Update: Pretoria nature reserve targeted by criminals

A Pretoria nature reserve, Klapperkop has been hit by attacks by criminals targeting visitors coming to view the city from the top of the mountain, reports the Centurion Rekord.

Four attacks were reported this week after people were accosted by criminals during a visit to the nature reserve to get a good view of the city from the top of the mountain.

Clive Nappier, member of the Friends of Groenkloof Nature Reserve group, expressed outrage at the latest attacks.

“Together with management, the residents committee, the security group at Klapperkop, we have noted this with concern and are working on a solution to ensure the safety of people visiting the nature reserve,” he said.

Two of the attacks took place at a viewpoint one near the R21 and the other two at viewpoint five (masts).

There had also been attacks on Fountain’s Circle and visitors were advised to be on their guard.

Nappier said police would be involved in plans to ensure the culprits were dealt with. He could not confirm whether any of the visitors were robbed.

“Cases have been opened with the police and investigations are continuing,” he said.

Rece‎ntly, two men were arrested in connection with an attack that happened at the nearby Groenkloof Nature Reserve a while ago.

“These arrests show the efforts by the city are yielding fruits already.”

Nappier said efforts were underway to step up security and raise awareness by alerting visitors to call emergency numbers to report suspicious activity.

Chairman of the Friends of Groenkloof Nature Reserve, Robrecht Tryhou said the attacks at Groenkloof have substantially gone down after the City of Tshwane acted.

“The major concern at the moment is at Klapperkop. We are not aware of any attacks at Groenkloof since June 2016,” he said.

– Caxton News Service