PRINGLE BAY – Pringle Bay is not the tranquil coastal village it once was. Liezl Smith and two other residents were the victims of acts of vandalism which all took place on Sunday night.
This is the third act of violence committed against Liezl Smith, who told the Herald that her attempts to seek justice, including affidavits and photographs, have unfortunately led nowhere. The public prosecutor at the Caledon Magistrates Court dismissed her cases due to a lack of evidence and no clear suspects.
The first incident occurred on 30 June 2023, when Liezl, the volunteer manager of the Kogelberg Villages Environmental Trust (KVET), found three of her vehicle’s tyres slashed while filming baboon management activities on a public beach in Pringle Bay.
On 31 October 2024, all four tyres of her bakkie were slashed on her own property.
In the latest incident, despite increased security and camera monitoring, the perpetrator bombed her car at 21:22 with paint bags, causing extensive damage to the paintwork.
At the time of the Herald’s interview, Liezl was awaiting the insurance assessor, but the damage and cost to install further security are estimated at over fifty thousand rand.
According to her, the other two incidents this week involved the slashing of tyres of residents who have expressed their dissatisfaction to the current Overstrand Municipality Adaptive Baboon Management Plan.
These incidents follow the Mayor Annelie Rabie’s First Thursday meeting in Pringle Bay, where residents were shocked by the abuse and disrespect shown to the Overstrand Mayor during discussions on baboon management.
According to attendees at the meeting, members of the Facebook Group Rewild Pringle Bay’s Baboons group came to the meeting to demand action against KVET, accusing them of illegal activities. The mayor pointed out that KVET is a legal entity registered as an NPO.
Liezl emphasized in her interview with the Herald that they are not breaking any laws and have been careful to operate within legal boundaries. She addressed accusations of disregarding the Protection of Personal Information Act, stating that she does not post anything on social media and is not active on social media. Photographic evidence she gathers is used strictly for legal purposes. She also denied allegations of bullying, clarifying that her efforts are focused on exposing the truth about cruelty towards baboons.
“There is a campaign on social media which promotes violence towards baboons and towards me, the same people also post misinformation about the baboons and the history of baboon management in Pringle Bay. Furthermore, the acts of aggression towards the baboons and myself have successfully been exposed in court,” she said.
Coastal Rewilding a non-profit organisation based in Pringle Bay, has publicly condemned the vandalism, stating that these acts represent not only personal attacks but also assaults on environmental stewardship and community harmony.
According to the statement, Coastal Rewilding stands in solidarity with Liezl and those affected, urging the community to reject violence and intimidation. They call for open dialogue and collaboration on wildlife management and urge local authorities to protect those committed to conservation.
No public statements have been released by the Pringle Bay Ratepayers Association or Neighbourhood Watch, though representatives visited Liezl after the incident on Sunday night.
The EMS Foundation has appointed a forensic investigator and a prominent criminal attorney because of the escalating violence towards residents and because four baboons have been killed by residents in Pringle Bay this year. Ed: This story was updated at 7:06 on Saturday 14 December after we mistakenly published a first draft in this week’s newspaper. We apologise for any misrepresentation of the actual situation this might have led to.
