A Ukrainian man was fatally stabbed in broad daylight on a popular hiking path near Cape Town, South Africa this weekend.
Ivan Ivanov, a 44-year-old businessman, was attacked at knifepoint on his solo hike in Table Mountain National Park, a popular destination for hiking and recreational activities, at 11 a.m. on July 27, according to a local media report.
Ivanov was reportedly confronted by three men who stabbed him multiple times, taking off with his backpack and personal belongings, leaving him to bleed to death on the trail.
One of the possible assailants, a 25-year-old man with a criminal record, was reported to local authorities by members of the community who became suspicious of him.
Jarryd Scholtz, technical manager for Hout Bay Community Crime Prevention, a non-profit organization focused on social crime prevention and response in the area, told the Kyiv Post that the suspect had been seen walking briskly, out of breath and covered in blood, with a professional hiker’s backpack.
The man was arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault, and has applied for legal aid and bail. He is currently awaiting an application for bail on Aug. 21.
“This individual is a known criminal – he was out on parole, and he was actually wanted for previous criminal charges,” says André van Schalkwyk, chairperson of Table Mountain Watch, a security action group. “The big question we have now is how it’s possible that he was even out of jail… he should have been arrested immediately.”
Ivanov’s two other assailants remain at large. One suspect is described as a career criminal, wanted for armed robbery and considered dangerous.
According to Scholtz, there is currently an online petition that opposes the arrested man’s bail. At the time of the interview, the petition received 2,781 signatures after just two hours.
While there have been reported incidents of a similar nature in the area before, the specific area in which Ivanov was attacked is new.
“Our position at the moment is to consider the national park a ‘criminal hotspot,’ and (we advise visitors to the park) to seriously consider whether they want to enter the park,” says van Schalkwyk. “Until such time as the authorities have put a plan in place, which they have not done, I would consider the park a dangerous place.”
Scholtz advises that visitors to the park walk in large groups and carry instruments of self-defense such as pepper spray.
“I am ashamed of the fact that this happened to somebody that loved to come here, and came here on business,” says van Schalkwyk.
“He clearly had an economic interest in the country – he wasn’t just a tourist or a visitor here for sightseeing. He was somebody that was investing his business knowledge in the country, and we killed him.”
Ivanov was a husband and father of three children, the youngest of whom is 3 years old.
“The system failed him and his family, and for that, we are really, really sorry,” says van Schalkwyk. “But I think that is cold comfort for his family now. It’s too late.”
