I WAS SOLD BY COLLEAGUES - OSSU COP IN ‘FORCED’ RETIREMENT

MBABANE - “I was sold by fellow colleagues in the police service with the intention that I should be killed by terrorist groups which were (and are still) killing police officers, a group widely known as Swaziland International Solidarity Forces.”

These were some of the submissions made by a police officer who was based at Ngonini OSSU, whose picture, sometime in June 2021, trended on Facebook and WhatsApp, wherein he was reportedly falsely accused of killing civilians during the June 2021 unrest in the country. OSSU is the Operational Support Services Unit, a military wing under REPS. Constable Bongani Mfanimpela Msibi has approached the High Court on an urgent basis after he was called by the headhochos of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) to inform him that his services were being terminated on the grounds of deferred retirement.

Retirement

A deferred retirement is when an individual decides to retire and draw the pension benefits later than their normal retirement age.  This was despite the executive of REPS having rejected his letter of resignation on November 1, 2021. Msibi had previously tendered his resignation as he felt he was being neglected by the organisation since after the posting of his pictures on social media and the accusations of having killed innocent civilians during the  unrest, the National Commissioner NATCOM of Police William Tsitsibala Dlamini allegedly did not bother to check on him if he was safe in light of the serious threats against him.

“I felt neglected by my employer and I eventually decided to tender my resignation letter. I tendered my resignation on November 1, 2021,” submitted the law enforcer. He alleged that his resignation was, however, rejected by the NATCOM and his executive. In a sudden twist of events, Msibi said he was called by the executive of REPS, who then served him with a letter wherein he was informed that he was being released from REPS on deferred retirement. The action of the national commissioner and his executive has resulted in Msibi seeking legal recourse.

Msibi has since taken the Prime Minister (PM) Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, NATCOM and the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service to court.  He is among other prayers seeking an order, interdicting the PM and the national commissioner from terminating his services on the grounds of what he termed as the so-called deferred retirement. The applicant (Msibi) also wants the court to stay the decision of the national commissioner to release him from service and that he should be retained on the government payroll. Lastly, he implored the court to set aside the decision of the NATCOM to release him from service under the ‘the so-called deferred retirement’.

In the preamble of his founding affidavit, Msibi narrated to the court that since June 2021, Eswatini had been experiencing political unrest and internal disturbances.  “As police officers tasked with the maintenance of peace and order, we then became targets of terrorists groups which started shooting and killing us and also burning our properties. Sometime around October 2021, my picture was trending on Facebook and WhatsApp whereby I was accused of killing civilians,” he submitted.

Allegations

Msibi said he had hoped that the NATCOM would take some steps towards protecting them (police officers) from being killed, but he allegedly did not even bother to check on him if he was safe and how he was holding up in light of the serious threats he was going through. He informed the court that he then decided to issue a statement on his Facebook account refuting the allegations that he killed innocent civilians. According to the applicant, after having tendered his resignation on November 1, 2021, about a week later, the NATCOM summoned him to the Police Headquarters in Mbabane through the Regional Commander, Isaac Ndlondlo. He narrated that at the police headquarters, he met the NATCOM who was in the company of a certain Mkhabela, Senior Deputy NATCOM Sula Dlamini and Deputy NATCOM Ross Maseko.

“In the meeting, the national commissioner lambasted me for having taken to Facebook about something related to work. He asked me what he said to police officers about posting on social media,” submitted Msibi. He said he was angered by the approach of the NATCOM to the matter as it was allegedly about him (national commissioner) and his attitude towards Facebook and social media as opposed to him being concerned about his (Msibi) welfare and security in light of the prevailing political turmoil. “I then requested to be excused from the meeting and undertook to attend as soon as they were ready to talk about my welfare and safety. The day was saved by the timely intervention of Sula Dlamini, who offered me an apology for the national commissioner’s approach.The national commissioner and his team asked me to withdraw my resignation,” said the applicant.

He further alleged that they advised him to rather take a transfer to any other police station of his choice. The applicant said he maintained that he was resigning from the police service. Seeing that he was adamant that he was resigning, Msibi alleged that the NATCOM and his team then asked him to come to the meeting with a family elder.  The applicant said he told them that he only had his grandmother and his wife. He submitted that they then postponed the meeting and told him that they would summon his grandmother to attend. Msibi said he told the team that his grandmother was aged and weary, but they said they would rather go where she was.  

Meeting

He recounted that on the following week (still in the month of November 2021) the meeting was reconvened and he was accompanied by his grandmother and his wife. The applicant alleged that his grandmother emphasised that if he no longer felt safe in the police service, then he should rather return home alive than to die. The team, according to the applicant, rejected his resignation and allowed him to proceed on leave so that he could carefully consider as to where he would prefer to be transferred.

It was further his submission that, before the end of his leave days, sometime in the month of December 2021, he received a telephone call informing him that he was being transferred from Ngonini OSSU to Manzini. Msibi said he then sought a meeting with the Manzini Police Station Commander where he was being transferred.  He pointed out that he enquired from the station commander if the NATCOM had told him that he was at home since he had resigned. In response, Msibi alleged that the station commander said he was not told of his resignation but assured him that he would be happy to work with him.

“Since my fear and anger of being neglected had subsided, I counselled myself and agreed to resume work at the Manzini Police Station. I accordingly resumed work at the Manzini Police Station on January 6, 2022. Since then I have been happily and with dedication served the police service until now,” contended the applicant. Msibi detailed that on Monday, November 7, 2021, he received a call informing him that he should come to Inspector Ngwenya at the police station to accompany him to the police headquarters where they were to meet staff officer identified as Mabuza.

He brought it to the attention of the court that he was not informed what the meeting with Mabuza was about. He said he duly heeded the instruction.   The applicant said in the true sense of the word, there was no meeting other than greeting each other. “Staff officer Mabuza simply gave an envelope to Inspector Ngwenya for onward transmission to me. Upon opening the envelope, I found a memorandum written by the principal secretary in the Ministry of Public Service to the national commissioner of police granting authority to release me from service on what he called deferred retirement,” he argued.  Msibi claimed that the contents of the memorandum were never explained to him and to date he was still guessing as to what it meant. He alleged that he asked the staff officer to explain to him but he told him to read it and that it said what was written in it.

The respondents (PM, NATCOM of police and the PS in the Ministry of Public Service are opposing the application.  Their lawyer, Principal Crown Counsel Ndabenhle Dlamini applied that the matter should be postponed pending negotiations between the parties. The applicant is represented by Human Rights Lawyer Thabiso Mavuso of Mavuso Motsa Attorneys.

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