Kruger Lowveld offers R50 000 reward for arrest of rapist

“Right now, South Africa is presenting as an unsafe country for foreigners, particularly women, and horror stories are making headlines across the world.  This is seriously hampering the tourism industry and investment.  In the Lowveld, most of us are dependent on tourism for a livelihood, for jobs, and tourism establishments buy from other businesses again.  It is a long value chain that needs to be protected. This is why we decided that some sort of intervention is required,” says Linda Grimbeek, COO of Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (KLCBT).

The latest incident of the rape of a South African tourist near Sabie came as another blow to the industry.  This demands immediate and serious intervention. 

KLCBT is now offering a reward of up to R50 000 which will be paid for any information leading to the arrest and successful conviction of the rapist.  Anyone with information can contact their nearest police station or Brig Mahlangu at 082 779 8586 or Capt Nkentshane at 079 499 8809.  The identity of informants will be treated as confidential.

Several operations and initiatives were launched to improve the safety of tourists in the region, particularly during the Festive Season.  We were grateful to see increased police visibility and roadblocks, particularly the ones where tourists were welcomed by friendly police officers handing them vouchers to use – this sent a great message about how police protects our visitors.  We would like to thank each and every person in law enforcement who helps to keep tourists safe, who are investigating the crimes against tourists and to Kruger Lowveld Tourism’s victim support volunteers who worked tirelessly and selflessly in their free time to assist tourists who have been victims of crime, or have been in accidents or those who simply got lost.  Thank you.