Durban — Security will be tightened at a Durban North mosque following a recent bomb scare.
This after undetonated explosives and cables were found on the Musjidur Rahman Mosque on Kenneth Kaunda Road in Durban North, on Monday morning.
The Mosque Trustees’ spokesperson, Yusuf Desai, said the devices were discovered by a security guard patrolling the area.
“He noticed a vehicle entering the mosque’s driveway at around 00.45am and saw one of the occupants, an unidentified man, exiting the passenger side and placing an object in the shrubs near the mosque entrance,” Desai said.
Upon noticing the guard approaching, the individuals fled the scene, Desai said.
“The guard promptly alerted mosque management who contacted the SAPS for further investigation.
“The package was found to contain a bomb and approximately 40 metres of detonation cable, which the SAPS bomb squad successfully rendered safe and removed,” he said.
Desai said the Muslim community’s contributions to Durban North’s economy and social fabric had significantly mitigated earlier misunderstandings and stereotypes.
He expressed his confusion as to why the mosque, which contributed to community life by helping with water issues – providing tanks whenever there was an outage; providing feeding schemes; drug rehabilitation; and marriage counselling – was targeted.
“The authorities are reviewing footage from the mosque and security company cameras. The mosque has heightened its security measures and urges anyone with information about the bombing attempt, or who may have been in the vicinity during the incident, to contact law enforcement or the mosque directly.
“Efforts to apprehend those responsible will be relentless and thorough,” Desai said.
Hailey Fudu, the secretary of the KZN Interreligious Council, expressed support for the mosque.
“Religious places should be safe spaces for every faith community, where worshippers can gather free of fear or intimidation,” she said.
Fudu said that, although they were unaware of the motive behind the incident, it had distressed those who worshipped there. She called on the authorities to investigate thoroughly so that such an incident did not recur.
Fudu said Durban had a proud history of religious tolerance.
The KZN Interreligious Council is composed of representatives of the Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim faiths. The Brama Kumaris also work with the council.
KZN police spokesperson, Brigadier Jay Naicker, said the Greenwood Park police were investigating a case of illegal possession of explosives after the discovery of two home-made explosive devices at the mosque.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that... unknown suspects were on Kenneth Kaunda Road when they were interrupted by a security vehicle patrolling the area. The suspects fled and threw the devices into the mosque premises,” Naicker said.
“The security officer saw what happened, found the devices inside the mosque premises and immediately suspected that they were explosive devices. He contacted the necessary authorities who in turn contacted police.”
He said police bomb technicians confirmed that they were home-made explosive devices that consisted of commercial explosives.
“The devices were not set up to explode. It is suspected that the men were en route to an unknown location with the devices when they were disturbed by the security officer.”
Naicker said investigations to locate the suspects were continuing and commended the security officer who found the devices for not touching them and immediately alerting the authorities.
Naicker appealed to members of the community to not pick up any suspicious devices.
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