One of five suspects linked to the case of German tourist Nick Frischke, who has been missing for almost a month in Cape Town, was released last year on parole for attempted murder.
Frischke disappeared on February 15 on Hangberg Mountain outside Hout Bay. Five men have since been charged with robbery, after being found with some of his possessions, but there is still no trace of him despite an extensive search.
As hope fades for his wellbeing, details have emerged of the group that allegedly accosted him on the picturesque saddle of land known to be a crime hotspot. The suspects are known by the community in Hangberg township close to where the tourist vanished. One of them, 23-year-old Carlo Geunantin, was released on parole after being sentenced in 2018 to eight years’ imprisonment — four of which were suspended for five years — for attempted murder.
The suspects appeared in the Wynberg magistrate’s court on March 6, facing charges of robbery with aggravated circumstances. In addition to this charge, Geunantin has four other cases pending, dating back to 2019 — three related to alleged armed robberies involving a firearm and the fourth a business burglary. Other charges including common assault and intimidation, dating back to 2016, were withdrawn.
The department of correctional services has confirmed that Geunantin violated the conditions of his parole linked to the eight-year sentence. “In 2022, he was admitted to the system of community corrections to serve the remainder of his sentence,” said the department’s spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo. “His parole conditions included, but were not limited to, that he may not commit any crime or offence of any kind, not leave his magisterial district without approval and not use alcohol or drugs.
“Monitoring officials could not locate Carlo Geunantin at his place of residence when he was expected to be home, as per the stipulated conditions,” Nxumalo said.
The other suspects are Ishaan Fisher, Jason Adonis, Melvin Geunantin and Petersen van Roy.
Frischke, 22, was holidaying in Cape Town and, before his disappearance, had set off early from a guest lodge in Pinelands, stopping off along the way at the V&A Waterfront. CCTV footage later showed him setting off on a hike just outside Hangberg on a trail.
What happened next is unclear and the subject of speculation. A hiking app purportedly linked to his cellphone recorded erratic movements on the saddle of the mountain.
TimesLIVE Premium visited the start of the trail, where a signpost warns hikers they are entering a high crime zone. Homes near the trailhead are all heavily secured, some with razor wire.
Sources linked to the investigation said Frischke made it to Duiker Island, where he spoke to a local resident working as a “lookout” for suspected abalone divers. The lookout reportedly accompanied him up the hill to the saddle leading up to Hangberg Peak, at which point Frischke hiked on alone. It is here where he may have been ambushed, according to one source.
“This has affected my community,” said local tour guide Brent Thomas, who accompanies tourists around Hangberg and the surrounding area. “The suspects are known by most people here,” he said.
Frischke’s bank card was among stolen possessions seized from the suspects. His backpack and cellphone were also recovered.
German media have quoted Frischke’s family, who are in touch with South African role players. “Hope dies last,” his distressed brother Tom Frischke told news outlet RTL. The media company also raised concern about the police investigation in SA: “Overall, the investigative work of the local police raises many questions.”
A private investigator has since also been appointed.
The case, one of several high-profile crime incidents involving foreign tourists, is potentially damaging for tourism in SA. Germany is one of SA’s biggest overseas tourist markets after the UK and US.
A German tourist was shot dead last year in White River, Mpumalanga. Speaking at a trade show in Berlin last week, SA’s ambassador to Germany Stone Sizani addressed the issue of the country’s high crime rate. “News we get from home every day, especially us who are expected to attract visitors and investors, we feel disheartened because it makes our work more difficult. It makes the invitations we send out very scary to many people,” said Sizani.
In 2019 a Ukranian tourist was murdered inside the Table Mountain National Park by a convicted criminal out on parole.
South African National Parks has faced criticism over whether enough rangers are deployed at known crime hotspots.
Police spokesperson Malcolm Poje said “renewed and concerted efforts” were under way to trace Frischke, despite the search being scaled down “after two weeks of constant searching”.
Responding to queries, the German consulate said its consulate-general “is in close contact with the local authorities and the family of the missing German national”.
A Hangberg resident said the Frischke case represented a tragic collision between two worlds — an innocent youngster setting out to discover the world, and disaffected youth stuck in a crime-ravaged community. “Hangberg has not benefited from tourism,” said the resident. “We had 12 fatal shootings in this community in the past year. Why do we not see the same police attention on those crimes?”
Thomas, however, believes the tragedy could refocus attention on job-creation efforts in Hangberg, including training unemployed youth to guide tourists, thereby giving them a stake in the local economy. “I know these kids — they are not bad people. It is only circumstances that put people on the wrong track,” Thomas said.
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