A local Pastor has been identified as the victim of a stabbing attack while out for his early morning run on Table Mountain in the Deer Park area earlier this week.
The 61-year-old Roger Pearce was attacked by three unknown male suspects in the Deadman’s Tree area, near Tafelberg Road, between 7:15 am and 7:30 am on Wednesday.
Pearce, who is attached to the Every Nation Church, posted on Facebook that he managed to fight off the three assailants, without too serious an injury, and they didn’t get his phone, after he ran away from the suspects.
He sustained a stab wound to his forearm only.
Police on Wednesday said that no criminal case had been reported and that when Detectives went to the hospital to trace the victim, he had already been discharged. Pearce said he lodged a case at the police station on Thursday.
Cape Town Central Police confirmed they registered a case of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm, with no arrests yet.
In an interview with Netwerk24, Pearce said he noticed the three suspects wearing dark clothes as he approached Dead Man’s Tree. Two of them walked past him, while the third immediately started attacking him with a knife. The other two suspects then accosted him from behind.
After initially managing to fend off the attackers, they caught up with him again, and he was pinned to the ground. Pearce says he managed to fight them off again, and he fell off a small cliff, eventually landing near a river.
There, one of the suspects again gave chase, but Pearce managed to run away, hiding himself until sunrise. He then phoned his son.
Noticing he was bleeding, he went to the Mediclinic in Gardens, receiving 10 stitches to his forearm.
He told the publication that he would never again run alone on the mountain, something he had previously done three times a week, and this was the first time he was attacked.
Taahir Osman, from the Take Back Our Mountains Facebook group, which first reported on the incident, said one of the biggest concerns raised by almost every tour group is the crime on Table Mountain and how fearful they are of visiting one of Cape Town’s most iconic attractions.
“By now, we should have CCTV cameras monitored 24/7, together with a stronger visible ranger presence at the busy trailheads. These are important measures to help improve visitor safety and protect South Africa’s tourism industry.”
Osman advised all Mountain users to avoid going alone.
