ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba questions why more investigations were not done before the 95 Libyans were set to be deported. Picture: Gallo Images/Beeld/Deaan Vivier
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba is livid that 95 Libyan nationals will be deported while so many unanswered questions persist around state security.
He also expressed his ‘outrage’ that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) withdrew the case against the group so shortly after they were found at a training camp with military-grade weapons and drugs, in Mpumalanga in July.
The NPA said Thursday there was a lack of evidence to prosecute on charges of contravening the Immigration Act through the misrepresentation of their visa applications.
Forensic and criminal expert Calvin Rafadi said, “Private security, the South African Police Service and crime intelligence are in partnership but the story about how they found this military camp keeps changing.”
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Reports from the court explained the 95 Libyans were upbeat, screaming in jubilation after hearing the state was withdrawing their case.
The men have since been handed over to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) for deportation.
“Despite the unanswered questions surrounding how these individuals gained entry into South Africa and their intentions, they are now set to be deported,” Mashaba fumed.
“ActionSA believes that until the nature of every one of the 95 individuals’ activities in South Africa is fully ascertained, they must remain in custody within South Africa.
“It is the Minister of Home Affairs himself [Leon Schreiber] who indicated that they indeed irregularly acquired visas to enter South Africa, an act that dually means they contravened our immigration laws.”
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Mashaba said over and above this contravention of our immigration laws, the party believes that South Africa’s intelligence services have failed to answer basic questions, such as whether these individuals were part of a known or unknown militant group, whether they posed a threat to national security, and whether any state or non-state actors supported the activities of the 95 Libyan nationals.
“It is thus incumbent on the government to break its silence and take the nation into confidence regarding what exactly transpired in this matter, which, by all accounts, is a glaring intelligence and law enforcement failure.”
Mashaba said it is untenable that South Africa be perceived as a haven where militant groups, international fugitives, and crime bosses “can find refuge due to lax enforcement that allows them to escape justice”.
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