Words and picture by Mark Dixon

If you went down to Gericke’s Point last week, you likely had a big surprise. A young male Southern Elephant seal had hauled up on the western side on Tuesday 10th May. That evening I started receiving messages from locals who had been surprised by their encounter with it.
Southern Elephant seals are the largest true seals and display a remarkable sexual dimorphism, with males capable of reaching 5.9m and weighing in at up to 4000kg, while females weigh between 400kg and 900kg and measure between 2.6 and 3m.
They derive their name from their large size and the inflatable proboscis used to produce loud roars, most commonly during the mating season in early summer. First, males arrive at the breeding grounds on sub-Antarctic islands to establish their territory for a harem consisting of a few dozen females. The females then arrive to give birth to their pups which they nurse for three weeks before returning to the sea to feed. Finally, in late summer, adults return to shore to moult. In a process called a catastrophic moult, both the fur and outer layer of skin are sloughed off.
Watching the seal resting at Gericke’s Point, it was amazing to see it breathe, usually through one nostril at a time. Between breaths, both nostrils would be closed tight, and then he would open one to exhale and inhale before closing it again. Despite resting, he was super aware of his surroundings and frequently scanned them by rolling his large eyes. The eyes of Elephant seals are noticeably large and contain a high density of low-light receptors, which they use to hunt prey at great depth. They can reach depths of 1000m, with the deepest recorded at 2338m, and regularly remain submerged for more than 20 minutes.
After moulting, Elephant seals will return to their hunting grounds along the edge of continental Antarctica, usually alone. However, occasionally vagrants will reach the South African coastline, either due to being caught up in currents or searching for new hunting grounds, with up to 10 sighted in a year.
I was fortunate to be able to observe and film the seal. He had chosen an ideal location to come ashore to rest as it was well shaded for most of the morning. When the sun did reach him, after midday, he would bask for an hour, and then when he got too hot, he would move into the water to cool down before hauling up onto the rocks again. On Wednesday, when the Berg wind started blowing, the high temperatures were too hot for him, and he took to wallowing in a tidal pool to cool off, remaining submerged for 10 to 15 minutes at a time.
Then, on Wednesday, eight days after arriving at Gericke’s Point, he made his way to the water’s edge and slipped away into the open sea. However, his visit did leave a mark on him. Comparing photos from his arrival with ones taken moments before his departure, I saw a new gash on his lower right lip, a distinctive identification marking should he ever revisit this coastline.

Another attempted rape suspect has been released by Knysna Magistrate’s Court, despite being positively identified by his victim. This is the second time this year that Sedgefielders who are victims of violent attacks have had to suffer the double trauma of knowing their attackers are out and about. The first attempted rape took place on 1 January of this year. The accused, who was caught red-handed, is still on local streets after being released. However, there is reportedly a warrant out for his arrest as he has missed a court appearance.The suspect in the second attempted rape was released after his first court case on 30 March. Both he and the suspect in the 1 January incident were set free ‘on warning’ as neither could afford to pay any bail.

The most recent victim, Debbie Whyman, who was attacked on 22 March, said that she is battling to come to terms with the perpetrator’s release – which she only learned about on Tuesday, 5 April. She said the attack was so traumatic that it had kept her at home behind closed doors for some time – and just when she had grown brave enough to venture out, she was told at the police station that the court had released the man who attacked her.
“I am traumatised all over again and very angry,” she told us. She still shakes when talking about her terrible experience.

Debbie (58) had been walking along Cola Beach with her dogs when she first noticed the man. “I was ¾ of the way to Platbank when I saw him sitting near the dune,” she said, “One of my dogs went over to him to say hello.”
She described how the man had got up and approached her, asking if he could walk with her. She was already sensing something wasn’t right and replied that she would prefer to walk alone.
Ignoring this, he walked alongside her for a while, trying to make conversation.

“His English was very good,” she reflected when telling us about the ordeal. However, the man, who she describes as coloured and of medium height and build, kept moving into her personal space, and she became more and more uncomfortable.
It was when she politely requested that he didn’t walk so close that he stepped in front of her and stopped so that they were suddenly face to face.

