FRIDAY BRIEFING | Libyan military camp: Another intelligence failure? | News24

Libyan military camp: Another intelligence failure? 

In April this year, about 100 Libyans started training at a Milites Dei Security Services’ facility in White River in Mpumalanga. At some point, five of them were reportedly sent back home for misconduct. 

It is unclear for how long the camp remained undetected and at what point it landed up on the radar of the South African Police Service or the State Security Agency, but by all accounts from the police, it was under survelliance. Following complaints from community members that the Libyans were involved in crime in the area, police carried out a raid. 

Concerns have been raised about why the Libyans were in South Africa to get training, who was paying for it, and why it took four months before any action was taken. The biggest question though is was this another failure on the part of the country’s intelligence agencies. 

This is not the first time that South Africa has played host to training camps. Security Risk analyst Ryan Cummings posted on social media platform X that there have been several occasions going back to 2007, where training camps have been cited by intelligence sources in SA, which have been linked to terrorism. 

In this week’s Friday Briefing, we consider whether our intelligence agencies were caught napping, just as they were during the 2021 July uprising. 

Heidi Swart, who is a research and journalism coordinator for Intelwatch, thinks they were, and outlines why an inquiry should be launched into what happened. 

David Africa, a geopolitical and intelligence specialist, has a different view. He reflects on the restructuring and disciplining of the intelligence services, saying it has been placed ahead of deciding on their strategic purpose as instruments of the nation’s arsenal. In his view, this is a classic case of putting the cart in front of the horse and there will be consequences. 

In the third submission, I speak to the Institute of Security Studies’ William Els who considers what this incident will mean for South Africa’s grey-listing with the Financial Intelligence Centre. 

Finally, News24’s foreign editor Phillip de Wet considers why South Africa is a great place for military training, legal or otherwise. 

We hope the submissions give you food for thought as you enjoy your long weekend. 

Best, 

Vanessa Banton 

Opinions editor.