“We just want our daughter back. We just want her back home safely,” the Dekhta family pleaded on Monday, after eight-year-old Abirah Dekhta was abducted in Cape Town on Friday.

Abirah was abducted outside Amber Court on Yusuf Gool Boulevard in Gatesville, while being transported to school by her lift club on Friday morning.

Her uncle and family spokesperson, who requested not to be named, said the family was still shocked and worried.

He said there were no developments since Abira was snatched on Friday and that the family had not been approached with a ransom request.

“We are all in shock. We haven’t received any updates or phone calls. The family is not doing well,” he added.

On Friday, the Muslim Judicial Council issued an alert after the abduction, urging people to pray for the little girl’s safe return.

The council’s first deputy president Moulana Abdul Khaliq Allie said the organisation was devastated by the kidnapping and he called for increased vigilance from the community.

“The family is still going through so much trauma and hardship, both for their little girl and themselves,” said Allie.

“These kidnappings happen in broad daylight. We call upon police and protection authorities to have proper mechanisms in place to enable the swift tracking and arrest of these criminals,” he said.

Cape Town police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, said: “[The] circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation. The finer details will not be divulged in any way as a result of the sensitivity of the investigation.”

Gatesville Neighbourhood Watch chairperson Fowzia Veerasamy said there was no update, adding that the community was living in fear after Friday’s abduction.

“We can’t imagine what the family is going through. Their child is out there with strangers not knowing her behaviour or eating habits,” said Veerasamy.

“Your child is your child, and her being taken so viciously, screaming for help, begging not to be taken, has shaken everyone,” she added.

Veerasamy said residents feared that their children could be next, as this wasn’t the first incident to rock the neighbourhood.

Recently, a number of kidnapping attempts were made in the area, which led to residents calling for visible policing.

Veerasamy said: “When we did a joint patrol with Athlone neighbourhood structures, the CPF [community police forum] and law enforcement over the weekend, we could have sworn it was a ghost town – dead quiet and no children outside. Main gates were locked, with people living in fear.”

In August, six-year-old Shanawaaz Asghar was abducted outside his home in Kensington, Cape Town, while heading to school. He was returned to his family late the next day. No details were provided, despite rumours that a ransom demand was made.

Anyone with any information about Abirah Dekhta’s whereabouts should contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.

News24