2024-08-03 06:14:40
The South African newspaper, Sowetan Life, said that 95 Libyan men appeared before the White River Court after being arrested at a secret military training camp in Mpumalanga province.
According to the newspaper, the Libyan detainees confessed that they were recruited by a Libyan businessman to work as security guards, indicating that they were transferred to South Africa on tourist visas.
One of the detainees stated during the hearing that the Libyan businessman had paid for their travel and training, but that he had disappeared a month before their arrest, leading to a shortage of food in the camp, which forced them to sell their supplies to buy food and alcohol.
The Libyan man said that they were unemployed, and when the businessman – who owns several companies in Libya and has interests in gold mining – offered them work as security guards to protect his business in Libya, they did not hesitate to accept the offer.
According to the newspaper, the public prosecutor asked the court to postpone the case until next month, due to the lack of translators, in addition to the fact that only three of the detainees speak English.
The Sowetan newspaper reported that the accused were arrested last Friday at the security services center in White River city after the secret training camp was discovered.
Local police said the men were receiving illegal military training and had illegally presented themselves to enter South Africa.
The South African National Prosecuting Authority said the defendants will face one charge of making false statements in their visa applications, stating they were coming to South Africa to train as security guards.
According to Sowetan, the men’s behaviour has made locals fearful of them after hearing reports of them assaulting women in local bars and threatening to shoot residents of Mganduzweni.
The police confirmed that they will not stop at investigating the case, and will examine all aspects to uncover more about the circumstances that led to their entry into South Africa.
Source: Sweetan Life.
2024-08-03 06:14:40