Hout Bay police are searching for two knife-wielding muggers who robbed a group of hikers on the Karbonkelberg trail.
|||Cape Town - Hout Bay police are searching for two knife-wielding muggers who robbed a group of hikers on the Karbonkelberg trail, leaving one of them with bruises.
This was the eighth reported attack on the Table Mountain range since the beginning of the year.
Hout Bay resident Gwen Robins said her son, daughter and daughter-in-law had gone hiking on the Karbonkelberg trail on Saturday. They had five children with them aged eight months to eight years.
The group was cornered by two men with knives while ascending the trail. “They pushed my daughter to the ground and threatened them with big knives. My son told me that the children were screaming. Those people are cowards, there were children there,” she said.
Robins said the men made off with rings and watches. Apart for a few scratches and minor bruises to her daughter, the group was unharmed. They reported the incident at the Hout Bay police station immediately.
Police spokesman Frederick van Wyk confirmed a case of robbery had been opened at the police station. He said the two men were still at large after taking jewellery, clothing and a watch from the group.
Most muggings were reported during summer, he said. “People are warned on a regular basis… not to walk alone with expensive items in these mountainous areas, as criminals will use these opportunities to commit crime,” Van Wyk said.
Table Mountain National Parks spokeswoman Merle Collins said the incident was not reported to them.
She said rangers patrolled the area but had not reported anyone suspicious.
Collins said there weren’t many criminal incidents reported in the winter months. “Right now we are doing preventative work. We are more concerned about people injuring themselves on the mountain. This time of the year, the mountain is very wet and a lot of people tend to slip…” Collins said.
Six robberies on Table Mountain have been reported since January, including last month on Signal Hill when a 19-year-old Norwegian exchange student was raped.
This prompted Sanparks, the city and the police to install CCTV camera at the top of the parking lot on Signal Hill.
Cape Times