Sonja Ntuli, Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, “reviewed all available evidence and the representations made on behalf of the accused,” adding that upon consideration, the decision was made to withdraw the charges against them.

The NPA said that it had “coordinated with its criminal justice partners,” and announced that the 95 Libyans will be in the custody the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). Moreover, the department will facilitate the deportation process of the accused.

The Department of Home Affairs welcomed the court decision, announcing that the next step would be deportation. Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber instructed his department “to proceed with speed,” ensuring legal processes are adhered to, so the deportations may be “conducted swiftly.”

DHA officials have gone to court to secure confirmations for the deportation from the Magistrate. Logistics are being finalised for the deportation, with the DHA noting it “stands ready to send the group back to their home country.”

Dr Schreiber noted the DHA “will not hesitate to act decisively to ensure that anyone who breaches the immigration laws of the country is processed through the courts and accordingly faces the consequences.” He added further that “respect for the rule of law is sacrosanct.”

The Libyans applied to be deported to Benghazi should their representations be successful. The men had been charged with misrepresentations in their visa applications in that they claimed they were coming into South Aafrica to train as security guards.

With the deportation of the Libyan nationals, the focus is now on the owners of the training camp, Milites Dei Security Services (MDSS). On 07 August, the Private Security industry Regulatory Authority (PRiSA) announced it had suspended MDSS’ license and had ordered the owners to cease operations on 21 July, prior to the raid by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on 26 July.

The South African Police Service Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (DPCI) continue to conduct investigations “against the planners, organisers and financiers of the military training camp.” The NPA is working closely with DPCI to ensure that the alleged criminals “are brought to justice.”

The post Home Affairs hopes to deport 95 Libyans ‘swiftly’ appeared first on ProtectionWeb.

Freedom Front Plus (FF+) leader and Correctional Services Minister in the GNU (Government of National Unity), Pieter Groenewald, maintains the arrests at the Milites Dei Security Services (MDSS) facility in White River again shows “government ignorance”.

The White River arrests, the former Commando officer said in a statement, follow “several” Parliamentary questions regarding military training offered by private security companies to foreign groups in the Eastern Cape province. “Each question was met with a negative answer,” he wrote.

Read the full story on defenceWeb here.

The post Libyan arrests at White River training camp smack of “government ignorance” appeared first on ProtectionWeb.

In a statement on Friday, the SAPS said the operation was carried out in conjunction with the ProvJOINT structure, including the Department of Home Affairs and other role players like Police Intelligence.

Acting Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Major General (Dr) Zeph Mkhwanazi, convened the Provincial Joint Structures (ProvJOINTS) two days ago after receiving intelligence information about the suspected camp, which led to a raid on Friday 26 July and subsequent arrests.

Read the full story on defenceWeb here.

The post Police arrest 95 Libyan nationals at suspected military training base in Mpumalanga appeared first on ProtectionWeb.