X Factor singer Jeanette Akua has spoken about being kidnapped at gunpoint in South Africa.
The 21-year-old, who is being mentored by Gary Barlow as part of Miss Dynamix, told The Mirror about her ordeal while working in the country when she was 18.
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Akua revealed she was taken by a gang as she handed out flyers in a Johannesburg suburb. The beauty consultant, who is originally from the city but now lives in London, hadn't told her parents about the part-time agency job.
She said she was targeted by an armed gang as she worked with other girls at a taxi rank.
Akua explained: "Taxi ranks are a bad place to be, a lot of crime happens and I hadn't told my parents I had got the job.
"This man came over, grabbed my hand and yanked my hair. He was shouting but I didn't understand the language he was speaking. When I answered him in English it only made him more angry. He was asking for my permit, saying I shouldn't be there.
"I was screaming and crying because I could sense something bad was going to happen. Then the man and his two friends dragged us into this little room in the taxi rank building."
The men, who had guns, refused Akua and her friend water, or an opportunity to use their phones. Akua said: "My friend understood them a bit. They were saying, 'This is a gold mine for us'. They could tell we came from good backgrounds."
After two days, when a £400 ransom had been negotiated with the agency that Akua was working for, the gang let the girls go.
Akua said: "I was so Âtraumatised I could hardly speak. I am lucky to be alive."
She added: "It did make me stronger and made me want to realise my dreams and go on The X Factor."
Miss Dynamix were given a free pass in last week's episode, after band member SeSe Foster was rushed to hospital. The pregnant 22-year-old felt faint before performing in the second live show.
Watch Gary Barlow and the Groups talk to Digital Spy below:
