POLICE on Wednesday morning cordoned off President Thabo Mbeki’s Tuynhuys office in Cape Town, following what is believed to be an anthrax scare. A standard emergency plan was put into place when a suspicious envelope was found at the reception area, soon after 9am. The envelope will be sent for forensic tests, although it is suspected that this is yet another anthrax hoax. Presidential staff were denied entry into the building as a bomb disposal unit, fire fighters, police, traffic and ambulance officials gathered at the scene. Two meter high canvas screens cordoned off the area and workers in protective clothing were seen in the restricted area. It could not be immediately established whether President Thabo Mbeki, who is to address a joint sitting of Parliament later in the afternoon, was in the building. Two policemen at the scene told reporters it was a ”white powder scare”. – Sapa
Tuesday October 30, 2001