Travel Warning
South Africa has a very high level of crime, including rape and murder.
During 2007 and 2008 there were a number of incidents involving foreigners being followed from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to their destinations by car and then robbed, often at gunpoint. We recommend you exercise particular caution in and around the airport and extra vigilance when driving away.
The risk to visitors travelling to the main tourist destinations is low. But if you are mugged or your car is hijacked you should remain calm, offer no resistance and hand over possessions without question. Avoid eye contact. Consult a reliable tour guide if you are visiting a township.
South Africa actively promotes an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign. But given the high level of HIV/AIDS in the country, you should seek immediate medical advice if you are sexually assaulted or otherwise injured.
As elsewhere, thieves like to operate at international airports, bus and railway stations. Keep your baggage with you at all times. Due to pilfering of luggage at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, it is recommended that where possible, and where local regulations permit, hold luggage is vacuum wrapped.
Passport theft is common and increasingly occurs at airports on arrival or departure, although some passports are taken during muggings. You should carry photocopies of your passport with you.
Keep large amounts of money, expensive jewellery, cameras and cell phones out of sight. Do not change large sums of money in busy public areas.
Do not give personal or financial account information details to unknown parties. There are international fraud rings operating in South Africa who may target visitors, foreign businessmen and charities.
In mid May 2008 there was a spate of violent attacks in townships within Gauteng Province. Foreign immigrants from Zimbabwe and other neighbouring states were targeted. Though these attacks have ceased, you should avoid townships in Gauteng Province. You should check this advice regularly for updates.
Johannesburg, like other major international cities, has specific risk areas. You should avoid Berea and Hillbrow. There is a high level of muggings around the Rotunda bus terminus in the Central Business District.
In all areas of South Africa, you should be cautious when out after dark. Streets, even in urban areas, are not brightly lit at night. Be vigilant at all times in Durban's city centre and beach front area. Keep to main roads and avoid driving at night when visiting Northern KwaZulu Natal and Zululand, as there have been incidents of hi-jacking and robbery, particularly on isolated secondary roads.
You should park in well-lit areas. Do not pick up strangers. Do not stop to assist (apparently) distressed motorists, as this is a technique sometimes used by hijackers. It is better to report the incident to the police.
Be vigilant on the approach roads to and from Kruger Park where there have been cases of car hijacking. The local authorities have increased police patrols in this area.
Avoid isolated beaches and picnic spots across South Africa and stay in company. Walking alone anywhere, especially in remote areas, is not advised and hikers should stick to popular trails. Call the police (on 10111 (112 from cell phones)) at the first sign of a threat.
There have been attacks on hikers and tourists on Table Mountain. Some attacks have been violent. You should be cautious when in the quieter areas of the Park, especially early in the morning or just before the park closes. Park authorities, who are attempting to address the problem, recommend that visitors should walk in groups and take all appropriate precautions.
Frenchwoman found slain, as her baby cries
The French Embassy in South Africa, still to this day, warns of the murder last year of French national Charlotte Coutrot (30) who was shot and killed during a robbery at her Parkhurst home on 11 December 2008. She had been shot in the head. Her four month-old baby was found crying next to her.
Woman shot dead, baby found crying
L’Oréal manager leaves SA after wife’s killing
30-year-old French woman found murdered in her Parkhurst, Johannesburg, home.
The murder of the young mother, whose baby was left crying in the main bedroom, shocked the Parkhurst community.
Charlotte Coutrot, 30, was found dead by her partner, Maxime du Pont, and a security guard he had called for assistance, when he arrived home from work.
Coutrot had lived in South Africa for less that two years.
She was found on December 8 in a bedroom of the Seventh Street home she shared with Du Pont, an employee of French cosmetics giant L'Oreal.
Du Pont had tried to call her on her cellphone earlier in the day but got no response.
When he arrived home at about 5.30pm he found the gate to their home open and could hear their baby crying.
He called a security guard and the two entered the house. Coutrot had been shot in the head.
A DVD player, a camera and several other electrical and kitchen appliances were missing. There was no sign of forced entry.
The police said that surveillance camera footage would help to solve the murder. One police official said this week that the post-mortem results, as well as other forensic test results, were being awaited before an arrest was made.
"We have our suspicions about who [the murderers] are, but the investigation is now at a sensitive stage and we want to be sure of all our facts before we arrest these people and take them to court," he said.
Greg Margolis, the chairperson of the Parkhurst Residents' Association, said he was inundated with phone calls from concerned residents on the day of the murder.
"The residents were very shocked. My phone did not stop ringing on the day that it happened.
"The crime rate in our suburb is pretty stable and there is not much serious crime here. I cannot remember when last we had a murder.
"This was a shocking incident," he said.
Margolis and the local police are convinced that the murder was an isolated incident, perpetrated by someone the victim knew.
"There is no indication of a spike in crime in Parkhurst," said Margolis.
Deborah Schepers, who had attended an ante-natal course with Coutrot and Du Pont, said on her website that she was "deeply shocked and saddened" to hear about the murder.
"Our hearts go out to him and their baby daughter, who has suddenly been left without a mother," she said.
The French embassy in South Africa assisted Coutrot's family, who accompanied her body back to France for burial late this week.
Celeste Tema, the spokesperson for L'Oreal, extended the company's condolences to DuPont, his daughter and family, saying the young woman's murder was shocking.
It is not known whether Du Pont, who returned to France this week to bury his partner, will come back to South Africa.
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