This archive report was first published on 5 December 2019.
South Africa's security authorities were on high alert last week as they foiled a radical religious terror group's alleged plans to unleash a wave of attacks on black South Africans on 'Black Friday'. The group, known as the National Christian Resistance Movement (NCRM) or 'Crusaders', had been operating in secret in Mpumalanga Province, which borders Mozambique.
According to investigators, the group's leader, Harry Johannes Knoesen, was arrested on Thursday, just hours before the planned attacks were set to take place. Knoesen, a 60-year-old former member of the South African National Defence Force, had been in contact with other far-right groups described as 'neo-Nazis'.
Following Knoesen's arrest, the Hawks, South Africa's premier crime investigations unit, arrested another leading figure in the NCRM, Riana Heymans, and two accomplices in Johannesburg. A further arrest took place on Sunday evening.
Investigators believe that the group may have had as many as 100 members nationally and that it may have also been planning to seize military installations. Various firearms and ammunition, documents, and other items were seized during the arrests.
The group's alleged plans were described as 'diabolical schemes' by investigators, who had been aware of the group's existence but had to move swiftly once they learned of the planned attacks. The group's ties to other far-right elements, both locally and abroad, were also highlighted.
While the authorities have declined to comment on the extent of the group's planning, it remains unclear how much of the group's supposed 'crusade' was actual planning for real attacks and how much was merely rhetorical 'hot air'.
