I'm posting this for Marc...

SABLE TRAIL`S LONGTIME CAMERAMAN CARJACKED WHILE DRIVING COMPANY`S LANDCRUISER by Marc Watts

The Sable Trail Productions Landcruiser, featured in our recent DVD, Delta Royale , has been destroyed as a result of a car jacking near Ellisras, South Africa. Fortunately there are no injuries to report, but it was a frightening experience for my longtime hunting companion Emanuel "Kappie" Kapp who was behind the wheel at the time the incident occurred.

It happened at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8th while Kappie was driving on a tar road to meet up with Marius Kotze at Rhinoland Safaris. The driver of a BMW sedan drove sharply in front of Kappie on the narrow road, blocking the path of the Toyota Landcruiser and forcing him to stop. Four bandits, one armed, got out of the BMW and demanded that Kappie hand over his guns.

Kappie truthfully told them he wasn`t carrying any guns, just his camera equipment. The gunmen seized his vehicle, then forced Kappie into the back seat of the BMW, and the vehicle`s driver proceeded to an unknown location, while the other two bandits drove off in the Sable Trail Landcruiser.

Kappie was dumped off on the side of the road and tied to a fence post with steel wire. A farm worker later rescued him. He was not injured or tortured. Authorities later found our cruiser, but it was burnt to the ground. They determined it was set on fire with diesel fuel, resulting in a blaze so hot that even the iron reinforcement bars were bent and melted. It was a total loss, but the most important thing is that Kappie is alive.

He had the presence of mind to surrender, fearing for his life, alone on an unlit road, when assaulted by the bandits. Our suspicion is that Kappie was mistaken for someone else, perhaps a Professional Hunter with access to guns and ammunition.

A search party formed by Marius, Phillip Bronkhorst and other fine gentleman in the safari industry searched for hours trying to track the suspects down, but were unsuccessful. Trackers were even employed to follow tire tread marks, but as of today police have no clues as to the whereabouts of the four carjackers.

Kappie, still a bit shaken up by all this, believes two to three of the bandits were from outside the area, because he didn`t recognize the native language they spoke during the incident. Kappie speaks several of the bush languages commonly spoken in South Africa.

The irony of all this, of course, is that Kappie almost lost his life while minding his own business on his way to work; this is notable because we`ve spent hundreds of days in the bush hunting and tracking dangerous game, and he`s never even gotten a scratch.

quote:

this is notable because we`ve spent hundreds of days in the bush hunting and tracking dangerous game, and he`s never even gotten a scratch.

I for one, have always been much more fearful of the 2 legged variety of wildlife.

The smart advice has always been to avoid the cities and urban as much as possible. I'm not aware of any problems out in the various camps. South Africa has always been a nasty place around the cities...much worse than the places we often talk about here and yet RSA gets more safari traffic than anywhere else.

I was glad to hear Kappie made it out ok.

quote:

Originally posted by adrook:
I for one, have always been much more fearful of the 2 legged variety of wildlife.

Yep. Me too.

Glad he came through it ok.

Praying. Senseless violence -- thankfully Kappie lives to film again. Life can be terrifying...

Barry Nagel

Just a shame that people - everywhere - can be such freak'en idiots, just waste of the human species.

I just always think of kids in situations like this.

"Hey dad, what did you do today?"

"Well son I ran a man off the road, scared the crap out of him by holding him at gunpoint and then tied him to a fence with wire. After that I burned his car."

Sad all the way around

He's damn lucky to be alive. Approximately 3 tons of capable Landcruiser and he surrenders against 4 guys, only one apparently armed? It worked out for him, but he was lucky.

Of course, you have to consider that if he had splatted a couple of them, he'd probably be in jail, it makes for a shitty situation.

It has to be that landcruiser=hunters=guns, and this is not a good omen. It will happen again.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ Gould:
It has to be that landcruiser=hunters=guns, and this is not a good omen. It will happen again.

Hunter becomes the hunted. That is the last thing one could imagine on a dream trip to Africa but it could happen.

quote:

Originally posted by Ahmed Sultan:

quote:

Originally posted by Russ Gould:
It has to be that landcruiser=hunters=guns, and this is not a good omen. It will happen again.

Hunter becomes the hunted. That is the last thing one could imagine on a dream trip to Africa but it could happen.

South Africa has one of the world's highest violent crime rates. This sort of thing is common, and often the hijacked are killed. This happened near Ellisras, where I was hunting in '05, not in Pretoria or Joberg as one would expect. I can't wait to see just how well all the football fans are received at the World Cup in 2010. Easy pickens'...

Sad indeed!

I have heard in the past that bandits have avoided safari cars.

And I would have imagines if he was not on his own, they might not have taken him on.

