r/southafrica • u/EntrepreneurAfrica • 3d ago
News Another explosion hits second Woolworths store in South Africa
https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/861930/another-explosion-hits-second-woolworths-store-in-south-africa/Surely this isn't a coincidence? Who is targeting Woolworths and why?
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u/Boriski_GMC 3d ago
Somebody really is making it known how dissatisfied they are with regards to the Chuckles deal.
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u/mechsuit-jalapeno Bubblegum Steri Stumpie 3d ago
Beyers chocolate mafia /s
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u/sp3rchrg3d Western Cape 3d ago
I would rather say burglaries gone wrong, but if we throwing out crazy theories my money is on pro Palestine supporters as I’m sure I read something about Woolies and Israel.
But then Cape Union would be next
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u/microbrickdude 3d ago
Nah, from the article it seems like it's explosive devices left (maybe hidden?) on shelves. Doesn't say so explicitly, but kind of inferred. Definitely not robbery related. It feels like someone is taking the boycott Woolies movement very serious.
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u/sp3rchrg3d Western Cape 3d ago
If that’s the case, at least the terrorists were kind enough to detonate their devices when no one was present.
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u/microbrickdude 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yup, I think the timer was wrong. The first one went off during business hours at Menlyn. The one in Bloem went off in the early mornings.
But you're right, it definitely does qualify as terrorism.
Edit: Menlyn also happened in the morning (at 1:00) while there were staff in the store, which made me think it was during business hours as the article doesn't explicitly mention AM or PM. Why the hell are there staff at 1:00AM
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u/teddyslayerza Aristocracy 3d ago
Ironically, literally any crime classifies as terrorism in SA. Jaywalking is a terrorist act. This is the definition from the 2003 Anti-Terrorism Bill:
“terrorist act” means an unlawful act, committed in or outside the Republic;1
u/zedgetinmybed 2d ago
Just a side note when i used to work retail we would stay late one every 3-4 months to do stock take. From 8pm when the shop closed until late - sometimes 2-3am. It was a whole other shift and they do it after hours to not disrupt trade. This could be the reason why there were staff in the store when it went off.
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u/mechsuit-jalapeno Bubblegum Steri Stumpie 3d ago
Yeah no robbing a Woolies would be smooth brain. I don't know when last I saw someone pay in cash there.
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u/benevolent-badger !ke e: /xarra //ke 3d ago
Someone is very angry at woolies. They obviously try to avoid hurting anyone, but if they carry on like this, someone is bound to get hurt. Next time just use all that effort to make a sign and go stand outside woolies, and no one will get hurt.
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u/teddyslayerza Aristocracy 3d ago
Let's not make assumptions about not intending harm - these things have not had high precision timers. It think it's pure luck, and the fact that they were small explosions, that nobody was hurt.
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u/Better_Ad_3004 3d ago
Yea got an email about it from Woolworths (see picture attached), this happened to 2 stores.
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u/ceveleigh0 3d ago
I got it too. I thought the whole email was super weird. The "I wanted to personally let you know" thing just seems so fake from them
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u/teddyslayerza Aristocracy 3d ago
Urg, the tone of that is kinda gross. "We'll send our staff into danger because our value is profit, and that is noble."
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u/Agent-Smith_Virus 3d ago
Imo, captain obvious pitching in here, Its got to be the same person doing this.
Same time, same shelf area, same small type of detonation...
If its not one person, it can't be more than 3.
Pretty sure the pperson will be caught. Will be interesting to find out who and why
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u/CalmdownpleaseII Rapture? Eish, Missed the Taxi 3d ago
This happened a couple years ago ago as well - incendiary devices rather than explosive. It ended up being a group of Muslim fundamentalists doing stupid shit in Durban.
Woolies has some issues with links to Israeli goods so they tend to get targeted. Explosives is a step up but it’s small and contained so unlikely to be a well organized crowd.
It’s a recurring issue for them.
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u/EntrepreneurAfrica 2d ago
Related to PAGAD or another group?
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u/rubygloomm 2d ago
LOL Pagad is Capetonian and not fundamentalist Muslims. Their main targets are on the Cape Flats, the big guys affecting communities like merchants, gangsters etc.
Yes I know they also bombed Planet Hollywood, but PAGAD is not inherently anti-west or even only Muslims.
FYI: Lots of Muslims in the other provinces don’t agree with how Cape Town Muslims practice. We’re seen as too liberal.
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u/CalmdownpleaseII Rapture? Eish, Missed the Taxi 2d ago
No it was another group related to Al Shabaab if I recall. Wasn’t anything too organized although they were weird as fuck - kept some poor dude chained up in the basement.
I’ll try to find some articles around this.
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u/Ok-Conclusion1624 Redditor for a month 2d ago
in addition to the Chuckles fiasco, there have been several articles lately indicating that they steal ideas from smaller designers or underpay their suppliers. not sure how professional these devices have been, but being placed only in the food section seems interesting. but Woolies and these malls have cameras everywhere, so it’s only a matter of time before the person (s) is caught.
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