My Mom's Night of Hell

Tamara Dey’s mom Susan decided to take an Uber after a night out. After getting into the car she was abducted, robbed, raped then dumped. Here she tells of her horrifying ordeal.

- Shanaaz Prince

THE ringing of her cellphone woke her early in the morning – and as soon as she saw it was her brother Michael calling she knew something was wrong. He’d never call her at that hour unless something had happened.

She was right. “Tam,” he said. “I’m going to give you a few seconds to wake up.” She had already started screaming into the phone as he said, “Tam, Mom’s been kidnapped, robbed, beaten and raped.”

Tamara Dey felt the bottom fall out of her world. Her mom, Susan Dey, had always been her pillar of strength and mother and daughter shared a special bond – Tamara confided in her about almost everything and turned to her in times of trouble.

Now, the 36-year-old singer knew, it was her turn to be strong for her mother.

“I’m my mom’s sidekick right now. Anything she needs, I’m here,” Tamara says. “This has deepened our connection and strengthened our love for each other, as a family and for the human race because the generosity of people has just been unbelievable.”

Tamara and Susan (63) sit hand-inhand on a big grey couch in Tamara’s home in Observatory, Johannesburg, as they prepare to tell the shocking story for the first time: of how Susan was abducted, attacked and raped after getting into what she believed was an Uber car.

“I find telling the story somehow cathartic,” Susan says, managing to stay strong throughout the interview. “It doesn’t fix the trauma but it does help.”

Tamara hopes that by her mom sharing her story other people will be more vigilant and avoid a similar fate. “We need to look out for each other,” she says.