Thabiso Goba7 August 2024 | 10:24

Libyan military camp in Mpumalanga was illegal & unaccredited - PSiRA

The camp, which was bust by police in August, is run by private security training company, Milites Dei Security Services (MDSS).

Libyan military camp in Mpumalanga was illegal & unaccredited - PSiRA

Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) on 7 August 2024 briefed the media on the investigation into the illegal military camp that was found in Mpumalanga. Photo: Jacques Nelles/EWN

JOHANNESBURG - The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) said that a Libyan military camp in Mpumalanga was illegal and unaccredited. 

The camp, which was bust by police in August, is run by a private security training company, Milites Dei Security Services (MDSS). 

In a media briefing on Wednesday, PSiRA said that the company was accredited for basic security training and not military-level training.

However, the company created a secondary camp where it trained Libyan nationals in military-style tactics.

"The duration of the training programmes conducted by MDSS took longer than our local security training programmes. The nature of the training included extensive physical activities with military-style structures and aids. Investigation also uncovered [that] the instructors are not accredited by the authority at that facility," said PSiRA CEO Manabela Chauke.

The camp had dug-up trenches, automatic weapons and other military style equipment.

Chauke said the regulator would never approve of such an operation.

“It doesn’t really matter whether the training is military, even if it was supposed to be an ordinary security training to a foreign national who originated from a country where there is armed conflict, that is illegal.”

Chauke said, at this stage, it was unclear what the 95 Libyans where training for.

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