Support for terror threat grows
EXPERTS are concerned about the growing support for terrorism activity within the country.
This comes as the case against five men found with explosive devices was withdrawn this week.
The men were arrested in an intelligence-driven, multi-disciplinary law enforcement operation on June 25.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said a search warrant was obtained for a Mayville residence after the police followed up on information for a housebreaking case in Scottburgh, on the south coast of Kwazulu-natal.
“A search warrant was obtained, and the team proceeded to Mayville where more than 5 000 rounds of ammunition, an AK-47 rifle, seven cellphones, two magazines, another scoped rifle, as well as diamonds and jewellery were seized.”
The accused, aged between 23 and 47, were arrested and made their first court appearance on June 28 and again on Monday.
However, the case was withdrawn in the Durban Magistrate’s Court.
Provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Natasha Kara, said after considering all of the available evidence, the State concluded that there was insufficient evidence to keep the matter on the court roll.
This was not the first time that two of the arrested suspects had a run-in with law enforcement. In October 2018, the two men, along with a group of others, were arrested during a raid co-ordinated by the Hawks after a series of bombings at Woolworths branches and at the Durban July horse-racing event during the same year.
They faced various charges from murder‚ attempted murder‚ arson, and extortion. They were accused of being aligned to terror group Islamic State, with one of them being the alleged mastermind behind the Imam Hussain Mosque attack in May 2018, where Abbas Essop was killed. After close to two years of court appearances, the matter was struck off the roll in the Verulam Magistrate’s court.
Willem Els from the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria said KZN, Gauteng and the Western Cape had ongoing heavy radical recruitments.
“The country has, unfortunately, created a conducive environment for radicals. They are able to move money, forces and supplies, especially through the borders of KZN. This is why insurgents are set up in Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, because it is on the border.”
Els said radicals had room to operate as the country’s intelligence sector was in shambles and working blind.
“We don’t know what we should know, and that is due to infighting and unsavoury political meddling, our intelligence is not up to scratch, and as a result, we don’t have plans or strategic contingencies to combat the issue which we know is ongoing.”
SANDF’S Brigadier-general Mafi Mgobhozi, director of defence corporate communication, said the jihadist threat in Mozambique spilling into the country was a concern for the country’s entire security sector.
“We are responsible for protecting the country’s borders, land, air and maritime on an ongoing basis by doing patrols and surveillance operations.
“If and when suspects are apprehended, they are handed over to the relevant government departments like customs, the police, the department of home affairs and various intelligence agencies.”
The process to improve the border between KZN and Mozambique was halted after the Special Investigating Unit was brought in last month to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration.
The focus was on an R85 million tender awarded to ISF Construction and Shula Construction in 2018 to build an 8km concrete wall between the umkhanyakude and Mozambique border, but by October 2020, only 166m were built.