To her abject horror, he pushed her and swept her feet from under her. She tried to fight him off but ended up face-down in the sand. Next, he pulled off her clothing and attempted to rape her, but to her relief, he seemed physically unable to perform the deed. He tried repeatedly for what she believes to be more than twenty minutes but eventually released her and got to his feet.
He simply said to her, “I am not an evil person,” and walked off.

Grabbing her clothes, she quickly dressed and ran until she saw a man – Mark Klinkert – who was making his way down to the beach.
She blurted out the story of what had happened and, after helping her into her car with her dogs, he followed her to the police station and then kindly offered to fetch her husband whilst she sat with the police.
“I cannot say enough how very impressed I am with the service at Sedgefield Police Station,” Debbie said. After helping her to calm down, the members on duty called Marti Rooi to sit with her as she made her statement. A while later, a Knysna detective arrived and asked her if she would look at a series of photos on his phone. When her attacker’s face came up, she immediately recognised him and informed the detective.

To her relief, he informed her that the suspect she had identified had already been apprehended and was in the police van.

His swift arrest had been a combined effort by SAPS and Sedgefield’s Community Orientated Policing (COP). After SAPS had raised the alarm and sent out a description of the suspect, members of COP had joined SAPS personnel on the beach to search for him. Wayne Lurner of COP had been walking towards Platbank when he saw someone scampering down the dune towards him. Strangely, this man was on all fours.

Realising the clothing of the man approaching him matched the description given by the police, Wayne told him to stop where he was.
“He kept coming, so I told him to stop again, more assertively,” he said. The man stopped and seemed quite resigned, so Wayne then began to escort him back towards Cola Beach.
“He was strange – gabbling, talking to the ocean, then using some weird sign language,” the COP member later told us.

Whilst walking back, the suspect seemed to suddenly notice Wayne’s handcuffs because he looked at him and held up his hands, wrists together. Wayne asked if he could put the handcuffs on him, and the man agreed.

Wayne had spoken to another COP member, informing him that he was on his way back with a suspect. They met with the SAPS and COP entourage about 300m from the Cola stairs, and the SAPS members took the suspect into custody. At least some closure on a terrible incident it seemed.

But only twelve days later, to Debbie’s abject horror, she learned that the man she had positively identified as her attacker had been released from custody. She hadn’t even been consulted in the process.
She has since made several calls to the hierarchy of Knysna Police to find out why this happened, but is yet to be provided with an answer.

Meanwhile, The EDGE has approached the National Prosecuting Authority to ask how this seemingly dangerous man could be put back into the community. We were given the following answer by spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila.
“I can confirm that the accused was released on warning after it became clear that he cannot afford bail money. This is despite the State insisting that bail must be set for the accused.
“Initially, the State opposed bail when the accused appeared in court on 30 March 2022, but the investigating officer, Sergeant Magoqwana, who was called as a witness, told the court that he is not opposing the release of the accused on bail if the accused had an address. The State requested the matter to be postponed to confirm the address, but Magistrate Mrs Balleng refused and ordered that the investigating officer must book out the accused so that he could go and point out the address.
“Sergeant Magoqwana, from FCS, came back and confirmed that the accused pointed out the address. He told the court that the accused could go and stay at that address and that he, as the investigating officer, did not have a problem with that. He did not oppose bail.”

The case has been postponed until 25 April 2022 for further investigation.

Mike Hofhuis of COP is totally incensed by yet another release of a potentially dangerous suspect. Asked for comment, he sent the following statement:

The release of both of these accused is unacceptable, to say the least. Not only the victims but the entire community of Sedgefield feels let down by the justice system.

On a daily basis, one of the accused walks the streets of our local communities and continues to harass and beg from people, especially women.

The accused in the most recent incident walks the streets of Knysna, where he apparently resides. He too, poses a great threat to the Knysna community, besides the fact that he could quite easily make his way back to Sedgefield.

What does this say about the ongoing fight against gender-based violence in South Africa? If the officials were serious about the fight against GBV, they would then ensure that those accused of these heinous crimes remain behind bars or, at the very least, place stricter bail conditions upon them until the conclusion of the court cases.

