Joburg’s wealthiest suburb could be a terrorist target

According to a warning on the US Embassy website, one of South Africa’s wealthiest suburbs may be the target of a terrorist attack on Saturday.

“The US government has received information that terrorists may be planning to conduct an attack targeting large gatherings of people at an unspecified location in the greater Sandton area of Johannesburg, South Africa, on 29 Oct.,” the embassy said in the statement.

The embassy has instructed its staff to stay away from large public gatherings and other crowds of people in the designated area over the upcoming weekend.

“There is no further information regarding the timing, method, or target of the potential attack.”

The embassy has advised its employees to avoid crowds and large public gatherings in the designated area over the weekend.

Many of South Africa’s largest corporations have their headquarters in Sandton, including financial services group FirstRand Ltd, chemicals company Sasol, insurer Discovery Ltd, Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, law firms, and international auditing firms such as EY. On weekends, the suburb also has a multi-faceted retail space that draws tourists and locals.

When Bloomberg called, Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo did not answer the phone.