The Department of Home Affairs welcomes today’s court decision that the 95 Libyans who were arrested in White River, Mpumalanga, last month, can be deported.Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber, has instructed the department to speed up the deportation of 95 Libyan nationals who were arrested at a suspected military camp in White River, Mpumalanga, last month.
This after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Mpumalanga withdrew the charges against the men who were facing charged with Contraventions of the Immigration Act. The department said its officials were in court to secure confirmations for deportation from the Magistrate and will ensure that it observes all the legal processes to ensure that the Libyans are deported. “As indicated earlier, deportation was among the options Home Affairs considered working with other law enforcement authorities. The Department stands ready to send the group back to their home country.We will not hesitate to act decisively to ensure that anyone who breaches the immigration laws of the country is processed through the courts and accordingly faces the consequences. Respect for the rule of law is sacrosanct,” said Schreiber.The withdrawal of the charges was made after the defence made representations to the NPA.
“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 Department of Home Affairs officials. Importantly, the SAPS (Director of Public Prosecutions) are proceeding with investigations against the planners, organisers and financiers of the military training camp. The NPA is working closely with DPCI to ensure that these alleged criminals are brought to justice as appropriate,” said Mpumalanga NPA spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa.
She added that the 95 accused will be under the custody of the Department of Home Affairs that will facilitate the deportation process.
