South Africa: U.S. Terror Warning Troubles Pretoria
| Publisher | Jamestown Foundation |
| Author | Alexander Sehmer |
| Publication Date | 13 June 2016 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | Terrorism Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 12 |
| Cite as | Jamestown Foundation, South Africa: U.S. Terror Warning Troubles Pretoria, 13 June 2016, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 12, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/576263f14.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Link to original story on Jamestown website
The United States and Britain issued a revised terrorism warning on South Africa this month. The British Foreign Office upgrading the risk of a terrorist attack to "high," while the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria warned its citizens of possible Islamist attacks in Cape Town and Johannesburg. South Africa, which has a limited history of Islamist violence, was displeased.
David Mahlobo, South Africa's state security minister, announced that there was "no immediate danger" (eNCA, June 6). The foreign ministry released a statement calling the intelligence "dubious and unsubstantiated", and President Jacob Zuma moved to reassure the media that relations with the United States were still cordial (eNCA, June 9).
The precise nature of the threat is unclear. Neither Nigeria's Boko Haram nor Somalia's al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabab - a more likely candidate for an attack in South Africa - have carried out attacks there in the past. Furthermore, the local Muslim population is relatively well integrated. There is also a feeling that South Africa maybe protected from terrorist attack since so much financing for extremist groups flows through the country (Mail & Guardian, February 4, 2015). South Africans speculate that, amid racial division, a terror attack is more likely to come from a different direction, possibly a racist attack. That would certainly be more in line with the country's past experience of terrorism such as the 2002 Soweto bombings, which were carried out by a white supremacist group.
Such an attack was not the focus of the U.S. warning, and the South African security services would do well not to ignore the threat. The country has been a hiding place for Islamists in the past. Samantha Lewthwaite, the so-called White Widow, lived in Johannesburg under a false passport for several years, even giving birth to her fourth child in at a private clinic there (The Citizen, October 25, 2013). Meanwhile, documents leaked to Al Jazeera make clear the South African security services are highly politicized and have little focus on preventing Islamist terror attacks, whether from abroad or by lone-wolf operators at home (Al Jazeera, February 24, 2015).
Sources close to South African intelligence let it be known they view the intelligence behind the recent U.S. warning as coming from a "discredited" East African businessman (News24, June 7). Nevertheless, it has to be assumed the British and Americans believe their intelligence to be credible. Neither nation has reason to be scaremongering, especially when dealing with Africa's second largest economy.
