Many victims have been encouraged by Ms X’s story. It gave emotional colour to what had become a colourless crime. Last week, I spoke with ten victims of kidnapping. One agreed for his story to be made public:

    * Snatched by gun-toting men

“I sleep with my lights on and I no longer eat nuts,” he said quietly. Such was the extent of the damage to him and the everlasting fear. Not hatred‚ he quickly added, but fear.

Mr X, the son of a prominent businessman, was snatched by four gun-toting men late one afternoon. He was put in the middle of the back-seat, sandwiched between two men with guns.

A short drive away from the point of kidnapping, the kidnappers stopped to tie his hands, with cutlass wire, and dragged him to throw him in the trunk of the car. As he struggled, two of the men beat and kicked right there, one of them rammed his boot into his back so hard that he buckled and fell inside the car’s trunk. The physical pain was excruciating and intense. To this day, X still suffers from severe back pains.

His abductors took him to an apartment where he spent the night in a daze. The next morning, X was fed bread and cheese. He was allowed to use the washroom—with his hands still tied, one of the kidnappers pulled down his pants and briefs for him.

X asked if his hands could be freed so that he could clean himself. There was no response. The same man simply pulled up his brief and jeans and escorted him back to the room where he was being kept.

Two of the men wore masks, the faces of the other two were bare of coverings. A cellphone rang and X could hear one of the men taking directions. X heard him curse and raise his voice, asking the caller if he was certain that this plan would work.

One hour later, his room door was opened and he was greeted by an unforgettable sight: his four abductors were all dressed as soldiers, in full army camouflage uniforms. X was bundled into the trunk of a car.

Forty-five minutes later, the kidnappers and their victim switched vehicles. X was blindfolded and placed inside “a sort of barrel, in the back of what felt like a truck.” There were holes at the top to allow air in so he could breathe but it was a bumpy ride and his hands were cramping.

    * This is the spot -

About three hours later, he was taken out of his container and led along a track, up some hills into the bush. One of the men called out to say they had arrived. X heard him say that the plan had worked well as “police eh stop we.”

The party of men walked for about an hour until one man said “this is the spot.” X’s hands were untied and he was allowed to urinate. Still blindfolded, he was led into what felt like a cave or some dark hole. His hands were tied behind his back around what felt like a tree trunk or a rough, broad wooden post.

His blindfold was removed and a crocus bag placed over his head with strings at the base that were pulled around his neck and tied. The bag stank, but he could breathe.

The men left X in this “cave.” In total darkness, he stayed awake all night. He could hear the noises of animals and worried that if he fell asleep, he’d be at the mercy of snakes. He was afraid of snakes. He eventually fell asleep thinking how worried his mother must be.

When he awoke, he assumed it was daytime. The place was still dark and the crocus bag was still on his head. He could feel his bowels churning, he badly wanted to use the toilet. He assumed someone would come to facilitate this, and waited. Eventually, someone came. The crocus bag was loosened and lifted no higher than above his nose.

He was fed some bread with butter and given some water. He tried to engage the men in conversation to see if he could talk his way out of captivity. He told them his father suffered a heart attack after he was snatched and would die soon and begged them to release him. The reply was “well he better pay de (expletive) money before he dead or else you goh meet him up dey.”

The men started pulling the crocus bag back down and X asked if he could be allowed to void his bowels and his bladder. One of the men slapped him, saying “You tink dis ah (expletive) hotel or wat?”

They left. He eventually gave in to the call of nature and defecated and urinated in his pants. He would do so for the next three days.

    * Living in filth

X felt as if his arms were collapsing. He was thirsty and longed for some water. No one came until the following morning when he was awakened by a kick and voice saying “like yuh (expletive) s... down de place!”

The bag was removed and X was hand-fed Crix biscuits by his captors. He asked for some water, but was told that they had forgotten to bring water. His captors left without allowing him to clean himself up.

X started to feel weak. He became disoriented, frustrated and depressed. He was dehydrated and living in his own filth. He lost count of the days and nights and was fast losing hope of being rescued or of surviving. Not a religious man, X prayed.

Two days later, two men visited a weak, hungry, and dehydrated X. They beat him badly “for no reason at all.” The crocus bag was again raised above his nose and he was again hand-fed Crix. While putting Crix in his mouth, they talked about how many people they had murdered.

    * Flicker of hope

He finished eating and as the bag was being lowered over his face again, he begged for some water. His pleas were ignored, the bag was tied. He cursed the men, telling them he was dying of thirst and needed something to drink. They ignored him and left.

Later on that day, some men visited X. He was slapped and told that his father wanted to speak with him and that he’d better tell him to pay the ransom. A flicker of hope. X said he was not talking to anyone unless he got something to drink and was allowed to clean himself up. One of the men said “look open yuh mouth and drink this.”

X felt a warm burst of liquid on the bag. It tasted funny, but he couldn’t care less. It stopped and one of the men laughed and said “Like he like de (expletive) p---, boy!”

He realised that he had just been made to drink one of the men’s urine. Truth be told, he would later confess in this interview, he’d somehow known this, but managed to quell the inchoate because his thirst was so desperate.

Hearing the men say it, though, the humiliation rose and he cursed them, telling then he would tell his father “to not give them any (expletive) money.”

The men removed the crocus bag from X’s head. He saw three men. They looked like the Bobo Shanti vendors he’d buy nuts from at traffic intersections along the highways. The men slapped, kicked and cuffed him all over his head until he was barely conscious. One of the men held his face in his hands and ordered him to open his mouth. He refused, not because he didn’t want to, but because he was delirious and his brain was taking far too long to process what was said.

The man pulled down his pants, forced X’s mouth open and urinated into it. X gagged. He swallowed.

He was taken to the top of a hill where telephone reception was available and he was allowed to speak to his father. He told his father he was fine, even though his voice quivered. The crocus bag was replaced around his head and he was taken to a spot where the men untied his hands and dashed water on him. He was not allowed to take his clothes off but he was able to wash himself.

    * Guard changes

Two days later, X was moved to a different location. He was now held captive in a shack. He was handcuffed, but felt a lot better as he had a sort of makeshift bed and was fed bread and butter. New men guarded him. There were two of them. They talked about his father trusting the police too much and quarrelled about the fact that they (the police) were getting paid even though they were taking no risks.

The following night, X was awakened and beaten for snoring. He butted one of the men and was stripped and made to lie on the floor. His back was used as an ashtray, the men putting out their cigarettes on his back and buttocks. The men were drinking alcohol and smoking weed. He laid on the floor all night, with the men boots resting on his back. They discussed details of other kidnappings and other illegal exploits and also that the police had told “de boss” that X’s father was trying to raise the ransom money. X fell asleep on the floor. These two men stayed with X for the next three days. One would sometimes leave to fetch food, weed, alcohol and cigarettes.

One night, the man who remained as guard opened the door to X’s room and slapped him awake. He put a gun to X’s head and forced him to perform oral sex on him. X thought about biting the man’s penis off, but felt that the man was so high on marijuana and intoxicated from the liquor that he might actually pull the trigger. Dehumanised and fearing for his life, X did as he was told.

    * No escape

X slowly began to accept that there was no escape and he had to surrender to his captors. He subjected himself and co-operated with them, living only in his mind for his thoughts was the one thing they could not control.

He was released one week later, after a negotiated ransom was paid. His father told him that he suspected that the police might have been involved with his kidnappers and urged him to forget the entire thing and move on as he had arranged to send him abroad. He has never told this story to anyone. No one will ever understand why, even though he is now hundreds of miles away, he still sleeps with the lights on and refuses to eat nuts.