I wonder what the penalty is for Carjacking in SA?
I'm sure it would be harsh in places like China, and maybe the SA government should also enforce this more as their crime will no doubt effect Tourism.
But maybe they just don't give a t*$#.

I'll you one thing that is certain. All the bandits/crooks/muggers,(collectively known as cocksuckers) are rubbing their hands together and can't wait for the World Cup to begin. For them it will be a real smorgasboard!!!

at the risk of sounding cynical, the victims of crime submit billions of $$$ in claims to the insurance industry, to replace stolen/hijacked goods, or for medical recovery. VAT of 14% is paid in each instance. So why would the ANC want to deprive themselves of this cash cow?

VAT is paid on insurance claims? Crazy.

This is organised crime. They should be looking within their own organisation for the suspects.

I recall something about an organized crime ring in SA that was referred to as (or something like) THE BLUE LIGHT GANG

if I remember correctly, a few years back, some thieves pulled people over posing as cops and then jacked the car. few people were even killed. I also recall that there was suspicion that some of the thieves were in fact cops.

anyone remember this???
if I locate the artical I will post it or reference it better.

Ian:
What does that mean..."within their own organisation." Are you suggesting this incident was staged. If so please call me. 312 226 4047.
Moja

Sorry to hear what happened. I hunted with Phillip Bronkhorst last year and spent some time around Ellisras. I felt safer there, than I do in California. I hope they find them soon.

I believe IAN is referring to the gov't or police.

There is no way in hell that such a high rate of crime can exist like in South Africa without the government sanctioning it.

No way at all!

Saeed, that jives with the VAT being paid on insurance claims...agreed?

Hi Moja
No, what I meant was that it is most likely someone with inimate knowledge of the workings of your opperation.
I make this comment based on most rural farm related violence etc where there is normally a worker who is the informant and who will supply the details of the persons daily or monthly routine. This allows the car jackers to strike with more precision. You cant tell me you belive that a bunch of bandits just happened upon your Cruiser on an unknown location and just decided to rob him without any prior knowledge of the person driving, their possible response and the contents of the vehicle. I find it far more likely that they knew who was driving, where to find him and at which point in his journey he would be least likely to find assistance. \
Whenever proper investigation is done it is almost always traced back to someone that you know. Only petty criminals are the ones who go in unplanned. for the rest of them they are up against a fairly well armed population who dont give in easily and who require cunning and precision to get the better of.
Anyway, he is lucky to have escaped so lightly. For future reference, and to anyone reading this he should have rammed the vehicle off the road or at least done as much damage to it as possible. Never stop when you have the upper hand especially in a cruiser. Go off road, drive through the fences, do what you must but ytour primary objective is to evade the persuit or disable them and if it comes down to them be prepared to kill them, because that is the price for you not being willing to do so yourself.
It is unfortunate but 80% of victims could have saved their own lives by proactovely fighting back and approaching the situation with the necessary agression required to repel and attack.
The best defense is an even greater offense.
Be prepared, not scared

The commisioner of police, Jackie Selebi is under suspension for alleged criminal activities. Mbeki and his coterie are implicated in the multi billion $$ arms deal. The new ANC president Jacob Zuma and his merry gang are disbanding the Scorpions, a special investigative unit that has charged him for corruption, and they have already jailed his co-accused. Our honorable minister of safety and security Charles Ngacula told parliament that people must stop whining about crime, if they did not like it they should leave.
The ANC tried to cover up gross mismanagement and corruption and theft from within resulting in the icon of their struggle, Robyn island, bankrupt and missing 25 million bucks.

And on, and on, and on.

So Saeed, I think you are only half right, the government is not sanctioning crime, they are running it.

But I guess the question at the end of the day must be. Are you going to add to the chorus of whining previously advantaged people, or are you going to help stamp out poverty, the breeding ground of criminals by empowering the people of no means. Are you going to watch from the rear or join those people of vision in building a new nation. Are you going to criticize the morals of others or set an example but leading a life of power and purpose in the face of any opposition.
In days gone by that was not even a question. The fact that we even have discussions of this nature without knowing what we need to do is proof of the fact that the fat belly of apartheid has bred a nation of complacent upper class wimps. Not the men of steel that built and empire, but the yellow soft that cries for new laws.
I say the line has been drawn, and I say I will cross it in the face of any adversity. Victory belongs to the brave. And Africa is no place for sissies

"...Africa is no place for sissies"

I love that song! This incident is unfortunate for the future of visiting hunters should the word spread widely. Targeting hunting vehicles et al, in search of guns is bad news indeed.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
There is no way in hell that such a high rate of crime can exist like in South Africa without the government sanctioning it.

No way at all!

An astute observation .