National Police Commissioner Fanie Masemola has said police intelligence was aware of the White River camp that was training Libyan nationals for quite some time before the facility was raided and 95 suspects arrested.
In an interview with the SABC on Monday 5 August, the National Commissioner said “intelligence picked them up.”
“Intelligence has been aware for quite some time, they were monitoring as to what exactly is it that is being done on the farm and once they detected what [was] done, then there was intervention,” he said.
The Libyans apparently arrived in South Africa in April after obtaining visas in Tunisia. They have been charged with violating South Africa’s Immigration Act and, after a court appearance in White River on Monday, had their case postponed to 26 August.
The Libyans were apparently in South Africa for security training but were in fact undergoing military training, under a 36-month training course with Milites Dei Security Services (MDSS), according to Rapport. The publication said Milites Dei’s registration was thoroughly checked, but not that of Alama Alowla, the company which sent them.
Visas for 100 applicants were approved and they began training in White River in April, but five were reportedly sent back to Libya due to misconduct. The South African Police Service asked for possible victims to come forward after reports of the Libyans harassing nearby inhabitants.
Libyan sources claim the contract with Milites Dei is worth about R36 million, half of which was paid as a deposit at the start of the contract, with the remainder due on completion, according to Rapport, which said the Libyans were accompanied by an intermediary who disappeared a few weeks ago, leaving the trainees without money and forcing them to sell possessions.
The 95 Libyans sent to South Africa were apparently part of General Khalifa Haftar’s Tariq Ben Zeyad brigade. Saudi-based Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath TV channel said the men were sent by the general command in official coordination with an Irish security company for training as special forces.
Although their visas stated they were in South Africa for security training, the military-style training the Libyans were receiving went against the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) scope that is legally allowed.
Military training would be against the Foreign Military Assistance Act, and Milites Dei was not registered to provide such services.
