The leader of ActionSA, Mr Herman Mashaba, has raised grave concern over the state of national security in South Africa after the deportation of 95 Libyans discovered at an illegal military training camp in White River, Mpumalanga province.
The 95 Libyans, who entered South Africa in April on study permits to become security guards, were apprehended in July during a police raid on the training camp.
“In light of the discovery of a secret military training camp in Mpumalanga, another suspected military site in Limpopo, and South Africa’s emerging role as a hub for terrorist financing, ActionSA has grown increasingly concerned that the Government’s lacklustre approach to these evident security concerns and broader threats has placed the country at perilous risk,” said the ActionSA leader on Monday.
Part of Mashaba’s concerns is that the 95 Libyans were flown back to Tripoli, on a chartered jet, despite a long list of unanswered questions regarding their exact activities and purpose in South Africa.
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Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber, confirmed in a statement that the 95 Libyans were scheduled to leave the country from the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport on Sunday morning “in a flight that has been paid for by the Libyan Government”.
Mashaba said this case indicates that neither the Presidency nor the Minister in the Presidency responsible for State Security appears to be taking this matter seriously.
He made a comparison with the neighbouring Mozambique’s own battle with insurgency, underscoring the present danger this poses to South Africa.
“In the absence of clear answers to the most basic questions regarding the 95 Libyan militants — such as whether they 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 their activities — our Government is dangerously setting the stage for South Africa to be seen as an attractive safe haven for terrorist groups.
“ActionSA believes that State Security urgently needs to get into shape, as the consequences, we fear, are far too dangerous to allow for any further breakdown in our capacity to mitigate both domestic and foreign threats to peace of security,” said Mashaba.
