Sandton City on high alert following terror threat

UPDATE: 7 June, 2pm –

According to a News24 report, an East African bussinessman is behind the claims of possible terror attacks at busy shopping centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town, including Sandton City.

However, a source with access to South African intelligence said that the businessman was believed by South African authorities to be a ‘discredited’ informer who was allegedly paid a bribe to provide the false information.

Minister of State Security David Mahlobo delayed his response to the US warnings by a day, and stated that SA security services “have liaised with the Americans on the concerns they have and these engagements will continue as part of the ongoing work. It is the responsibility of the South African security forces to ensure that all people within our territory are and feel safe.”

He added, “We remain a strong and stable democratic country and there is no immediate danger posed by the alert.”

The US embassy issued a security message on Saturday which contained information about ‘personal security threats of a general or systemic nature, such as crime trends, demonstrations, peaceful actions intended to disrupt normal activity, or localised events not likely to affect large numbers of US citizens’.

State Security spokesperson Brian Dube said: “At this stage, we are not in a position to reveal the intelligence being worked on.”

UPDATE: 6 June, 3.20pm- Earlier today, the British Governement issued an alert, warning its citizens of a high level terror threat in South Africa.

This comes after the US issued a similar warning on 4 June, after it had received information that terrorist groups are planning to carry out attacks against locations where US-citizens congregate, such as shopping malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The UK government said in a statement: “There is a high threat from terrorism. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners, such as shopping areas in Johannesburg and Cape Town.”

State Security Minister David Mahlobo gave assurances on Monday, stating that his department was doing all it could to keep South Africa safe against attacks

The United States Embassy and Consulates in South Africa released the initial statement, warning U.S citizens that the U.S Government had received information that terrorists groups are planning to carry out near-term attacks against places where U.S citizens congregate in South Africa.

“This information comes against the backdrop of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s public call for its adherents to carry out terrorist attacks globally during the upcoming month of Ramadan,” the statement read.

United States warned its citizens of possible attacks by Islamist militants on US facilities or shopping malls in South Africa.

Sandton City, which falls under the Liberty Property Portfolio, said on their Facebook page that the group had taken note of the security alert issued by the US Diplomatic Mission to South Africa.

“All five shopping centres in the Liberty Property Portfolio –Sandton City, Nelson Mandela Square, Eastgate, Liberty Midlands Mall and Liberty Promenade – are on high alert and additional security measures have been implemented in line with the Liberty Group policy. We are also working closely with SAPS.”

The Liberty Property Portfolio said they would like to assure their customers that security was of utmost priority to the group.