This is definitely not the first or last time victims and women from our local communities will be let down by a failing justice system.

by Melanie Baumeister
Many who witnessed our more-than-impressive troop of Scouts parading through the village on Saturday, 26 February, will have no doubt that Sedgefield is fast shaking off the last remnants of its ‘retirement village’ status.
The Scouts marched through town with the fire engine heralding them, from the Village Green up around the Main Road to the CBD and then back along Kingfisher Drive. A growing group of community service-orientated youngsters proudly showing off their uniforms.
Since the beginning of February, Sedgefield First Scouts have been at it without stopping. Every weekend they are doing and gaining and growing in leaps and bounds.
The weekend of Friday, 4 to Sunday, 6 February, the Scouts attended their first official camp of the year, held on a farm just outside George. Whilst the Scouts were out testing their survival skills, the Cubs did their Swimming Badges at Turtle Aquatics, right here in Sedgefield. The attainment of this proficiency and water-wise badge ensures the safety of the Cubs and, in turn, others around them.
The Scouts, Cubs and Meerkats meet every Friday night at the Lions Clubhouse, where amongst other things, they have Pow Wows and plan how to achieve their next badges. February was a big month for them as it is also ‘Founders Month’. Lord Baden Powell’s birthday is on 22 February and is celebrated every year by the Scout movement all over the world. Our Sedgefield Scouts are no different, and each one of them wore their khaki uniforms, and yellow and green bandanas, to school to represent our local troupe.
Finally, on Saturday, 5 March, the Scouts tried for their swimming badges at Pine Lake Marina. Ten Scouts completed the Swimming Scoutcraft badge, which included 300m of swimming, basic rescuing and staying afloat using an item of clothing.
One of the senior Scouts completed the Swimmer Scout Interest badge, which included 1.45km of swimming. Incredibly, Deena Colloty was seen walking and interacting normally after this feat, and we look forward to seeing more of her badges as she accrues them on her Scouting journey.
Watch this space for more of the doings and servings of this group of community-orientated individuals and their young charges as things gently change back to life before the global pandemic. If they manage to establish this much under the levels of restrictions imposed by pandemic life, imagine what they can do with free reign. Hang on to your bandanas!
A very special thank you is in order; to our local fire station for being a great leader in community events and always willing to help.
For more information about joining Scouts, Cubs or Meerkats, please contact Kevin ‘Griffin’ Scanes on 079 498 8581

Knysna Municipality is preparing to act against debtors who are in arrears on their municipal accounts. “These will include residential customers, businesses and government departments,” said Councillor Sharon Sabbagh, member of the town’s Mayoral Committee for Finance and Economy.

The Municipality’s current debtors book reflects outstanding debt (90 days or more) of just shy of R276 million. These include organs of the state (R3.322m), businesses (R80.77m) and domestic ratepayers (R191.883m).

“The Municipality has been far too lenient in the past regarding unpaid accounts, but this is about to change,” she said. “We will initially focus on accounts that are R5 000 or more in arrears. These account holders can expect to be contacted to arrange payment. But be warned: should their accounts not be settled, they will face the consequences as per the Municipality’s approved credit control policy. We also urge those who are in arrears for lesser amounts to please settle their accounts and implore all customers to start paying their municipal accounts on a monthly basis. We acknowledge that billing errors may occur and ask that customers who dispute their accounts lodge their concerns so that their accounts can be corrected and updated.

“Municipal rates, tariffs and taxes exist to enable municipalities to deliver basic services to their residents, services that are directly compromised due to unpaid accounts. It’s easy to blame an institution for the seemingly poor delivery of services, but, in most cases, this is not due to incompetence, but to the lack of funds,” Sabbagh explained. “This is often directly related to our customers not paying us.

“Keep in mind that we are essentially running a business. We must pay staff and service providers and purchase and maintain equipment that allows us to deliver basic services. No private business will allow its customers to accrue millions of rands worth of debt, and neither will we.

“I take the liberty of thanking those residents who settle their accounts on time and in full. We appreciate your diligence and efforts in working with us to create and maintain an inclusive, innovative and inspired Knysna,” she concluded.

For more information or queries, please contact Gloria Jantjies on 044 302 6542, Calvin McCarthy on 044 302 6470 or Gail Windvogel on 044 302 6581.