Times Of Swaziland: ANGER AS 300 ASPIRING COPS REJECTED

ANGER AS 300 ASPIRING COPS REJECTED
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Thokozani Mazibuko on 28/01/2023 06:28:00


MBABANE – Emotions flared as over 300 aspiring cops were turned back at the
police headquarters last week and allegedly told they would not be part of the
recruits to be trained at the academy in Matsapha.
According to well-placed sources, the aspiring police recruits flooded the
police headquarters for the better part of last week to check out if they were
still hoping to be called to be part of the training at the Matsapha Police
Academy. The Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and other security forces, the
Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) and His Majesty’s Correctional Services
(HMCS), recently conducted recruitment exercises and some of those recruited
have already begun training.
However, some who had reportedly received calls from the police headquarters
informing them that they had passed the recruitment have been allegedly
overlooked. “They arrived at the headquarters in small groups from Monday to
Friday last week and when we asked them what they wanted, they told us that they
individually made a decision to come and check if they had not been sidelined in
the recruitment as they heard that there were some who were already at the
police academy training. We saw most of them shedding tears when they came out
of the offices of the human resources department and it was clear that they had
been rejected,” said one of the sources.
The sources said that the numbers of the aspiring recruits flooding the
headquarters began last week Monday and increased as the week progressed. “We,
however, began to make our own enquiries and some of the aspiring recruits
disclosed that they had been members of REPS choir, the athletic teams and also
cultural dancing clubs such as Sibhaca and Imbali (young maidens’ regiment).
They clearly stated that they were called and told that they had been picked for
the new police jobs by the human resources office in Mbabane,” said the
sources.
Messages
The sources further disclosed that their visit turned out to be an unpleasant
one as they were courteously informed individually, allegedly by the human
resources office, that they were not on the list of the trainees who are set to
join the others at the police academy in the coming weeks. The well-placed
sources said that the message was not well received by the aspiring recruits as
most of them were seen wiping tears while some were openly blaming the police
department for what they claimed was an unjust treatment.
Eswatini News had the opportunity to speak to a few of the disgruntled aspiring
recruits who, however, preferred to be anonymous. “I attended and was
successful in almost all the phases of the recruitment exercise and was even
informed that I had made the cut and according to the officer who called me, the
only thing that was left for me was to be informed of the date I was supposed to
travel to the police academy. I was shocked to hear news that there are already
recruits training at the academy, hence I made a decision to visit the police
headquarters to ascertain if indeed my space was still available. Unfortunately,
I was informed that I was not on the list and I was very shocked and
disappointed at the same time,” decried the aspiring recruit.
List
Another aspiring recruit, who faced the same fate, wondered who changed the list
as he too was among those who were called after the last phase of the
recruitment process towards the end of last year. Furthermore, another recruit
said she had been with the REPS choir for more than 10 years now and had been
eagerly waiting to be called into the police academy. “I was informed by the
choir manager that I had been included on the list of recruits who will be
called into the police academy soon, but I was shocked when I was informed at
the police headquarters that I was also not on the list,” said the aspiring
recruit.
He then told this publication that he was contemplating resigning from the choir
and look for greener pastures elsewhere. However, Chief Police Information and
Communication Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said that anyone with a
complaint should lodge it with the nearest police headquarters geographically
located in the four regions of the country. Another officer who preferred to
remain anonymous disclosed to Eswatini News that senior officers had taken
advantage of the fact that the NATCOM had distanced himself from anything that
concerned the recruitment and they interfered with the process to make sure that
their relatives were included instead of those who had legitimately qualified.
“The NATCOM should intervene in this matter as what is being done by these
senior officers is not right and unfair at the same time. They should allow the
recruitment process to take place and refrain from this corruption trend which
is tarnishing the services name,” pointed out the officer.
The officer also disclosed that the senior officers made sure that their close
relatives were placed on the list of the recruits and at the same time skipped
all the phases of the recruitment drive. It is said that some of those who have
finally made it the college did not do medical check-ups, which are a
prerequisite as training at the academy is not for the faint-hearted and
medically unfit. He pointed out that this was the reason some end up developing
sicknesses and eventually dying while training.