Sandton terrorist threat confirmed by SA crime intelligence sources

The threat of a terrorist attack, apparently planned for this weekend in Sandton, has been confirmed as authentic by both a spokesperson for the United States State Department and a source within South African crime intelligence.

The source shared with The Citizen that unconfirmed information suggested targets in the heart of Sandton’s financial district and surrounds or the nearby public transportation hubs may be in the crosshairs of harm-doers.  

The first Johannesburg Gay Pride event since the pandemic ended is also expected to take place on Saturday in Johannesburg.

The US Embassy published the warning on its website on Wednesday, which read:

The U.S. government has received information that terrorists may be planning to conduct an attack targeting large gatherings of people at an unspecified location in the greater Sandton area of Johannesburg, South Africa, on 29 October 2022. There is no further information regarding the timing, method, or target of the potential attack. The U.S. Embassy has advised staff to avoid crowds of people and other large public gatherings in the greater Sandton area of Johannesburg during the weekend of 29-30 October 2022.

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Decades since SA’s last terror attack

The last time South Africa suffered a terrorist attack was when PAGAD (People Against Gangsterism and Drugs) bombed the Planet Hollywood restaurant at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront on 25 August 1998.

The bomb was placed and later detonated beneath a footrest at the restaurant’s bar. One person died and a number of patrons were permanently maimed.

The attack was in retaliation, the organisation said at the time, to American air raids in Sudan and Afghanistan.

Cape Town was a perceived hotbed of terrorist activities in the late Nineties. Before the Planet Hollywood explosion reports counted eight prior attacks using homemade pipe bomb devices. In November 1999 another pipe bomb exploded in a beachfront restaurant injuring 43 people.

The ANC’s terror campaign during the Eighties, which included car bombs, limpet mines and other explosive devices had South Africans living on a knife edge for more than a decade. Shopping malls had security apparatus at all of its entrances and shoppers were scanned with metal detectors before being allowed to enter any centre.

Just before the 1994 elections, right wing groups claimed responsibility for bombing OR Tambo International Airport, then known as Jan Smuts International Airport.

South Africans at higher risk from violent crime than terror

Before the warning was posted, the US already pegged South Africa’s safety ranking for tourists to a Stage 2, which means an amplified risk of crime and violence.

The source noted that today South Africans have a better chance of being robbed, mugged or carjacked than hurt in a terrorist attack, but threats should be taken seriously.

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