pupil’s, and staff.

In its statement, the school emphasised its ongoing commitment to maintaining the “security and safety” of all pupils.

Pattern of school kidnappings

The incident is the latest in a series of kidnappings targeting school-going children in South Africa.

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In 2024, two teenage cousins, Zahraa Mohammed and Bataviya Mohammed, were abducted in front of their primary school in Brits, North West.

News24 previously reported that the pair were travelling to Bataviya’s home in Hartbeespoort when they were ambushed. Two gunmen emerged from a stolen Audi A3 and forced the cousins into a white Volkswagen Polo GTI before fleeing the scene.

A year later, in 2025, Free State teenager Kamogelo Baukudi was allegedly kidnapped by two men posing as police officers. The suspects were driving a white Toyota Hilux fitted with blue lights and a police siren.

Baukudi was travelling home from school with a family friend when the vehicle pulled them over, with the men accusing them of drug trafficking.

READ | Kidnapped Brits teenagers freed, several arrests made

The family friend said he was ordered to lead the convoy to Park Road police station, while Baukudi was made to get into the white Toyota Hilux.

While en route to the police station on Vereeninging Drive, the family friend lost sight of the convoy.

The victims’ cellphones were later discovered beneath the Ferreira Road bridge.

Baukudi was rescued unharmed after a R110 000 ransom was paid.