Foreign tourists fall victim to ambush

Eileen van der Schyff

Namibia seriously risks losing its image and popularity as an international tourist destination. A new trend seems to be sticking out its head, where thugs choose to target tourists in more isolated areas.

It is alleged that early on Monday morning, 10 September, a silver sedan with three men overtook and stopped the two Polish women, who were traveling on the gravel road from Uis on their way to Spitzkoppe, via Usakos. Marta Kuckarz (33) and Iga Jakubowska (32) were traveling in a rented vehicle, when they encountered a car who overtook them and stopped right in front of them. This only 60 km out of Uis where they were coming from. The Polish national managed to to divert and she sped off, but the thugs set chase and forced them to stop once again by stopping in front of them. The three men approached the rented vehicle, one armed with a panga. The armed thug star-ted to smash the rented vehicle’s windows while the other two took cameras, wallets, backpacks, clothes and N$7 000 cash from the vehicle. The robbers then threatened them and demanded more money and then drove off in the direction of Usakos. The two ladies were too rattled to take the registration number of the robbers car and also could not describe what they looked like. The tourists were left unharmed. Members from Usakos Police Station were dispatched to the road area where the incident took place, but could not find this vehicle. Other Police Stations in the area, (Okombahe and Tubusis) were also notified to be on the lookout for this vehicle.
This incident follows only weeks after two tourists were stabbed in separate robberies in Swakopmund.