MPS POSE THREAT, WANT ‘SPECIAL’ TREATMENT - HMCS

MBABANE  – There are allegations that the two incarcerated legislators, Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, want to be treated differently from other inmates.

It is claimed that Hosea Constituency Member of Parliament (MP) Mabuza and Ngwempisi Constituency MP Dube are supposedly a threat to the security at His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS) as they allegedly engage in behaviour contrary to the regulations of the facility. The allegations were made by sources within the Matsapha Correctional Services, wherein the two lawmakers are being remanded. The sources purported that what transpired on Thursday morning was a result of the legislators questioning Correctional officers who were supposedly searching for contraband. This publication on Friday reported that warders assaulted the MPs and other inmates in an ordeal that was said to have lasted for 45 minutes. According to impeccable sources, the legislators, with seven other inmates, were assaulted by Correctional officers at the crack of dawn.

Balaclavas

It was alleged that about 20 officers from the Rapid Response Unit, which  is a para-military unit of HMCS, went to the cell occupied by the MPs Mabuza and Dube. It was allegedly that during the attack, the Correctional officers had their faces covered with balaclavas. Upon entry, it was claimed that the officers started assaulting the two legislators with open hand claps, fists, kicked them and also spray guns. In light of this, some officers within the HMCS have come out to claim that the legislators wanted to be treated differently and be accorded the status of MPs.

They said officers on Thursday morning ended up using minimal force to instil order as the pair was allegedly first to assault them. They claimed that there was supposed to be a search for contraband in the cell housing the two MPs. The sources alleged that the search was set to be extensive as there had supposedly been claims within the facility that there was a cellular phone which posed a threat to the security of the facility. “The cellphone is used to make video calls and engage with people on the outside of the prison and the officers wanted to get it and minimise any possible threat to the security of the facility,” said a source.

Veracity

It was claimed that the search sought to establish the veracity of the claims through a thorough search; however, this initiative fell through as the ‘hunt’ reportedly downgraded to being physical. The sources claimed that there were instances wherein some of the inmates within the Matsapha facility had been violent with officers in the facility. They claimed that this was after the law enforcers had reprimanded inmates who wanted to be intimate with (touching and kissing) their partners when they visited them. They claimed that this resulted in a rift which would entail threats by either party to the other.

HMCS Public Relations Officer (PRO) Senior Superintendent Gugulethu Dlamini confirmed the allegations. She confirmed an incident that supposedly happened on Wednesday wherein one of the legislators – MP Mabuza – allegedly wanted to beat a senior Correctional officer. Dlamini said: “The behaviour of the MPs and other inmates is sometimes against our regulations. As professionals, we understand that they are in a stressful environment and try to deal with it professionally.” Rhetorically, she asked why they would have decided to beat the MPs on Thursday all of a sudden if they had been in their custody for a longer period without reports of such. Dlamini further said there had been reports alleging that the legislators were rude and used a tone and language which was deemed inappropriate within the facility. She said: “We understand they are respected members of society outside the facility; but within (Correctional facility), all inmates are equal and are treated as such.”

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