Man arrested for bomb threats at Cape Town government buildings

A 49-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly making bomb threats and contravention of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and Related Activities Act, Act 33 of 2004.

He was arrested by a multi-disciplinary team comprising the Hawks’ Crimes Against The State, Western Cape Crime Intelligence, the Special Task Force and the South African Police Service (Saps) Bomb Disposal Unit.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi, police arrested the 49-year-old suspect on Friday after he made the threats on Monday.

“On 11 November 2024 telephone calls were allegedly made to the Community Service Centre at the Bellville Saps by an unknown male who threatened that explosive devices were placed at the Department of Water and Sanitation in Bellville, the Transnet Building in Bellville South and Bellville Taxi Rank,” said Vukubi.

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“The same threat was later made telephonically to the Road Traffic Emergency toll-free number on the same day.”

Suspect to appear for bomb threat

An investigation by the Hawks’ team revealed a cellphone number from a SIM card which was used in the commission of the offence and thereafter placed in a different handset.

“A suspect was subsequently identified and a warrant of arrest was issued.”

On Friday, a search and seizure operation was conducted in Mamre where “several evidential materials” were seized.

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The suspect will appear at the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on 18 November 2024.

The Hawks’ Provincial Head, Major General Makgato has sent a stern warning against “these kinds of reckless and negligent acts” by members of the public.

Emergency centre prank calls

In September, the City of Cape Town noted a 153% increase in prank calls to the Public Emergency Communication Centre.

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At the time, the centre recorded 1 679 incidents in one weekend, with 104 of these being prank calls.

“These nuisance calls hog the lines, and that extra time that a caller with a real emergency has to spend waiting, could mean the difference between life and death, or a criminal getting away,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

“And, while many prank callers consider themselves would-be comedians, some are downright abusive. The nature of an emergency call taker’s job already comes with a lot of trauma and stress, and so prank calls really aren’t as funny as the callers might think.”

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Though the prank callers were not always children, Smith urged parents to educate their children about the consequences linked to prank calls.

“As we head into the school holidays, I want to urge parents to please talk to the children about the potentially serious repercussions that can come from meddling with the emergency services.”