Tujoromajo Kasuto
A tourist couple has posted a 17 000 Namibia dollar reward for the recovery of their priceless photographic material of the Namibian scenery that was robbed on July 12, at the APS Guesthouse where they resided.
A couple of tourists from the United States were robbed at the APS Guesthouse.
The stolen Tamrac camera backpack contained professional camera equipment, including Nikon D850, three Nikon lenses, a GoPro Hero 5, a SB900 flash, transmitter and receiver, 500 US dollars in cash, memory cards, a Peruvian and a USA passport, plus other personal items.
The approximate value of everything is N$170,000, but the couple grieves the memories lost as they state with ‘’the photos of the unforgettable Namibian trip are priceless’’.
On the day of the robbery, Eduardo Duarte, a professional photographer, and his wife arrived at the APS Guesthouse on Robert Mugabe Avenue in Windhoek, after a self-drive around Namibia for three weeks.
They stopped at the guesthouse gate and carried their baggage inside. Two individuals in a silver Volkswagen Polo with N 189-846 W number plates, were parked on the sidewalk outside waiting for an opportunity.
When they saw that no security guard was present, they drove into the guesthouse courtyard, turned their vehicle around and approached the bags which Duarte was still unloading. According to visual footage seen by the Windhoek Observer when Duarte turned his back, one of the thieves stepped out of the car, grabbed the camera backpack, and they sped off.
One of the guesthouse employees ran after the car, but it was too late.
Peter Boer and Ludmilla Beukes at Tourism Against Crime (TAC), in coordination with Chief Inspector Jonas at the Tourism Protection Unit (TPU), have been extremely helpful in investigating the crime, filing and obtaining the police report, etc.
Furthermore, the Duartes say that in terms of recovery at the start the manager of the guesthouse was initially supportive, however the owners of APS (Africa Personnel Services) have allegedly neglected them. According to the couple, ‘’a mug shot of a man arrested for the robbery of a Belgian tourist in Windhoek West holding a sign mentioning APS Guesthouse has circulated online, but police
have confirmed no one has been arrested for the robbery of the camera bag at APS Guesthouse.’’
