ActionSA Expresses Outrage Over Withdrawal of Charges Against 95 Libyan Nationals
Herman Mashaba
ActionSA President
ActionSA expresses grave concern following the withdrawal of the charges against the 95 Libyan nationals, who were arrested in July at an illegal military camp on a farm in Mpumalanga, where police also discovered military-grade weapons and drugs.
In a shocking turn of events, the NPA has withdrawn all charges against the 95 Libyan nationals who were accused of contravening the Immigration Act. Despite the unanswered questions surrounding how these individuals gained entry into South Africa and their intentions, they are now set to be deported.
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 who indicated that they indeed irregularly acquired visas to enter South Africa, an act that dually means they contravened our immigration laws.
Over and above this contravention of our immigration laws, ActionSA believes that our 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 importantly, whether any state or non-state actors supported the activities of the 95 individuals.
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.
ActionSA contends that it is untenable for South Africa to be perceived as a safe haven where militant groups, international fugitives, and crime bosses can find refuge due to lax enforcement that allows them to escape justice.
ActionSA Expresses Outrage Over Withdrawal of Charges Against 95 Libyan Nationals
ActionSA expresses grave concern following the withdrawal of the charges against the 95 Libyan nationals, who were arrested in July at an illegal military camp on a farm in Mpumalanga, where police also discovered military-grade weapons and drugs.
In a shocking turn of events, the NPA has withdrawn all charges against the 95 Libyan nationals who were accused of contravening the Immigration Act. Despite the unanswered questions surrounding how these individuals gained entry into South Africa and their intentions, they are now set to be deported.
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 who indicated that they indeed irregularly acquired visas to enter South Africa, an act that dually means they contravened our immigration laws.
Over and above this contravention of our immigration laws, ActionSA believes that our 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 importantly, whether any state or non-state actors supported the activities of the 95 individuals.
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.
ActionSA contends that it is untenable for South Africa to be perceived as a safe haven where militant groups, international fugitives, and crime bosses can find refuge due to lax enforcement that allows them to escape justice.