Cape Town - A suspect Mamre is set to appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court today on terrorism charges following a bomb threat in the area last week.
The incident saw a municipal building being evacuated as commuters in Bellville reported there had been a bomb scare at the taxi rank last Monday.
Hawks spokesperson, Siyabulela Vukubi, said a multi-disciplinary team comprising of the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State, Western Cape Crime Intelligence, the Special Task Force and SAPS Bomb Disposal Unit investigated the threat and subsequently arrested the 49-year-old man for contravention the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and Related Activities Act.
“On 11 November, 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. The same threat was later made telephonically to the Road Traffic Emergency toll-free number on the same day.”
He said during the investigation, the cellphone number that was used to make the calls was revealed and it was found that after the calls were placed, the SIM card was placed in a different handset.
“A suspect was subsequently identified and a warrant of arrest was issued.
“On Friday, 15 November, a search and seizure operation was conducted in Mamre where several evidential material were seized. The suspect will appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on November 18.”
Mayco member for water and sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, confirmed they were alerted to the threat.
“On the morning of the the bomb scare all staff were evacuated from the site and allowed to work from home until the building was deemed safe and free from any threat.
“All staff have since returned. We welcome the arrest of the suspect as these kinds of threats not only puts the safety of our staff at risk but may impact our ability to deliver a reliable and efficient service to our residents.”
Rafique Foflonker of the Western Cape Provincial Community Police Board said while the motive behind the calls are unclear, the arrest is welcomed.
“While the motive is unclear, calling in a bomb threat, like this is a serious offence with significant, criminal, legal and social implications leading to public panic and potentially endangering life, impacting area businesses and state services.
“This is no trivial matter—it wastes critical emergency resources, disrupts public life, and creates fear and chaos.” He said the actions of the suspects are reprehensible and should not just be considered a prank but rather “criminal acts that destabilize communities and undermine public safety”.
“Police and emergency responders, who could have been saving lives elsewhere, had to divert their resources because of this reckless behaviour.
“The full weight of the law should be applied to hold these types of perpetrators accountable and to send a clear message that such behaviour will never be tolerated in this democracy.”