‘Isis’ property under scrutiny
TERROR suspect Farhad Hoomer’s property and vehicle ownership came under scrutiny during his bail application in Verulam Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Hoomer’s advocate, Jimmy Howse, said his client and co-accused Goolam Haffejee, 37, of Parlock, had not been singled out in the identity parade.
Haffejee was released on R100 000 bail earlier this month.
Howse said the only link to the three alleged kingpins – Hoomer, Haffejee and his cousin Ahmad Haffejee – was the signal from a cellphone tower close to the Imam Hussein Mosque in Verulam.
The State had claimed that soon after the deadly attack at the mosque, a white Hyundai Getz had been seen fleeing the scene.
It claimed that the same colour and make of vehicle was found in Fullham Road, Reservoir Hills during Hoomer’s arrest.
The State said this linked him to the mosque attack.
Howse, however, dismissed the claim. He said Hoomer owned a white Hyundai i10 which he bought in July, two months after the attack.
He further disputed that Hoomer had rented the property in Fulham Road.
Howse said the property belonged to a Loganathan Moodley and had been rented to a man named Akbar.
This is the same property where an explosive device was found.
With regards to the extortion charges, Howse said the State failed to prove the dealings between Hoomer and the three businesses Hoomer allegedly extorted money from.
In respect of the explosive device found at Woolworths in uMhlanga, Howse said the only link police had made was a white Polo, similar to the one Hoomer owned.
He confirmed that Hoomer owned a property at 8 Nugget Road, Reservoir Hills.
“The property is divided into two parts. One section is occupied by his second wife and their two children. The other portion – the basement – is where the kidnapped victim was found. The basement was being rented out.”
The bail application will continue on November 6.
IS ISLAMIC State terrorism starting to emerge in South Africa?
Peter Fabricius, of the Institute for Security Studies, has asked the very question in a recently released report.
He said recent incidents, including the arrest of a group of 11 men in Durban accused of being linked with Isis, may be unrelated, but there were enough links to warrant vigilance around violent extremism. Fabricus said since the start of the year, a number of violent incidents could hint that extremism had occurred in the country.
This included the murder of Rodney and Rachel Saunders in northern KwaZulu Natal in February, two deadly attacks on Shia mosques in KZN and the Western Cape, the planting of several cellphone incendiary devices in KZN and the arrests of the Thulsie twins in Johannesburg for allegedly plotting violence against Jewish and US interests.
He said that long before the Islamic State links of the 11 men emerged, terrorism expert Peter Knoope, of the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism in the Hague, warned that fingerprints of Isis were on many of the incidents. Fabricius said Knoope had suspected someone was “trying to create tensions between the Sunni and the Shia”.
Islamic State is fanatically Sunni and regards the Shia as apostates who must be destroyed, according to the report.
It emerged in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court last week that eight Isis flags and an Isis manual to build bombs was found in Nugget Road, Reservoir Hills. The property belongs to one of the 11 men alleged to be linked to the terror organisation, Farhad Hoomer.
The executive director of the Afro-Middle East Centre in Johannesburg, Na’eem Jeenah, said one needed to be careful before “drawing conclusions”.
“We need to be cautious about the stories we accept. There was talk it could be a criminal group dealing with extortion, so there seems to be an overlap with criminality and sectarianism,” said Jeenah.
“The detail that is emerging is concerning, but I don’t think this group is part of a national organisation.”
Anti-crime activist, Yusuf Abramjee, said the recent arrests and links to Isis were “very concerning” and that the State had to prove its case.
Abramjee said the Isis flags and manuals allegedly found on Hoomer’s property could suggest that the terror organisation may be making inroads into the country via Durban.
Terrorism expert, Willem Els, of the Institute for Security Studies, said it appeared the country was under threat from Isis.
“Isis has been here for 10 to 15 years but we have decided to turn a blind eye to minimise the focus of this threat at our doorstep.
“By turning a blind eye, we have created conditions that are conducive for these groups to grow.”
He said the breakthrough in arresting the alleged terror suspects was the biggest yet and it could be the tip of the iceberg.