Tensions rise in Constantia as man arrested for threatening baboon monitors with firearm

The police have confirmed that a man has been arrested for allegedly threatening to kill a Baboon Watch monitor with a firearm, and then assaulting him, on Rhodes Drive in the Cape Town suburb of Constantia on Saturday, 14 December.  

The 53-year-old was arrested on Monday, 16 December on charges of pointing a firearm, common assault and malicious damage to property, after allegedly threatening to kill and then assaulting Benson Chapasula, the South African Police Service said.

The man allegedly emerged from his property to confront and threaten the monitors with the firearm.

Police media liaison officer Captain FC Van Wyk declined to name the suspect. However, he has been identified from a photograph by three witnesses – Chapasula and fellow monitors Nolan Gericke and Donovan Linnett – who said he lives on Rhodes Drive. Daily Maverick will name him once he appears in court. 

The photograph was taken in April 2023.

Van Wyk confirmed that a 9mm pistol with one magazine and no ammunition was confiscated and the suspect was released on bail of R1,500. 

Baboon Watch monitors are employed to keep the Constantia 2 (CT2) chacma baboon troop in the wilder parts of the area, since the City of Cape Town withdrew rangers from this troop in April 2022.

Street clash

In a sworn statement, Chapasula says they heard two shots coming from the property before the man appeared, looked over his fence and said: “What are you guys doing here, you half-breeds?”

The man then emerged from his property, allegedly saying “I will shoot you” while producing a firearm from behind his back, which he allegedly pointed at Gericke.

As the man struggled to cock the firearm, Chapasula intervened, saying “what’s going on?” The man then turned his attention to Chapasula, allegedly hitting him in the ribs and chest with the nose of the gun.

Chapasula’s statement describes how the two men struggled over the firearm, as Chapasula tried to hold the alleged attacker’s arm to keep the firearm pointed away, but the suspect allegedly punched Chapasula with his free left fist.

According to Gericke’s statement, ADT security officer Thandabantu Mkile managed to separate the two men, but the suspect allegedly knocked the two-way radio out of Chapasula’s hand and smashed it on the road, before returning to his property.

Mkile confirmed he had been called to the scene by neighbourhood watch officers who saw the altercation on CCTV, and intervened to separate the two men.

The suspect is due in court on 19 December 2024.

Read more: Cape peninsula baboons — outdated management framework persists despite legal mandate

The incident is a further escalation of tensions between some residents and baboons in the leafy suburb on the urban edges of the Table Mountain National Park.

In April 2023, resident Margo Winer obtained a protection order against activist and baboon monitor Gerry Higgs, following an incident in which an adult female baboon had to be euthanised by the SPCA after having been shot.

A nearby resident has publicly threatened to kill any baboon that enters his property. “Cull them or move them… If I see them again I will shoot them,” he is reported to have said during a virtual meeting organised by ward councillor Liz Brunette in December 2022.

‘Appalled’

Jenni Trethowan of Baboon Matters, a nonprofit that employs the Baboon Watch monitors, said she was “appalled at the assault and racial slurs our team experienced while working on Rhodes Drive on Saturday”, and “delighted that an arrest has been made and that the matter will be before court in coming days”.

“We have been deeply concerned at the increase in the deaths and injuries suffered by baboons from intolerant residents, but are also expressing our frustration at the lack of prosecutions against gun-[toting] residents. We have warned repeatedly that people are more at risk of being hit by a stray bullet than ever attacked by a baboon.

“Our collective teams working to keep baboons out of urban areas need to be supported by communities and authorities and it is deeply concerning that these hard-working, dedicated men are exposed to such inexcusable behaviour.”

Read more: SPCA seeks Kommetjie resident who pepper-sprayed baboon amid rising tensions

Constantia residents were up in arms earlier this year when the City withdrew baboon rangers, provided in terms of a contract with Nature Conservation Consultants (NCC), claiming it had “no mandate” to manage baboons and intended to terminate the NCC contract.

The City has u-turned on that decision, since activist Ryno Engelbrecht recently filed an application in the high court, demanding that the City continue the programme to avoid the “chaos” that would result.

Read more: Baboon activists launch legal action seeking better management of troops in the Cape

In terms of an out-of-court settlement this month, the City extended the NCC contract and put out a tender for a further extension, from January 2025 to June 2027.

Last month, the City announced a memorandum of agreement with the Shark Spotters to support the implementation of the Baboon Strategic Management Plan, in terms of which Shark Spotters would manage troops on the peninsula.

On 6 December, Engelbrecht hailed the settlement as a “huge win” for baboons and communities, as the order records the duty of the City of Cape Town, SANParks and CapeNature to finance and implement the solutions.

“For the first time in 24 years there is a court order in place in which the City of Cape Town, South African National Parks (SANParks) and CapeNature have accepted responsibility for management of baboons and their duty to provide a safe and healthy environment for both communities and baboons,” he said.

The application was supported by Baboon Matters and Beauty Without Cruelty.

The Order obliges the parties to implement the Baboon Strategic  Management Plan, which appeared to have stalled since its adoption last year, following a memorandum of agreement signed by the City, CapeNature and SANParks. DM