‘South Africa attractive to terror networks’

South Africa hasn’t experienced a large-scale terrorist attack in recent years, but that shouldn’t be mistaken for security, according to Professor Hussein Solomon, a senior professor at the University of the Free State and a leading scholar on terrorism and African security. 

The fact that we haven’t had a Bondi Beach-type attack doesn’t mean there won’t be one in the future,” he said in a lecture to students at the University of Houston recently. 

Solomon, who outlined in his lecture how extremist groups such as Islamic State (ISIS) have expanded rapidly across the African continent, warns that South Africa occupies a unique position in the global extremist landscape. The country isn’t currently a battlefield for militant organisations, he says, but it is a place where networks can operate quietly. 

“South Africa has become a place where people lie low,” he says. “It’s functioning enough that people can move around, but it’s also prone to infiltration.” 

Solomon points out that much of ISIS’ activity now takes place in Africa, where affiliates operate in regions ranging from the Sahel to Mozambique. 

He makes the point that South Africa isn’t isolated from broader terrorist trends despite many of the conflicts taking place far from this country. Militant networks, he says, often seek environments where they can operate quietly while maintaining access to infrastructure and financial systems. South Africa provides both. 

“We’ve had Boko Haram here. We’ve had Al-Shabaab here. We’ve had Hamas and Hezbollah here. We’ve had al-Qaeda here,” Solomon says. 

He also points to the fact that South Africans have travelled abroad to join extremist organisations. “There were hundreds of South Africans who went to Raqqa and were trained as part of ISIS,” he says. 

Some later returned to South Africa. What became of them remains uncertain. “Where are they now? What happened to them?” Solomon asks. 

The challenge facing South Africa, according to Solomon, isn’t a lack of laws designed to prevent terrorism. On paper, the country has robust legislation aimed at combatting extremist activity and terror financing. The problem lies elsewhere. “We have great legislation but lousy implementation,” he says. 

Corruption and political interference weaken the institutions responsible for enforcing those laws. As a result, networks linked to organised crime, financial fraud, and extremist movements are able to operate with limited oversight. 

“There’s a growing nexus between crime, terrorism, the weakness of the state, and corruption,” Solomon says. Financial networks illustrate how these systems operate. Terrorist organisations rely on funding to sustain their activities, and that funding often moves through legitimate financial channels. 

Extremist groups raise money through kidnapping, extortion, robbery, narcotics trafficking, and the illegal trade in minerals. Some of these activities take place in South Africa or move through its financial system. 

At the same time, investigations into suspected extremist activity sometimes stall before reaching prosecution. Solomon describes cases in which security officials uncovered suspicious activities such as paramilitary training camps and believed they had strong evidence against those involved. 

“Then suddenly the surveillance teams are told to stand down,” he says. “All the evidence is handed over, and nothing happens.” He says such incidents raise questions about political will. 

South Africa’s borders also pose challenges. Corruption among officials has allowed people to enter illegally. 

Members of the Border Management Authority have been accused of accepting bribes to allow undocumented migrants into the country. Weak enforcement of immigration laws can create opportunities for criminal networks and extremist operatives. “Extremist groups look for countries that function but that they can penetrate,” Solomon says. 

Despite these vulnerabilities, South Africa hasn’t experienced the kind of large-scale attacks seen elsewhere. Smaller incidents have occurred, including attempted attacks against Jewish institutions. However, the country hasn’t experienced the scale of violence seen in parts of West Africa or the Middle East. 

Solomon believes geography and political priorities have played a role. “South Africa is a huge country,” he says. “It’s easier to hide in.” 

For now, militant networks appear to use the country primarily as a logistical base rather than an operational battlefield. Elsewhere in Africa, however, the security picture is far more volatile. 

Extremist organisations have expanded by exploiting weak governance, local grievances, and ethnic conflicts. In some regions, militant groups have established parallel systems of authority. 

“They provide basic services,” Solomon says. “Farm tools, schools, health clinics.” In communities where the state is absent or ineffective, this assistance can win loyalty. “People start transferring their loyalty from the state to the militant group,” he says. 

Heavy-handed responses by governments can also accelerate radicalisation. Studies of captured militants have found that many joined extremist organisations after experiencing violence at the hands of security forces. 

Indiscriminate crackdowns, Solomon says, often create new recruits rather than eliminating insurgencies. “People join because they feel they have no other option,” he says. 

He believes effective counter-terrorism requires both capable security forces and accountable governance. Military action can disrupt extremist organisations, but it cannot address the underlying conditions that allow them to grow. 

“If citizens feel the state is corrupt and offers them nothing, someone else will fill that space,” Solomon says. South Africa’s own internal divisions could also create vulnerabilities. Economic hardship, social inequality, and political tensions provide opportunities for extremist movements to exploit grievances. “When the economic situation is bad, terror groups recruit even more,” Solomon says. 

He points to divisions along racial, class, and regional lines that extremist groups could potentially manipulate. “These groups are very good at exploiting divisions,” he says. 

For Solomon, the central question is whether South Africa will confront these challenges before they become more serious. The country has avoided the large-scale violence seen elsewhere on the continent. Yet the conditions that allow extremist networks to operate already exist. 

“The question,” he says, “is whether we have the political will to deal with it.”