SA’s intelligence agency under fire after discovery of secret military base

THE DISCOVERY of a secret military base for training illegal Libyan nationals in White River, Mpumalanga, on Friday has raised a red flag on the country’s security intelligence, a security expert from the Institute for Security Studies said.

The ISS’s Willem Els said the police only managed to gather intelligence after the perpetrators had already been in the country for four months

“The police have to determine if this was a de facto security training camp and who these people are. The investigator has to find out where these people are from, who paid them, what they are doing here and who sent them,” said Els.

“The allegations of rape and abuse must also be investigated and we anticipate that they will take samples and build a prima facie case against these guys and charge them.”

Els further revealed that it was not the first time that the police have discovered an illegal military camp in the country, saying that the police had previously found cases in Thabazimbi, Limpopo, and in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape.

On Friday, 95 Libyan nationals were arrested at the illegal military base after a tip-off from community members of Masoyi village near the base.

According to Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli, they received intelligence about the activities at the military base.

Els said the country’s intelligence agency was under strain, as was pointed out during the Zondo Commission.

He said the government needed to look at restructuring, especially on crime intelligence services, as it was still not where it needed to be in terms of management and outputs.

On the question of whether the lapse in detecting the camps early lay with the SANDF or the SAPS, Els said the country’s Constitution warranted that the army worked outside the borders of the country, adding that domestic intelligence was the mandate of the SAPS.

“If the SAPS needs the assistance of the army, a request must be made through Parliament and approved, only then they can work to assist the police,” he explained.

The 95 Libyan nationals, who are also facing charges of being in the country illegally, will be appearing in the Kabokweni Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has meanwhile applauded the joint operation conducted by the Mpumalanga police in apprehending the 95 Libyan nationals.

The party’s spokesperson, Zama Ntshona, said the operation shed light on the existence of unaccounted-for activities within the country that have the potential to undermine our sovereignty and compromise our national security.

“The discovery of the alleged training camp is just one example of the various illicit activities taking place in South Africa. Recent reports have already raised concerns about our country’s involvement in financing terrorist groups, with certain individuals or groups operating spaza shops being identified as supporters of these groups on a global scale. The revelation of a training camp adds to the growing concern that we may be inadvertently breeding criminals and terrorists within our own borders.

“Another pressing issue that demands our attention is the alarming increase in kidnapping and trafficking incidents within our country. The statistics from the third-quarter report of 2023 reveal an alarming number of cases, with 4,577 reported kidnappings for ransom and an average of 50 kidnappings per day.

“These figures not only highlight the weaknesses in our security systems, but also put innocent lives at grave risk,” Ntshona said.

He said the party was deeply troubled by the magnitude of illicit financial flows in the country.

“The fact that South Africa has been placed on the ‘grey list’ by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in February 2023 further emphasises the gravity of this threat, not only to our country but also to the global community.

“This classification highlights the urgent need for immediate action to address the deficiencies in our systems and processes that make us vulnerable to money laundering, terrorist financing, cybercrimes, and related challenges.”

Addressing the media on Saturday, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, flanked by his two deputies Cassel Mathale and Polly Boshielo, said the police found weapons; however, they were all legal. He also revealed that the “soldiers” were undocumented.

“They are here illegally. We would like them to be out of the country as soon as possible. There were certain violations on visa applications which are being identified and that would be finalised at some point,” the police minister said.

He said the police were looking into the possibilities of other camps of this kind.

“From where we are, investigations are continuing and we are not going to confine ourselves to what we have established now. We are going to expand our checks because this might be one at this point, but if there is anything that we come across we will follow it. We are doing investigations.”

Mchunu said because investigations were ongoing, the South African government has not reached out to their Libyan counterparts.

Asked why it took four months for this to be discovered, Mchunu said officials were still investigating.

“When law officials came across information they started an investigation. Investigations of this nature can take a year, it can take four months. It can take whatever period that would be necessitated by the need to get facts before you act.

“In the main, we are here to address what might be anxiety in SA at the moment. The people that were involved here are in custody and we are going to continue with investigations,” he said.

He added that law enforcement agencies came across reports and investigations that sprang from a number of pointers that there were issues that required to be investigated.

“Reports came from various sources and were compiled. Further investigations and reaction was that the people who are in the spotlight of this needed to be arrested and they got arrested.

“What we have seen inside confirms what we have seen has been contained in the reports presented to us … These things point to a number of issues we are focusing on following the arrests.”

He said the process of visa applications had been violated and that would be finalised at some point.

“But while this facility here is legal in terms of PSiRA processes, on further scrutiny it was found that what is happening here is non-compliant with the application,” he said.