Pretoria - The wheels were in motion late on Thursday afternoon for the homecoming of 64 suspected South African mercenaries jailed in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwean authorities were processing deportation papers for the men, after which they would be handed over to immigration officials, said foreign affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
The men are to be freed after having their prison sentences cut by four months.
There was no clarity on Thursday afternoon when the men would arrive.
Mamoepa said they might arrive in Johannesburg later on Thursday, but the men's lawyer said he did not expect them back before Saturday morning.
Alwyn Griebenow said: "There is a long process involved in getting them out."
Lots of paperwork to be done
Before they could be deported, the men's passports and private belongings kept by the Zimbabwean authorities would have to be returned to them.
There also was a lot of paperwork to be completed, said Griebenow.
"The plane tickets can't be bought before we know exactly when they are going to be freed.
"Our embassy officials there (in Harare) are in discussions with prison and immigration officials on how and when the release will take place."
Mamoepa said the men's lawyers would pay for their plane tickets.
Griebenow was due to leave for Harare on Thursday and arrive there at 21:00.
"I should have more clarity by Friday morning as to what will happen (and) when."
Sixty-seven of the original 70 men arrested in connection with an alleged coup d'etat plot in Equatorial Guinea were in prison in Zimbabwe. Two were acquitted and one died in jail.
Griebenow said 64 of them were expected to be released this week. Two pilots might not be freed with the others.
The Zimbabwean High Court on Wednesday reduced the men's sentences by four months. They also qualified under Zimbabwean laws for a one-third remission of sentence for good behaviour.
As a result, 64 of the men - who were sentenced to 12 months in jail each - qualified for an immediate release.
Two pilots, who each got 16-month sentences, would be due for release only on May 10, said Griebenow.
"But we will be negotiating with the Zimbabwean authorities, asking them to release the two with the others as an act of goodwill."
Mann will have to stay behind
The 67th prisoner, the group's apparent leader, Simon Mann, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, later reduced to four years, and would have to remain behind.
The group was arrested at Harare International Airport in March last year when they apparently landed to refuel and pick up military equipment. They were all travelling on South African passports.
They were convicted of breaching Zimbabwe's aviation, immigration, firearms and security laws.
Mamoepa said on Thursday there had been no political or diplomatic efforts to get the men home earlier.
"This was a purely (Zimbabwean) judicial decision," he said.