Times Of Swaziland: PERCY RESPONDS TO PROSCRIBED ONLINE ENTITY IN OWN CAPACITY - ALPHEOUS

PERCY RESPONDS TO PROSCRIBED ONLINE ENTITY IN OWN CAPACITY - ALPHEOUS
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Sithembile Hlatshwayo on 26/03/2024 09:10:00


MBABANE – Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo has come out to state that
the King’s Office Director Percy Simelane responds to a proscribed online
entity in his individual capacity.
Alpheous was responding to Swazi Bridge’s Manqoba Nxumalo, who had questioned
him on the emergence of the online spaces on whether he would engage with them
as well, including those which had been proscribed as terrorist entities.
Alpheous said he would not respond to such entities as there was a specific
reason why government published the notice specifying certain entities as
terrorist entities. He said part of government’s decision was to deny them the
leverage to access government official information from official sources.
Position
According to Alpheous, there was a known position of the King’s Office in
respect to this particular entity. He said: “As to what convenience the
individuals at the King’s Office have found suitable for them to continue to
engage the particular entity is not going to affect and influence me in anyway,
so long as the notice made by government still stands.” The government
spokesperson said unless and until the incumbent Prime Minister (PM) Russell
Dlamini, rescinded the decision, and the proscription of the entity, then there
could be leeway to engage with them again. “These publications are continuing
to publish government information, because we are living in a world of leaking
and selling information,” Alpheous said.
He mentioned that it was an open secret that media houses paid for information
and sold it. However, he said as government, they could not lend credence to
institutions that believed in cohesion, intermediation in terrorism to
communicate their language.
He told the Swazi Bridge host that he could not also entertain them if they were
one of those organisation mentioned above and classified by government as
terrorist entities. “I am talking to the Bridge and everyone online who is
available and interested in engaging, because they are not classified as
terrorist entities,” he said. This, Alpheous said, was the only difference
from the particular one which had been branded a terrorist entity. Furthermore,
Alpheous was questioned on the fact that he continued to engage with such
entities when they were being taken to court by government and was responding to
them for the very longest time and treating them like any other media entity,
yet on the other hand, calling them terrorist entities.
According to the host, it was even worse that there was now a disconnect between
the government press office and the King’s Office, in particular with Percy
Simelane, who continued to engage with the banned entity. In response, Alpheous
said he did not want to be seen talking on behalf of the King’s Office or the
director of communications there. However, he warned about the danger of
regarding the King’s Office employees as individuals and also treating the
same office ‘as an individual’, adding that there was a huge difference.
Statement
Meanwhile, early this year, government issued a press statement announcing the
cutting of communication ties with Swaziland News entity. The announcement was
made by Alpheous, adding that a circular memorandum to all government
ministries, advising all its officials and employees to desist from
communicating and or responding in any form or method to such entities and
individuals on social media platform, Facebook and others had been issued.
Alpheous said the Swaziland News publication was declared ‘specified
entities’ through Legal No.261 of 2022 in line with the Suppression of
Terrorism Act, 2008 in that they allegedly ‘knowingly facilitated the
commission of terrorist acts.’ The Director of Communication in the King’s
Office Percy Simelane, when asked about Alpheous’ comments, stated that what
he (Alpheous) alleged was not in the bracket of what he responded to when
engaging with the entity.