White River – After long delays the 95 Libyans arrested at a “military base” in White River on Monday afternoon appeared in the White River Magistrate’s Court, in Mpumalanga, where their matter was adjourned to next week.
The Libyans, who were arrested on Friday at an illegal military training camp in White River near Mbombela, Mpumalanga, face charges related to breaching SA immigration laws.
The Libyans are accused of falsifying the reason they were in South Africa.
However, on Monday the matter was delayed owing to the huge number of accused and a language problem.
The Arabic language translator will only be available next week.
The Libyans were remanded in custody.
They will be back in court on Monday.
Speaking to reporters after, the court appearance, Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said their preliminary investigation found that the accused “have a case to answer”.
She said it was found that the arrested Libyans’ visas were for study purposes in South Africa “not for military training”.
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The highly publicised arrest of the Libyans prompted Police Minister Senzo Mnchunu and National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola together with their deputies to visit the illegal military base.
