Meeting held to address crime on the Numbi Road
With a spate of attacks on tourists on the road leading to the Kruger National Park's Numbi Gate, a possible breakthrough has been made following a meeting on April 7 with various stakeholders.
Linda Grimbeek, COO of the KLCBT, said the meeting was held on Thursday April 7 with all the security personnel in the area, tribal authorities, the MTPA and SANParks to come up with solutions to fight these attacks on tourists in the area.
ALSO READ: Another tourist attack on the Numbi Road
Cameras, more police officers and private security patrols to be placed on the Numbi Road were some of the measures discussed. “Installing cameras on the road to monitor the area, operating 24 hours a day, will help the security companies and police to identify some of the criminals who attack tourists or ordinary people in the area. The Masoyi police have agreed to increase the number of patrols, and the private security companies will also assist to curb crime in the area,” she said.
“Closing the Numbi Gate will not solve the issue of crime, because some of the community members benefit from the tourists entering the KNP through that gate. The area has over 80% unemployed youth, which is a big concern. We need to address the issue of how to come up with job opportunities, because that will also assist in decreasing crime, since implementing all these safety measures while ignoring the main source of the problem is useless,” said Grimbeek.
ALSO READ: No leads in attempted hijacking case on Numbi Road as new cases pile up
Capt Nanikie Nonyane, the spokesperson for the Masoyi Police Station, confirmed that more officers will be deployed. They also pleaded with tourists who were attacked to press charges. “We are worried about reports regarding a high number of tourist attacks on the Numbi Road, but according to our system, we have only had a few cases in the past three months. We plead with tour guides or anyone who was attacked to come and open a case so that it can be investigated,” she said.
Nonyane also said they had had an incident in which some of the tourists who were attacked, refused to press charges.
ALSO READ: Two German KNP tourists held up and robbed on their way out on Numbi Road
Meanwhile, the KNP and MTPA, in a joint statement, welcomed the initiatives that have been put in place for all tourism stakeholders to collaborate and work together for the safety of tourists. “There is no specific date of when these extra security measures will be initiated – hopefully soon,” said Grimbeek.
Six confirmed Numbi Road attacks in the past eight months
1. September 12, 2021: A British woman and 10 foreigners are hijacked after exiting Numbi Gate.
2. December 18, 2021: There is an attempted robbery on three tour guides.
3. December 23, 2021: Three local tourists are robbed by unknown suspects while parked outside Numbi Gate.
4. January 3, 2022: A mother and her two children are attacked by two unknown armed men near a taxi rank.
5. March 31, 2022: Two German tourists are robbed by two unknown men.
6. April 18, 2022: A Gauteng family of 5 are robbed by four unknown suspects.
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