The 95 Libyan nationals found at a security training camp on a farm outside White River, but who had allegedly been receiving military training, were deported on Sunday, August 18.
However, the Mpumalanga SAPS is still investigating the matter of the facility in question, the Milites Dei Security Services (MDSS) training centre.
No other arrests have been made as yet. This is according to the provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli. “An investigation is ongoing into the farm near White River where the discovery of the training centre was made last month. The team, which is comprised of various stakeholders, is still hard at work and has requested to be given space to investigate. Once they have completed their probe, they will communicate accordingly.”
On July 26, a sting operation led by the police and some officials of the Department of Home Affairs descended on this camp situated in the Peebles Valley on the R538 between White River and Hazyview. They found the men housed in military tents, fully equipped with military training equipment. The police also found licensed firearms, as well as some cocaine and dagga.
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Further probing by this paper revealed that the camp had been licensed for security training by the accredited private company, MDSS.
The Libyans had entered the country in April on study permits. They had allegedly applied to be in the country to train as security guards.
After appearing in the White River Magistrate’s Court three times, the National Prosecuting Authority withdrew charges against all the Libyans on August 15 due to insufficient evidence for a conviction. The court ruled that they be deported within 48 hours.
After much speculation, the Libyans finally jetted off from KMI Airport to their home country on Sunday.
@lowvelder The 95 Libyan nationals board their flight to Libya which is expected to take off soon. > Video: Bongekile Khumalo #libya🇱🇾 #boarding #airport
According to MDSS’s website, it provides, among other services, ‘military-style training’ to those who fancy adventure after matric and fitness training to young people who want to join the French Foreign Legion.
The police minister, Senzo Mchunu, alluded to the fact that the training facility might have been in violation in terms of the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority’s (Psira) regulations.
“What we know is that the owners had applied for a security training licence, which they were granted, but the activities taking place at the camp contravened Psira’s acts and regulations. All indications are pointing to this being more of a military training facility than an ordinary security training centre, which is a cause for concern,” said Mchunu.
Updating the media on August 7, Psira’s spokesperson, Bonang Kleinbooi, said the authority’s investigation focused on the nature of the Libyan nationals’ security training, the accreditation of the training camp, the accreditation of the training programmes and the training infrastructure on-site.
“We wish to confirm that MDSS is registered with the authority and they had been accredited to train security grades (E-C) from 2019 as per our records. We would like to further confirm that a routine inspection was conducted at the accredited facility 11 months ago,” Kleinbooi said.
During subsequent investigations, Psira also discovered a second training facility located 7.5km away from the first one. “The next process is the consideration of charges and formal prosecution of the service providers and individuals involved for the contravention of the code of conduct and criminal charges,” Kleinbooi said.
MDSS was served with a notice of suspension and provided with the right of reply from August 7 until August 16.
The publication reached out to Psira to find out if it had received any correspondence from MDSS, however, it had not yet responded.
