Times Of Swaziland: CONCERNS OVER LAW-PRACTISING SOLDIER

CONCERNS OVER LAW-PRACTISING SOLDIER
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BY STANLEY KHUMALO on 08/09/2020 00:33:00


MANZINI – A large number of lawyers have raised concerns over a member of the
Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) who is also a full-time practising lawyer.
The gripe of the attorneys interviewed by this publication was that the member
of the UEDF was fully employed by the State and also acting as a civilian.
This, they claimed, was an unfair act as he was gainfully employed by government
while also practising law as a private citizen. The lawyers claimed that this
concern had been communicated in various forums but was yet to be addressed by
their professional body – Law Society of Swaziland (LSS).
Deployed
The said lawyer is Mabandla Nxumalo.
Nxumalo also confirmed that he was a lawyer practising under a law firm known to
this publication. He also admitted that he was serving the country and deployed
by the UEDF at its headquarters at Nokwane.
Nxumalo said his employer was aware that he was also a practising lawyer;
however, the soldier declined to comment much on the issue as he said he was not
authorised to speak on issues that pertained to the UEDF.
“Like I said, I’m a soldier and a lawyer but duties of the army involve
national security. That is why we are not permitted as individuals to speak on
behalf of the army,” he said
When Nxumalo was questioned on whether this was permitted by his employer, he
insisted that the army was aware of his other occupation.
The soldier further said he could not explain it further as it bordered on
national security.
Following this stance, this publication engaged the Public Relations Officer of
the UEDF, Tengetile Khumalo.
Her office was sought to assist in shedding light on whether the UEDF permitted
its personnel to moonlight and also on how the army allowed the officer in
question to practise as a lawyer representing ordinary citizens yet he was a
government employee.
Lastly, she was asked on what the army would do to address the matter at hand.
To this, Khumalo said: “We acknowledge your concern. The Defence Force PR
Office duly notes that this matter has been raised by concerned individuals in
the Law Society.”
She said the UEDF headquarters would await a formal lodging of a complaint from
the pertinent structures; thereupon, the Defence Force would be in a position to
address the matter officially.
To this, senior lawyer and Vice President of the Law Society of Swaziland (LSS),
Lucky Howe, said his understanding was that when a person was practising law,
he/she could only practise law.
“You are not allowed to practise law when you are in the gainful employment of
somebody else unless you are serving articles and you have exemption from the
attorney general for services of articles,” Howe said.
Following that, he said that individual who could have been serving articles may
then return to their place of employment.