Over 15 months of investigation, authorities stated the boy was radicalised after participating in social media chats.
A 16-year-old has been arrested near Cape Town on terrorism charges.
Authorities had been investigating the teenager since December 2023 in connection with an alleged plot to attack two sites in the Mother City.
The boy appeared in the Atlantis Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. The matter was postponed to 28 March for legal representation.
Potential attack on airport
Authorities arrested the 16-year-old for contravention of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act (POCDATARA) and malicious damage to property.
Investigators first raided the boy’s home in Melkbosstrand on 6 December 2023, where they confiscated five gaming consoles, computer equipment and a cellphone.
Authorities had information that the boy had been recruited via social media chat groups to allegedly carry out attacks at Cape Town International Airport and an adult entertainment venue in Barrack Street.
The boy is alleged to have recruited an accomplice, with police stating he was “being radicalised and recruited by the terrorist organisation”.
“It was established that he participated in social media chat groups and was recruited to be an extremist,” confirmed Western Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi.
Destruction at Catholic church
Before the initial raid, the boy was accused of destroying a statue of Mary at the Melkbosstrand Catholic Church in November 2023.
The statue was found beheaded and covered in spray-painted slogans, prompting the investigation which led to the arrest.
“The enquiry was forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions in Cape Town for decision and thereafter sent to the National Director of Public Prosecutions for the issuing of a POCDATARA certificate and it was issued on 6 March,” confirmed Vukubi.
The POCDATARA Act of 2004 was promulgated to comply with a United Nations Security Council resolution on terrorism and related activities.
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