[imagesource:thecrag]

Another day, another crime scene at Table Mountain National Park – this time, a German tourist has joined the victims.

The man and his wife were reportedly ambushed by three suspects on Thursday, with the ordeal leaving him robbed and stabbed in the face.

SANParks and the Take Back Our Mountains Movement (TBOM) confirmed the shocking attack, per TimesLIVE.

TBOM founder Taahir Osman, unsurprisingly alarmed, called the unrelenting wave of violence concerning, noting how the tourist industry is “taking a beating” with repeated muggings occurring in the TMNP.

“The area has seen brutal attacks in the past, including a fatal stabbing in 2018. Recently, trails leading up Kalk Bay and Muizenberg off Boyes Drive have been frequent targets for muggings, leaving hikers, runners and tourists fearful for their safety,” said Osman.

“We still run a successful Table Mountain security alert group and provide information to the Table Mountain operations room. However, Table Mountain requires constant policing, CCTV and community engagement to combat crime.”

News24 reports how the two German tourists were attacked in the Echo Valley area on Kalk Bay mountain on Thursday 21 November.

“A German couple was hiking the Echo Valley Trail when they were attacked about 10 to 15 minutes up the trail,” Osman shared.

“According to a fellow hiker, who stays in the area, she assisted the tourists and took them for medical treatment because the husband was stabbed in the face.”

The incident has left the couple feeling devastated and traumatised.

“There were apparently three male assailants,” he added. “The lady wasn’t injured but she is devastated and traumatised to have witnessed her partner stabbed in front of her.”

The couple’s possessions were allegedly taken but they are yet to open a case at the police station.

“The husband received stitches on his forehead and they are very traumatised.”

Osman warns that the steady stream of muggings across the area—stretching from the Pipe Track to Signal Hill—is taking a toll on the tourism industry.

“Tourists are afraid to come to Cape Town; just this morning I received a text message from a couple who asked whether it is safe to come to Cape Town as their initial plans were to visit and go hiking.”

While security might have ramped up for the Atlantic seaboard/town side, Osman noted that there have been four reported incidents on the Kalk Bay mountain side in the past month.

“There is a definite rise in crime on the mountain, in the Kalk Bay region,” he commented. “There is definitely a spike in that area but we also have muggings in Deer Park, Signal Hill and the Pipe track every year, especially now during the silly season.”

As he notes, while law enforcement and the SANParks increased visibility patrols in those areas, more needs to be done to ensure the safety of locals and tourists, like adding cameras to hotspots.

Heide Goodman, Muizenberg Community Policing Forum (CPF) secretary, confirmed that street robberies are currently “out of control” in the Muizenberg policing precinct.

According to Goodman, there has been a rise in street robberies in Lakeside, Muizenberg, Kalk Bay and Prince George Drive. “We had a huge increase in street robberies… it is a huge concern.”

Police are reportedly doing stop and searches in an effort to prevent street robberies.

If you go out hiking or trail running, you are encouraged to join the TBOM Table Mountain Security Alert Whatsapp group on 073 624 4287.

[source:timeslive]