//White River Court withdraws criminal charge against 95 Libyans

White River Court withdraws criminal charge against 95 Libyans

The White River Magistrate’s Court’s Magistrate Edward Hall granted the withdrawal of the criminal charge of contravention of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 against the 95 Libyan nationals who were arrested during a raid at the Milites Dei Security Services training centre outside White River on July 26.

Although the accused were expected to appear in court on August 26 for further investigation, their legal representative, Adv Nico du Plessis, said they had appeared on August 15 to hear the outcome of the application to withdraw the case made to the acting Director of Public Prosecutions.

“We made representations to the acting Director of Public Prosecutions in Mpumalanga that the matter be withdrawn, and yesterday [August 14], we were instructed to be in court today. All the people are relieved and happy that they can finally go home. As far as we know, there are no other outstanding matters. The Department of Home Affairs [DHA] is arranging their deportation to Benghazi, Libya, which is expected to take place in the next 48 hours,” said Du Plessis.

The Mpumalanga spokesperson for the National Prosecution Authority, Monica Nyuswa, said the State had withdrawn the case due to insufficient evidence for a conviction.

“The docket was studied and the representations made by the defence were considered in the decision to withdraw the charges, as the evidence was not enough to convict the accused.

They reviewed all available evidence and the representations made on behalf of the accused, and having considered the evidence and policy considerations, decided to withdraw the charges against all those who were arrested at the military training camp.

The charges were related to alleged misrepresentations made by the accused in their applications for study visas. There were other more serious allegations that the SAPS needed to look into. Having worked closely with all relevant stakeholders in the criminal justice system, it has been decided that these matters will be dealt with administratively in terms of the Immigration Act and its regulations by DHA officials,” she said.

Nyuswa also said importantly, the SAPS’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation Unit (DPCI) is proceeding with investigations against the planners, organisers and financiers of the military training camp. The NPA is working closely with the DPCI to ensure that these alleged criminals are brought to justice.