In a surprising turn of events, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has withdrawn the case against 95 Libyans who were arrested at a military-style training camp in Mpumalanga.
Overnight, the White River magistrate’s court roll was updated, bringing forward a case originally scheduled for August 26 to Thursday NPA withdraws case against 95 Libyans.
This followed an urgent application by the accused’s legal team.
The men had initially faced charges under the Immigration Act after being apprehended at an unaccredited camp in Masoyi, near White River, over a week ago.
Allegations of robbery and rape
The camp allegedly conducted military training without proper authorisation, casting a shadow of suspicion over the group.
Colonel Donald Mdhluli, the provincial police spokesperson, shed light on the latest development.
“Normally, when individuals are charged under the Immigration Act and found guilty, deportation is the natural consequence,” Mdhluli said.
“That was the likely outcome here, given that the 95 Libyans had misrepresented themselves during visa applications.
“However, there were also unverified allegations of robbery and rape in the Masoyi area, which led us to keep them in custody while we investigated further.”
Despite repeated requests for victims to come forward and despite the seriousness of the accusations, Mdhluli noted that the community never filed any formal charges.
Unjust to keep them in detention
“Not a single person has come forward to lay any charges against the foreign nationals,” he said.
“As such, the director of public prosecutions made the decision to withdraw the case. It would have been unjust to hold them without evidence, and now Home Affairs will handle their deportation.”
Mdhluli assured that investigations into Milites Dei Security Services, the company operating the camp, are ongoing.
“We are continuing to investigate the company to establish whether they violated any South African laws,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority has taken swift action, suspending the security company in light of the recent events.
