Honeymoon bride's death highlights reality of travel in Africa

By Will Davies
WHEN Shrian and Anni Dewani took the fateful decision to take a detour through the Cape Town township of Gugulethu, in search of a popular restaurant made famous by Jamie Oliver, they seemingly had little or no perception of the danger they faced. It may be that accustomed to life in India they had considered it no more dangerous than walking through the slums of Mumbai. But this fatal error of judgement, though naïve, could easily have been prevented.

The honeymooners were staying at the exclusive Cape Grace hotel and if, as is highly likely, their taxi had been booked by the hotel the driver should have been fully aware that taking tourists into a township late at night was not just reckless but highly inadvisable. It is no surprise that as yet the driver has kept a low profile and is staying well clear of media attention.

Local reaction here is one of shock but also of frustration – the attack will inevitably tarnish the city’s reputation for safety and exacerbate the fear stoked by the British press in the run up to lat summer’s World Cup, causing reverberations throughout South Africa’s lucrative tourism industry.

While the Dewani’s regrettable excursion into a township has stoked the debate as to the danger of visiting a township, the conviction that central Cape Town is otherwise safe to visit has held equally strong.

But while there has been an impressive clean up job in the centre of Cape Town over the last ten years – from dilapidated and decidedly unsavoury to attractive tourist destination with a booming local economy, countless designer shops, galleries, expensive restaurants and boutique hotels – the possibility of being attacked or mugged nevertheless remains very real. Tourists come to Cape Town expecting the south of France, and while it is still a major holiday destination and is regularly voted among the world’s top holiday destinations, it is still Africa, and vigilance is necessary.

Aside from the tourist bubbles of the Disney-like V&A Waterfront or the fashionable beach resort of Camps Bay, venture under the shadow of Table Mountain into the city centre and a degree of watchfulness is a must.

I moved to Cape Town earlier this year with my wife, in search of a more balanced way of life not only for the obvious attractions of almost year-long sun, the advantages of a weak local currency, fine wine and friendly people, but also to explore a nation which has been the subject of increasing fascination. We were unconcerned by any potential danger, and saw Cape Town as no more risky than where we had lived until then – Hackney, where street robberies and violent crime are all too common.

But we have unfortunately been proved wrong. In the past two weeks alone we have been mugged twice at knifepoint – both times on Long Street, the cultural hub of the city. Once was early evening, the other in broad daylight, and both happened on busy streets. On a daily basis we face harassment and threats from beggars and while it is heart-wrenching to witness their miserable existence, the hazard they pose cannot be ignored. We now carry cans of pepper spray, which is legal in South Africa, keeping it to hand in case of any eventuality.

In a country where almost half the population lives on less than two dollars a day, little is done to help the homeless – while cabinet ministers enjoy six figure annual incomes more than double those of their British counterparts.

South Africa has been widely praised for its handling of the World Cup, which passed peacefully and without serious incident. However in the run up to the tournament, Cape Town’s streets were cleared of homeless people by the provincial government – taken away to temporary sites out of the city which human rights groups described at the time as akin to concentration camps.

Many of the most dispossessed are also addicted to crystal meth, known locally as tick, which is especially rife among the Cape Coloured community.

Townships are obvious no-go zones. There is a big market for township walking tours and despite their rising popularity and promotion by Cape Town’s tourism board, for most Cape Town residents – white and black – townships are treated with immense trepidation. To walk through them voluntarily is regarded as extremely foolhardy. Recently my father-in-law, who grew up in South Africa, took his first ever visit to a township. It was Kayelitsha, the notorious informal settlement where last Saturday night Anni Dewani was discovered murdered in the back of her abandoned taxi.

His car had been stolen and after quickly realising the police’s efforts would be ineffectual, he went looking for it. Living in the wealthy suburb of Somerset West, where the Dewanis had dined the night of their attack, he figured his local township would be a logical starting point. After much deliberation he eventually dared to enter and within an hour he had rescued the vehicle, albeit without a battery or any wheels.

He took a chance, and the reality is that while these tours are widely touted to the thousands of visitors to South Africa, they still face a significant risk, even in the daytime and regardless of any security measures put in place by the tour operator.

Townships are not game safaris – yet in many ways the purpose of the tourist’s visit is no different. Just like the Dewanis, they go to catch a glimpse of ‘real Africa’ but unlike a game reserve all they get to see is abject poverty and misery.