Well-known East London dentist Dr Francois Coetzee, 69, was stabbed 36 times by a smartly dressed thug while jogging along Nahoon Reef drive on Thursday at 5.30pm.
Coetzee, a multiple marathon runner who treated Steve Biko twice in the 1970s, said he only lost a 20-minute titanic fight with the thug when he slipped delivering a “fly-kick” and landed badly with his back bashing into a rock.
The attack took place on a popular road through the Nahoon Point Nature Reserve which is frequented by joggers, bathers, beach walkers and surfers.
The road runs through an area of reclaimed coastal dune bush and forest close to the turnoff to the East Bank Reclamation Treatment Works.
Kevin Cole, who chairs the Nahoon Point Nature Reserve management committee, said Thursday’s attack on Coetzee was a wake-up call to all city officials and ordinary citizens to get back to basics and protect one of the most beautiful coastal reserves in South Africa.
Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi said the stabbing happened because Coetzee resisted being robbed.
He said: “No one has been arrested yet. A case of robbery has been opened and it is still under investigation.
“Our advice to joggers is they must not jog alone as this makes them vulnerable. Rather jog in groups.”
Coetzee is recovering at home after spending two nights at the Life Beacon Bay Hospital.
He said the fight of his life started while he was jogging with five other runners.
“I stopped to take a leak near the pump station, when a well-dressed man in his mid-30s came out of the bush armed with a small knife and started charging at me. The other joggers had long passed and I did not scream,” said Coetzee.
He and the assailant fought.
Well built and athletic, Coetzee said after his fly-kick malfunctioned, “I hit my back against a rock and the guy jumped on top of me and continued to stab me unapologetically.
“The worst stabs wounds were on my left arm and groin. While I lay there bleeding, the guy reached for my bag that had car keys and a T-shirt in it and fled in the direction of Bat’s Cave.”
Coetzee had no money on him.
He described the suspect as “a dark-skinned male in his mid-30s who is about 1.7m tall with lots of hair”.
“He was wearing a smart grey shirt and trousers,” he added.
Coetzee said he got up, reached for his cellphone in his pocket and called his son-in-law who rushed to his aid and then to St Dominic’s Hospital before he was transferred to Life Beacon Bay.
Coetzee has completed 87 marathons, including 33 Surfers’ marathons, the London Marathon, seven Two Oceans and 74 Parkruns.
Coetzee’s wife Moritza, said: “He could have died.
“It is such incidents that make people’s lives smaller and smaller, because you can no longer go out there and do what you love for fear of being attacked.
“You cannot live your life with your eyes always on your back. It is wrong,” she said.
Cole said the attack was unacceptable.
“The fact we still have crime in this beautiful area, which is well-spoken about by local and international visitors, begs the question of what can be done.
“One of our weak points is that there aren’t enough patrols by coastal rangers,” Cole said.
He said the area needed a proper managerial structure that would ensure there was enough budget for staffing.
The regional director of the Eastern Cape Parkrun, Bob Norris, said: “I know him well. I am horrified.
“We need to show these criminals the area belongs to the citizens of the city by running in that area in our large numbers.”
Robber stabs Biko's dentist
Coetzee, a multiple marathon runner who treated Steve Biko twice in the 1970s, said he only lost a 20-minute titanic fight with the thug when he slipped delivering a “fly-kick” and landed badly with his back bashing into a rock.
The attack took place on a popular road through the Nahoon Point Nature Reserve which is frequented by joggers, bathers, beach walkers and surfers.
The road runs through an area of reclaimed coastal dune bush and forest close to the turnoff to the East Bank Reclamation Treatment Works.
Kevin Cole, who chairs the Nahoon Point Nature Reserve management committee, said Thursday’s attack on Coetzee was a wake-up call to all city officials and ordinary citizens to get back to basics and protect one of the most beautiful coastal reserves in South Africa.
Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi said the stabbing happened because Coetzee resisted being robbed.
He said: “No one has been arrested yet. A case of robbery has been opened and it is still under investigation.
“Our advice to joggers is they must not jog alone as this makes them vulnerable. Rather jog in groups.”
Coetzee is recovering at home after spending two nights at the Life Beacon Bay Hospital.
He said the fight of his life started while he was jogging with five other runners.
“I stopped to take a leak near the pump station, when a well-dressed man in his mid-30s came out of the bush armed with a small knife and started charging at me. The other joggers had long passed and I did not scream,” said Coetzee.
He and the assailant fought.
Well built and athletic, Coetzee said after his fly-kick malfunctioned, “I hit my back against a rock and the guy jumped on top of me and continued to stab me unapologetically.
“The worst stabs wounds were on my left arm and groin. While I lay there bleeding, the guy reached for my bag that had car keys and a T-shirt in it and fled in the direction of Bat’s Cave.”
Coetzee had no money on him.
He described the suspect as “a dark-skinned male in his mid-30s who is about 1.7m tall with lots of hair”.
“He was wearing a smart grey shirt and trousers,” he added.
Coetzee said he got up, reached for his cellphone in his pocket and called his son-in-law who rushed to his aid and then to St Dominic’s Hospital before he was transferred to Life Beacon Bay.
Coetzee has completed 87 marathons, including 33 Surfers’ marathons, the London Marathon, seven Two Oceans and 74 Parkruns.
Coetzee’s wife Moritza, said: “He could have died.
“It is such incidents that make people’s lives smaller and smaller, because you can no longer go out there and do what you love for fear of being attacked.
“You cannot live your life with your eyes always on your back. It is wrong,” she said.
Cole said the attack was unacceptable.
“The fact we still have crime in this beautiful area, which is well-spoken about by local and international visitors, begs the question of what can be done.
“One of our weak points is that there aren’t enough patrols by coastal rangers,” Cole said.
He said the area needed a proper managerial structure that would ensure there was enough budget for staffing.
The regional director of the Eastern Cape Parkrun, Bob Norris, said: “I know him well. I am horrified.
“We need to show these criminals the area belongs to the citizens of the city by running in that area in our large numbers.”
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