Times Of Swaziland: RELATIVES TO REPLACE SLAIN STATE SECURITY OFFICERS

RELATIVES TO REPLACE SLAIN STATE SECURITY OFFICERS
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Nonduduzo Kunene on 16/01/2023 09:29:00


MBABANE – In a bid to assist families of slain State security personnel, a
recommendation has been made that they be replaced by some of their relatives in
the forces.
The families of the 10 officers from Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), His
Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS) and Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force
(UEDF), were engaged on how they could be assisted after the death of their
loved ones. Last Friday, the REPS engaged some family members of officers who
were murdered as a result of the ongoing political impasse in the country. The
meeting was held at the Mbabane Police Station in the morning. During the
meeting, which was led by senior officers of the service, the families got to
share how their lives had changed since the death of their relatives and how
they hoped government could assist them.
Replaced
Some of the families mentioned during the meeting that they would like to have
their loved ones replaced by family members within the forces. According to some
of the family members, who opted for their names not to be mentioned, issues of
financial compensation were not discussed during the meeting. They said the
meeting was dominated by the idea of having the deceased officers replaced by
their relatives, for the continuity of financial support. According to the
family members, the families were tasked to choose a relative who would join the
ongoing police training at the Police Academy in Matsapha. They said after the
end of the 2022 Incwala, which would be marked by the completion of the weeding
of the royal fields, a new group of recruits would start their training at the
Matsapha Police Academy.
Chosen
It is anticipated that those individuals to be chosen by the different families
to replace the deceased officers would form part of this training. “They did
not say anything about money but said we can choose a family member who might
replace the deceased officer,” said one of the family members. Most of the
families said they were content with this arrangement, as it meant that there
would be some form of continued financial benefit through whoever would be
chosen to join the forces. The National Commissioner (NATCOM) of Police, William
Tsitsibala Dlamini, confirmed that some of the slain officers were likely to be
replaced by their family members within the service. He, however, did not state
for a fact on whether they would be replaced within the police service or in
other government department.
Dlamini stated that the service had a team made up of senior officers who were
tasked with reaching out to all the families of the murdered police officers.
The major objective of the team, according to Dlamini, was to engage the family
members on where and how they could be assisted by government since their loved
ones died while they were on national duty. “They will not all be assisted at
once or through a similar method, but different interventions will be used that
suit that particular family,” he said.
Assistance
The NATCOM said the assistance would differ, based on each family’s needs. He
stated that in cases where the family asked for a replacement or a job within
government for a loved one, that request would be considered. He refuted claims
that the families were neglected or that some were prioritised over others. This
was after some of the families of the slain police officers who were contacted
this past weekend, said they had not been contacted by any officials from
government regarding replacements of their loved ones by a member of the family.
Dlamini stated that the team was yet to reach other families and by the end of
the week, a full report about how each family opted to be assisted would have
been compiled.
Coming to financial compensation, Dlamini said financial standard procedures on
officers who died in the line of duty applied to all officers. The NATCOM said
the purpose of the engagement of the deceased officers’ families was to
establish the effects of the death of the officers of the law. The police chief
said the selected committee would then forward recommendations to his office. In
vernacular, he said; “Lelikomidi litawutsi uma licedza kwenta umsebenti bese
liletsa tincumo talo ehhovisi. Sitawubese sesiyabuka kutsi kukhona yini
mhlawumbe lapho leto tihlobo letimbalwa tingatsanyela khona.” This may be
loosely translated to mean: “The selected committee will recommend and bring
the recommendations to the office. We will then see how we assist some of the
relatives get jobs based on the recommendations.”
Meanwhile, HMCS Public Relations Officer (PRO) Senior Superintendent Gugulethu
Dlamini could neither confirm nor deny that the service engaged the families
with the view of assisting them after losing their loved ones. The service has
had two officers murdered since the political unrest commenced in the country.
“This is an internal matter which cannot be talked about in public
platforms,” she said. Dlamini said employment matters were internal.
Acknowledged
A questionnaire sent to UEDF Public Affairs Officer 2nd Lieutenant Tengetile
Khumalo had not been responded to at the time of compiling of this article. She,
however, acknowledged receipt. In total, the country lost 10 State security
personnel in 2022. Most of the officers were from REPS and they were killed
between June and October 2022. There were six officers from REPS who were
killed, two from HMCS and another two from UEDF. The first REPS officer to be
murdered was Zinhle Mavuso on June 25, 2022. The other officer was assassinated
the next day and was a few kilometres away from the Matsapha Police Station.
Another police officer, Thulani Mthembu, was shot on August 12, 2022, in front
of his family at Ngculwini by three men. On October 18, 2022, two traffic police
officers were shot dead at noon by unkown men who were driving a Honda Fit.