Tourist guide stabbed

A PROMINENT Cape Town tour guide was stabbed and robbed in an early morning attack near one of Port Elizabeth's prime beachfront attractions at the weekend.

Tour operator and guide Kassie de Waal, 53, who owns Kassie Overland Africa Detours and specialises in South African tours for Dutch tourists, was stabbed in the stomach by two men at about 6am on Kings Beach near the McArthur Pool and Leisure Centre on Sunday.

De Waal was in Port Elizabeth with a group of Dutch tourists who were travelling between Namibia and Cape Town. An estimated R75000 was stolen during the robbery, according to a police officer who was on the scene.

One of the thieves threw sand in De Waal's face before stabbing him twice.

De Waal was rushed to St George's Hospital and was in the intensive care unit yesterday.

De Waal's wife, Jeandré, said from Cape Town last night that her husband had undergone two operations and was in a stable condition.

"It has been difficult because he is not allowed to use a cellphone in that ward," she said.

"But I have spoken to the staff there and I believe he is in a stable condition now. The knife apparently went into the liver.

"Doctors opened him up on Sunday because I presume there was internal bleeding, and did not close up. They went in again today to check on the bleeding. I will find out [today] when he is likely to be discharged."

She said her husband had called her from his hotel on Sunday morning.

"He said he had been stabbed and robbed. I was quite shocked," she said.

Jeandré was not that surprised, though, as it was a risk in his line of work.

"Strange things happen with that work. If you are at the wrong place at the right time, anything can happen. He was robbed twice in the same place in Swakopmund [in Namibia] previously."

She said De Waal was likely to have been holding the tour group's money, which was common practice for safekeeping and other reasons, when he was attacked.

She had been contacted by the police but details around the robbery were still sketchy.

Confirming that the group of Dutch tourists had already left for the Garden Route and ultimately Cape Town, Jeandré said she would make arrangements to fetch her husband from Port Elizabeth as soon as she knew when he would be discharged.

Police spokesman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said a statement had not yet been taken from De Waal. "We are waiting to speak to him. We have established that he was stabbed and robbed by two attackers."

St George's Hospital spokeswoman Natalie Henman was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Humewood Hotel duty and bar manager Werner van Rooyen, who had been on duty when De Waal left for an early morning walk, said it was the first time he had been exposed to an incident of this kind.

"Kassie is a regular at the hotel. He always brings his tour groups here and is considered part of the family.

"He was brought back to the hotel by a lady and her son who came across him near the pier," Van Rooyen said. "He had apparently walked to the roadside after he was attacked.

"He put his fingers into the stab wounds to stop the bleeding. He was rattled and the only thing he wanted to do was talk to his wife.

"He said to me that he did not want to die before he spoke to his wife, that's all he wanted to do. I ran to his room and got his cellphone for him and he then called his wife."

Van Rooyen said De Waal was very active and usually got up early. The tour group was also leaving early that day.

A police officer, who cannot be named, said De Waal had been keeping the money for his clients.

"It appears he was holding the guests' money for safe-keeping before going to the beachfront to collect shells."

Another Humewood Hotel staff member, who did not want to be named, said De Waal had booked a group of 35 tourists into the hotel for the night and they were scheduled to leave the day of the attack.

"The tour bus left as we managed to find a replacement guide from Port Elizabeth to cover for him while he is in hospital."

De Waal spent 14 years as a tour operator in the Netherlands before starting his own company in Cape Town.

Humewood police station commander Brigadier Ronald Koll said the robbery task team had taken over the investigation.

"This type of crime is a priority across the Bay, but particularly at our tourist spots such as the beachfront.

"Every year at about this time we allocate additional resources to all tourist hotspots."

Nelson Mandela Bay municipal spokesman Roland Williams said attacks on the beachfront were rare in the city.

"However, one incident is one too many. We do hope that Mr De Waal makes a speedy recovery," he said.

Williams said the attack should not serve as a measure of safety in the metro, because such incidents were not common.

"At the same time, we advise all tourists and residents in the Bay to take the necessary precautions when visiting public areas.

"We also trust that the police will bring the culprits to book," Williams said.

Bay tourism operator and expert Paul Miedema said yesterday that any incident of crime was not good for tourism.

"However, it must be kept in mind that Port Elizabeth's safety figures are very good, especially when compared to centres such as Cape Town or Durban," he said.