Mohamad Umar Akbar, a South African man previously flagged by US authorities as part of an ISIS cell, has been arrested in Johannesburg.
Umar Akbar arrested again in Johannesburg
Police confirmed that he and co-accused Ryan Grobler were found in possession of a stolen vehicle, a fake Rolex watch, and Van Cleef jewellery.
The pair appeared at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday, where their case was postponed.
Akbar, born in South Africa on 6 September 1998, has long been on the radar of international and local authorities.
On 7 November 2022, the US Department of the Treasury designated him a Specially Designated National (SDN), a label given to individuals connected to terrorism.
History of terror-linked arrests
The arrest of Umar Akbar this week is not his first encounter with law enforcement. He has been linked to terrorism investigations in South Africa for several years.
In October 2018, Akbar, Durban businessman Farhad Hoomer, and 10 others were arrested on suspicion of planting incendiary devices — small homemade bombs designed to start fires — near a mosque and other buildings.
The arrests followed a violent attack earlier that year on 10 May 2018, when assailants stormed the Imam Hussain Mosque in Durban. One worshipper was killed, and two others were seriously injured after being stabbed. The attackers also set fire to part of the mosque.
Days later, an undetonated incendiary device was found inside the mosque. In July 2018, authorities discovered five similar devices at Durban shopping centres and even under parked cars at the Durban July horse-racing festival.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations, Akbar and the others were released on bail in November 2018. By July 2020, the Verulam Magistrate’s Court dismissed the case due to insufficient evidence.
US terror designation
Although the South African case collapsed, American authorities continued to monitor Umar Akbar. In November 2022, the US government officially listed him as part of an ISIS cell based in Durban.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control not only named him as a member of ISIS but also sanctioned two of his businesses. These sanctions were meant to prevent Akbar from using companies to raise or move money for extremist networks.
Akbar is believed to have close ties with Farhad Hoomer, a Durban man described by US authorities as the leader of ISIS operations in South Africa. Their names have surfaced repeatedly in reports linking them to extremist activity inside the country.
Security analysts have long warned that South Africa’s role in global terror networks is underestimated, with groups like ISIS allegedly using the country as a base for recruitment and fundraising.
In this latest arrest, however, police said the charges against Umar Akbar are not terrorism-related. Instead, they involve stolen property and fraudulently obtained luxury goods.
The suspects remain in custody, and the case has been postponed for further investigation.
