Neville Gafà Says Libyan Warlord Khalifa Haftar Tried To Kidnap Him
Neville Gafà, a former Maltese envoy to Libya, has said renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar had tried to kidnap him during a visit to the North African country.
TVM reported yesterday that this incident took place in 2018, when Gafà was holding meetings in Tripoli with the Government of National Accord, the UN-recognised Libyan government which Haftar is waging war against
After finding out about the threat to Gafà and noticing security officials loyal to Haftar in Tripoli, deputy Libyan Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq reportedly instructed the RADA Special Deterrence Forces to beef up security around the Maltese envoy and help him return to Malta via Tunisia.
Contacted by Lovin Malta, Gafà confirmed that such an incident took place but refused to elaborate due to security reasons.
Gafà was a special envoy to Libya under former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, but the nature of his role remained under wraps for several years.
Earlier this year, he said in court that his work in Libya helped prevent thousands of irregular migrants from reaching Malta’s shores, avoiding the escalation of a “national crisis”.
Recently, Prime Minister Robert Abela confirmed that the government asked Gafà to reach out to his Libyan contacts to help return a group of migrants from Maltese waters back to the North African country.
Five people had died on board this vessel, which Malta refused to allow to land on its shores after declaring its ports unsafe due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Malta has since changed its migration policy and is now sending migrants found in its search and rescue region to Captain Morgan ferries outside Maltese territorial waters. Malta has said the migrants will remain there until EU member states agree to relocate them but so far only two countries, France and Portugal, have agreed to take some of these people.
Abela is currently leading a delegation to Libya to meet Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.
Recordings sent to Lovin Malta in March show that Gafa had visited Libya in November 2018 to try and silence crucial witnesses in a multi-million euro medical visa racket with €300,000 bribes.
“You need to tell the Syrian [the whistleblower] to stop mentioning people because that is creating problems,” Gafa says on the recording.
Representatives of the victims reportedly rejected his offer, telling Gafa that they expected an official apology and close to €500,000 of compensation, and not some under the table bribe.
Gafa confirmed that the meeting took place but has denied discussions over a bribe.
“I wouldn’t be in Malta if I had those kinds of millions. The bank knows what I have and believe me there have been strong investigations into my work,” he said.
Gafa was accompanied on this trip by former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s then-security guard Kenneth Camilleri.
Camilleri was thrust into the spotlight late last year when Melvin Theuma, the middleman in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, said that he [Camilleri] had told him to inform the suspected triggermen that they will be bailed out.
Cover photo: Left: Neville Gafà, Right: Khalifa Haftar (Photo: Flickr – Magharebia)
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