Steven Gruzd hy”d, a prominent South African Jewish intellectual and senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), was found dead after being kidnapped for ransom in what authorities are calling an “express kidnapping.”

Gruzd disappeared at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, according to the Jewish Community Security Organization (CSO). Police located his body two days later after one of five arrested suspects disclosed the location to authorities.

South African news outlet News24 reported that all five individuals were taken into custody in connection with the kidnapping and murder.

The CSO, which investigated the incident alongside Community Active Protection (CAP) after being alerted by the victim’s family, said the killing bore no signs of antisemitic motivation. “None of the arrested suspects had links with terror organizations or terrorist motives,” the CSO said in a statement, characterizing the case as a criminal matter rather than a hate crime.

Express kidnappings — in which victims are abducted for rapid financial extortion — have become an increasingly serious concern in South Africa, where violent crime rates remain among the highest in the world.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)