The Community Security Organisation (CSO) this week begged the community to prioritise security in light of last week’s early parole of the notorious Thulsie twins, convicted on terrorism-related charges.
Tony-Lee and Brandon-Lee Thulsie, 28, were released from prison last Thursday, 18 August, six months after their trial was concluded in the Johannesburg High Court. The pair had entered into a plea agreement with the state after spending almost six years behind bars awaiting trial.
The brothers were convicted in February on charges including planning attacks on members of the community and Jewish installations.
Real fear of terrorist attacks at Jewish schools, shuls and elsewhere in the country reverberated at the time of their arrest in 2016, sending shockwaves through the community.
Jevon Greenblatt, the CSO’s director of operations in Johannesburg, said that although the idea of them being free raised concerns, it didn’t change the fact that “at any given time” there might be others with similar views planning similar attacks.
“We’re pleading with the community not to hide its head in the sand,” he said, adding that security was a collective effort and the CSO could do only so much.
He cautioned community installations that continued to ignore security concerns in spite of warnings.
The Thulsie twins were teenagers when they converted to Islam and later became radicalised. They had planned to join Islamic State in Syria (ISIS), and attempted unsuccessfully to leave the country on two occasions. Frustrated by their failure to join ISIS abroad, they plotted to carry out terrorist attacks in South Africa, including on Western embassies and diplomats, Jewish installations including King David Linksfield, and members of the community, and mosques of the Shia Islam sect.
Among others, they contemplated targeting Jewish South Africans including cartoonist Jonathan “Zapiro” Shapiro. They publicly stated on social media that they supported ISIS and had downloaded a bomb making manual.
Jasmine Opperman, a security consultant specialising in extremism and political violence, expressed fear that the twins’ early parole could send the wrong message.
“This can easily motivate international terror groups to find a home in southern Africa,” Opperman said, “the perception being that even if there are court cases and convictions, people get early parole.”
Security experts say the Thulsie case has exposed weaknesses in current legislation related to terrorism in South Africa, which make it difficult to secure successful convictions.
Many have called for a review of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act (POCDATARA) and all current legislation related to terrorism, including calls to include thorough definitions of terms such as “terrorism”, “extremism”, and “radicalisation”.
Opperman said to prove intent beyond doubt remained a highly complicated matter subject to interpretation.
“Counter-terrorism strategies are only as effective as legislation allows. In South Africa, the term ‘terrorism’ remains loosely and broadly defined,” she said.
“This should be a wake-up call to all governments in the region to revisit how terrorism is going to be countered in a court of law.”
Dr Barend Prinsloo, senior lecturer in security studies at the School of Government Studies at North West University, told the SA Jewish Report that the plea bargain was the best outcome for the state, but legislation on terrorism in South Africa “should be strengthened”.
In his research on Islam and Muslims in Africa, he recently wrote that the first weakness is that POCDATARA fails to explain or define terrorism.
“An amendment to the Act was drafted in 2021, but wasn’t signed into law by the time of the conclusion of the Thulsie case,” Prinsloo wrote.
He said it was a victory for the state to get the accused essentially to admit to actus reus (the intention or actual doing of the crime). But the state’s case would have been much stronger had there been a solid definition of terrorism in legislation.
Greenblatt said the CSO was confident that should authorities become aware that the community was under imminent threat, it would be notified.
“The question is whether they will pick up the threat in time before there’s an issue, and do they have capacity before the threat becomes real,” he said.
He said the Thulsie arrest and conviction should be a wake-up call to all South Africans.
“Not only was one of their primary targets a Jewish school, but other cell members, arrested at the same time and later released, went on to commit acts of extreme violence in support of ISIS or to join the ISIS insurgency in Mozambique,” he said.
“There’s no doubt that there are extremist individuals and groups operating in South Africa. They are ready and able to do whatever is necessary to further the vision of radical Islam and its expansion – particularly in Africa – which is the new frontline in the global war on terror.”
Security insiders have expressed concern about whether the twins have been rehabilitated.
“What we do know from other cases around the world is that radicalised individuals often become more radicalised in prison, and that a fair number go on to commit acts of terror once they’re released,” said Greenblatt. “Whether this is true for the Thulsie twins remains to be seen.”
He expressed concern about the state’s dire lack of resources.
“Even in countries with substantially more resources, tracking and monitoring of radicalised groups and individuals is a difficult task, with numerous examples of the systems failing and known terrorists going on to commit attacks,” he said.
The twin’s lawyer, Nadeem Mahomed, didn’t respond to requests for comment at the time of going to press. He told Salaam Media the Thulsies “are young and they will have a long, happy, and prosperous life ahead of them”.
He said they had plans, including focusing on their religious and other studies.
“They ought not to be under surveillance,” Mahomed said, as they had a parole officer and would live under normal parole conditions.
