Times Of Swaziland: 24-HR SECURITY FOR ALL NATIONS ARCHBISHOP

24-HR SECURITY FOR ALL NATIONS ARCHBISHOP
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BY THEMBA ZWANE on 03/03/2021 08:20:00


MBABANE – The mystery surrounding the heavy police presence and tight security
afforded to All Nations Church in Zion’s Archbishop Bheki Lukhele has been
explained.
According to the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), the life of the
archbishop is believed to be under threat, hence law enforcement officers have
been dispatched to guard him 24 hours a day. The Times of Eswatini newsroom had
been inundated with calls from the past week, from members of the public and
neighbours to the archbishop’s residence in Ezulwini, who wanted to know why
heavily armed police officers were always spotted within the premises of the
clergyman, who doubles as president of Mbabane Swallows. Pictures have been
circulated on some social media platforms, showing police officers believed to
be from the Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU) guarding the premises of
the man of the cloth.
Offices
Also, last Friday afternoon, Lukhele arrived heavily-guarded at the team offices
in Mbabane when he had come to officially unveil the team’s new Mercedes Benz
Sprinter bus, which he had bought in Johannesburg, South Africa. This journalist
later gathered that the individuals spotted with rifles and 9mm pistols, as well
as handheld transceivers (HT), were actually police officers. The latest
developments regarding the security details of the bishop were confirmed by the
National Commissioner (NatCom) of Police William Dlamini. Dlamini said
Lukhele’s life was under threat, which was why the State had provided him with
security. “It is true that we have provided him with security, but we will not
be saying why,” Dlamini explained. He added that they provided security to
someone when there were threats to his or her life, which he said was the case
with Lukhele.
“Sitsi labo labanekubeka imphilo yakhe engotini abakhweshe ngoba sekunemlilo
eceleni kwabo,” he said in vernacular, which could be loosely translated to
mean, “We want to strongly warn those who have put his (Bishop Lukhele’s)
life under threat to immediately stop because we are watching them closely.”
Asked on how long the security will be provided to Lukhele, the national
commissioner said only time would determine how long they provided the bishop
with security. “Until we are sure that the threat has been neutralised, we
will provide him with security,” said Dlamini. There has been a lot of
speculation on why the bishop’s life is under threat, with many people linking
it to his businesses, while others speculated that it could be due to his
football dealings. Details on these insinuations will not be shared as none of
them could be proven.
Mbabane Swallows Communications and Marketing Manager Mancoba Mabuza was also
reached for comment on the matter and he said; “I do not have a mandate to
talk about security detail of the club’s president.” He had been asked if
they were aware as a team that the bishop’s life was under threat. Police had
earlier been contacted on the matter and Deputy Police Information and
Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni said they had not allocated any
security for Lukhele. “There is no security detail allocated to the bishop. We
have no arrangement to provide security for him,” Mnguni was earlier quoted.
She added that the bodyguard clad in a face mask with a police emblem was not
part of the police service, stating that he probably received it (mask) as a
gift from a relative who was with the police service.
The bishop was also called to shed light on why he was of the view that his life
was in danger to the point of feeling the need for security personnel to guard
him, to which he said; “I do not see any security, is there anyone who sees
security? When I arrived, the one person I saw was the team governor, Andreas
Lukhele, who led me in.” This was last Friday during the unveiling of the
Sprinter belonging to Mbabane Swallows. He did not wish to entertain further
questions regarding the issue of the security detail.
Noteworthy is that Lukhele’s predecessor, former businessman and the Premier
League of Eswatini (PLE) Chairman Victor ‘Maradona’ Gamedze was gunned down
in broad daylight at the Galp Filling Station on January 14, 2018. Lukhele’s
right-hand man at church, Party Bhiya politely asked not to comment on
Lukhele’s security detail and referred questions to Swallows’ Governor
Andreas or the PRO, Mabuza. “May I not comment on that, please contact the
governor or Mancoba,” he said briefly.
Meanwhile, the team governor’s mobile phone repeatedly rang unanswered when
called several times yesterday. Attempts were made to reach the bishop again
yesterday, but these proved futile.