South Africa

South Africa: Mandela Bridge’s Lost Legacy; New Web Site for Violent Crime

Date: July 11th, 2006 |

Johannesburg’s Nelson Mandela Bridge, inaugurated on July 20, 2003, the former president’s 85th birthday, has gone from a symbol of hope to one of despair in three short years. Today, in part thanks to a three-month-long nationwide strike by security guards that ended June 22, the bridge has become a hangout for criminals, and vandals [read more]

South Africa: Enhanced Security on Cape Town’s Table Mountain

Date: November 21st, 2005 |

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As the southern hemisphere�s summer approaches, authorities at Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town are determined to avoid the problems experienced last year when trails up the mountain became riddled with crime. They will add roving patrols with sniffer dogs, more rangers, night patrols and roadblocks to combat criminals who prey on tourists. Closed-circuit [read more]

South Africa

Date: January 25th, 2005 |

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Crime against tourists in Cape Town continues to be a problem with several recent incidents. Two Polish men who had been in town less than 24 hours were stabbed and robbed by a gang of five men when walking to their hotel after a night out. The attack occurred on Buitensingel Street in the central [read more]

South Africa

Date: July 20th, 2004 |

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Noordhoek Beach is part of Table Mountain National Park and one of Cape Town�s most beautiful beaches, but it has become dangerous to walk even during the day because of crime. In the past few months two European diplomats have been attacked and robbed on the beach by knife-wielding assailants. At least seven other people [read more]

South Africa

Date: February 25th, 2003 |

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Credit card fraud is increasing in South Africa because criminal syndicates are now using waiters in restaurants to skim credit card data when patrons pay their bills. To avoid becoming a victim, keep your card in sight at all times, even if it means accompanying a waiter to the cash register where your card is [read more]

South Africa: Rail Strikes

Date: February 14th, 2006 |

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Rail transit drivers and guards in Cape Town planned to strike Feb. 15 to protest the company’s restructuring, and further strikes are possible because workers are caught in a double bind where management is pressuring them to keep to schedules while threatening criminal charges for any passenger deaths. The issue arose because many of the [read more]

South Africa

Date: March 15th, 2005 |

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A new scam is born every day, but it is still hard to imagine anyone falling for the �black dollar scam� that has been practiced recently outside the U.S. Consulate General in Johannesburg. The con men show their victim a bottle of �automatic solution� marked with American flags and purportedly obtained from a contact inside [read more]

South Africa

Date: December 14th, 2004 |

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A spate of attacks on hikers climbing Cape Town�s Table Mountain has prompted authorities to increase security on the mountain and to make crime prevention in the area a high priority. A Japanese woman hiking alone up Platteklip Gorge was stabbed three times and robbed; a British doctor was tied up, beaten and rolled off [read more]

South Africa

Date: January 20th, 2004 |

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This nation has the highest incidence of reported rape on the planet. It also has one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates. Female travelers should be especially careful where they go, and especially if they are traveling alone. An American woman and her South African female companion were raped and beaten recently in the town of [read more]

South Africa

Date: January 14th, 2003 |

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The extreme right-wing group, Boeremag, which has been responsible for a number of bombings around South Africa in the last two months and aims to overthrow the government, is not just a political organization but a fundamentalist cult devoted to the prophecies of the so-called Boer visionary Johannes van Rensburg (1862-1926). Driven by religious zeal, [read more]