Kidnapping rescue exposes terror threat

Terror funding and ISIS (Islamic State) cells are a growing concern in South Africa. This was highlighted this week by a kidnapping, subsequent arrests, and the raid of an alleged ISIS cell, as well as the possibility that 50 local nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) are being investigated for alleged terror funding.

Soon after South African media revealed that NGOs were being investigated, an Ethiopian national (44) was rescued in Kensington, Johannesburg, 12 hours after being kidnapped from Norwood. The victim was allegedly held by a gang linked to a major ISIS cell that has been active in South Africa, possibly since 2020. Multiple suspects were arrested. CSO Chief Executive Liron Sanders confirmed the incident.

“Terrorism and terror cells are present in every country in the world,” Sanders says. “Europe is facing a huge spike in terror attacks, specifically in major cities. What’s reassuring is that people potentially linked to terror have been arrested and will hopefully be charged.”

Ryan Cummings, the director of analysis at Africa-focused risk management company Signal Risk, says, “South Africa’s security forces have dismantled another ISIS cell, underscoring the persistent threat posed by the group’s presence in the country. This latest operation bears striking similarities to the July 2020 raid in Kliprivier, Johannesburg, and broader criminal activities, including abductions and the deadly New Year’s Day 2020 shootings in Melville and Newtown.”

The Kliprivier suspects were linked to earlier attacks in Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal, but a July 2023 court ruling acquitted 12 suspects, citing insufficient evidence. “This highlights the challenges prosecutors face in securing convictions in terrorism-related cases,” says Cummings.

Though these crackdowns, including investigating NGOs, signal an effort to disrupt terrorism, “they also raise concerns about potential retaliatory violence”, he says. “Targeting the financial lifelines of organised crime and extremists could provoke punitive actions against South African citizens and interests.”

Professor Hussein Solomon, who is among the top 100 terrorism experts in the world, says such a kidnapping isn’t surprising. “The modus operandi of ISIS is kidnappings and extortion to send funds to ISIS cells across Africa. There is a close nexus between crime syndicates and terrorism.”

On the other hand, he finds it “intriguing” that South Africa is suddenly taking action, both in terms of raids and probing NGOs. “I’m wondering if it’s [due to] external pressure on the state,” he says.

Willem Els, senior training co-ordinator on terrorism at the Institute for Security Studies, says “South Africa is in a race against time to be delisted from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list, and it’s important that it pursues these types of cases aggressively. I wouldn’t be surprised if authorities link this incident to other cases being investigated regarding terror funding in South Africa.”

The arrests come as suspicion continues to mount that local NGO Gift of the Givers (GOTG) is funding terrorism. Local media reported on 7 March that the department of social development (DSD) revealed that 50 NGOs across the country were under investigation for alleged terror financing and money laundering. On the same day, the DSD refuted this, saying it had rather convened a symposium on the issue. The list of NGOs hasn’t been made public.

The announcement and backtrack indicate that terror financing and money laundering exist within the non-profit sector in South Africa, and that NGOs are vulnerable to being exploited by both local and international bad actors. Experts told the SA Jewish Report that ensuring compliance in the NGO sector was a crucial step in getting South Africa off the FATF grey list, and the original announcement about the 50 NGOs was significant.

“What I read into this is that South Africa is under pressure,” Solomon said. “It has been turning a blind eye [to terror financing], there is the possibility of sanctions from [United States President] Donald Trump, and the international community is tired of South Africa and the games it is playing.”

As for this development being a threat to the security of the Jewish community, Cummings says, “South Africa is primarily a logistical and financial hub for extremist organisations. Extremists in South Africa aren’t necessarily the ones who will be conducting militant activity.”

However, “What this highlights is that there is support for such ideology within South Africa,” Cummings says. “And when you have that support, you could have sympathisers that will act. The Jewish community is at acute risk of violence by so-called Islamist extremist actors.”

Shaun Sacks, senior researcher at NGO Monitor in Jerusalem, says, “Instead of taking urgent corrective action [in probing NGOs], the government and the DSD are backtracking, denying reports, and evading responsibility. A simple review of the DSD reveals a complete lack of oversight mechanisms, unreliable financial evaluations, and a monitoring system that remains unimplemented, with even its public registry often inaccessible.”

For him, a glaring example of the government’s unwillingness to confront this crisis relates to Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, the founder of GOTG. “Dr Sooliman has openly admitted to bypassing funding restrictions and oversight mechanisms, while his organisation continues to operate in high-risk regions like Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and Gaza. Instead of launching a real investigation into organisations like GOTG, the government merely convened a symposium with NGOs, sidestepping the core issue.”

Sacks believes these failures “place South Africa on a dangerous trajectory, risking further financial downgrades and undermining the reliability of its banks and institutions to prevent criminal and terror-linked transactions”.

In terms of the NGOs in question, Cummings thinks they are quite broad-based. “In countries that are fighting Islamist extremism, we’ve seen that it’s the organisations which are religiously oriented and ask for payment of tithes. Not all are necessarily linked to Islamist extremism, they could be linked to other faiths.”

Els says probing NGOs is a significant step. “Globally, NGOs are a big target for radicals. For example, before the 1998 American embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, Osama bin Laden established two NGOs in Nairobi and funnelled all the funds for the bombings through them.

“South Africa is desperate as it didn’t make the deadline [to get off the grey list] that was due last month,” he says. “And so, we will be on the grey list for another year. We know that this is severely impeding our growth and economy.”

Els doesn’t think such a probe would increase the threat against the Jewish community, “but these organisations, once they are targeted [by an investigation], might try to channel their frustration and make the Jewish community the scapegoat.”

Cummings says that though these operations demonstrate progress in combating terrorism, “they also reveal the complexities of addressing the threat. South Africa must balance robust counterterrorism measures with the need to mitigate risks to its citizens, and ensure that legal frameworks are strengthened to secure convictions. The stakes are high, and the consequences of missteps could be severe.”