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It has been reported that 19 South Africans were contracted by a number of security companies to help former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi escape to Niger.

I will today be writing to the Minister of International Relations, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, to determine the following:

Whether the Minister knew about the presence of South African mercenaries in Libya
Whether the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), on which the Minister sits, authorized the presence of these mercenaries in Libya

The Prohibition of Mercenary Activities Act of 2006 requires that South African private security contractors receive permission from the NCACC before carrying out operations in conflict zones.

If these contractors – or their firms – were granted permission, then the Minister must explain why this was the case. If they were denied permission, then the Minister must explain when she knew of the mercenaries’ intentions, and what steps she will be taking against those involved.

The ANC-led government has long been a Gaddafi supporter. Minister Nkoana-Mashabane must therefore come clean about whether the Zuma administration played any role in facilitating military assistance to the late Libyan dictator.