Pretoria - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) led by Julius Malema has called on the US Embassy in South Africa to provide evidence for its claims of a possible terrorist attack targeting Sandton.
EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said in the past the US had invaded other nations based on “faulty intelligence”.
“The United States’ foreign missions are well known to be information peddlers, embedded in international terrorist networks. It is also a historic fact that the USA invaded Iraq based on faulty intelligence: this action alone unleashed the greatest human rights violation by a government since the holocaust,” said Thambo in a statement.
“For all we know, the CIA’s agents working with terrorist groups are the ones staging the terrorist attack so as to destabilise our country.
“Alternatively, the claim seeks to impact the international reputation and standing our country as one which is terrorist infested. It is not the first time that the USA’s South African Embassy makes such a warning related to Sandton,” said Thambo.
He said even with previous alerts, the US’s diplomatic mission could not back up its claims with credible evidence.
“We reject these warnings as part of a self-made plot to destabilise our country and damage its reputation. If the USA really seeks to protect lives they must cooperate openly with our agencies and share evidence of their claims,” said Thambo.
Earlier, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the warning by the embassy of a possible weekend terrorist attack was “unfortunate”.
“It is quite unfortunate the US issued that type of warning without having any type of discussion with us,” he said at a press conference.
“Any form of alert will come from the government of the Republic of South Africa and it is unfortunate that another government should issue such a threat as to send panic amongst our people,” said Ramaphosa.
He said Pretoria was “working around the clock to verify and to look very closely at this message that came from the United States”.
Weighing in on the matter that has divided public discourse in South Africa, the DAcsaid the warning issued by the embassy must be taken seriously.
“Given the unprecedented nature of this sort of announcement, by a foreign embassy within our own borders, it brings into question the capability of South Africa’s own intelligence services under the ANC,” said Natasha Mazzone, the official opposition’s spokesperson on state security.
“To date, the reaction by the ANC government has been worryingly indifferent and dismissive. The DA calls on Mondli Gungubele, as the minister who oversees state security within the Presidency, to urgently make a public announcement informing our citizens that government intends to treat this matter with the necessary seriousness and agency to allay fears and prevent panic.”
She said the decision taken by Ramaphosa to centralise the State Security Agency into his office after the riots last year had proved to be a failure.
“People who live and do business in the Sandton area need to be given strong and visible assurance that the government is in control of the situation and their security is guaranteed,” she said.
The leader of the Build One South Africa opposition party, Mmusi Maimane, said the government’s response in the wake of the terror alert had been disappointing.
Speaking to broadcaster eNCA, the former DA leader said the US Embassy should be commended for sharing the alert. He said, however, there had not been sufficient communication and details forthcoming from the Union Buildings.
“That is the biggest failure. A threat you should always take seriously. I want to thank the United States government for alerting us on this matter. The only question that we should put on the table is: Where is our president? Where is our minister of intelligence to be commanding the country to say, ‘Do not fear, here are the actions that we have taken and here are the security measures’?” said Maimane.
“If anything were to happen, the blame should not be at the US … What did our government do if they were warned that something of this nature would happen? So, I’m, frankly, disappointed that we have a government that has failed to communicate accurately, timeously.”
He said people who had been planning to attend big events this weekend would be panicking.
“It is unfair on business, it is unfair on the psyche of a nation that has already been through a lot,” said Maimane.
Earlier, the Union Buildings said it had noted the terror alert.
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