DC POSTPONED, JUNIOR OFFICERS SING ‘NKOSI SIKELELA I-AFRICA’

MATSAPHA - The 20 junior police officers, who were summoned to appear before a disciplinary panel, sang Nkosi Sikelela i-Africa after the hearing was postponed yesterday.

Nkosi Sikelela i-Africa is the national anthem of South Africa, which was adopted in 1997. It is a hybrid song combining extracts of the 19th Century Xhosa hymn “Nkosi Sikelel’ i-Afrika” (English: ‘God Bless Africa’) and the Afrikaans song, which was South Africa’s national anthem during the apartheid era, ‘Die Stem van Suid-Afrika’ (English: ‘The Voice of South Africa’), with new English lyrics. However, in the country it is mostly sung by trade unions and political formations during their activities. Worth noting is that even though most of the senior police officers who were present seemed not to be bothered, others were heard talking about it. One of the things they said was that it seemed like the junior officers would not back off.

Charged

The National Commissioner (NATCOM) of Police, William Tsitsibala Dlamini, charged the 20 junior police with a total of seven counts, which are related to the delivery of a petition to the Cabinet Offices, among others. The junior officers are members of the Royal Eswatini Police Staff Association (REPOSA) and they gathered at Matsapha Police Academy yesterday morning, where they had been summoned to appear for a disciplinary hearing.

The affected officers are from various police stations across the country and they include; Malkerns, Bhunya, Lomahasha and Siteki. Others are from Manzini, Pigg’s Peak, Mbabane, Sidvokodvo, Mliba, Police Academy and Gege. They are; Sergeant Dumisile Khumalo (4778), Constable B Vilakati (3839), Constable M Dlamini (4023), Constable Masango (4413), Constable R Dlamini (4421), Constable D Dlamini (4731) and Constable T Dludlu (4737). Others are Constable Mbhamali (4849), Constable M Sibiya (4967), Constable Dlamini (5102), Constable Fakudze (5796), Constable S Gumbi (5800), Constable Ginindza (6013), Constable Matse (6030) and Constable S Dlamini (6072). Also Constable K Dlamini (6218), Constable Masuku (6424), Constable M Mkhwanazi (6956), Constable R Nxumalo (7631) and Constable M Khumalo (7990).

During their disciplinary hearing, the junior officers are said to have raised a concern that they were served with letters, which contained charges that did not relate to them. This was confirmed by REPOSA Secretary General Sergeant Dumisile Khumalo, who said the matter was postponed to December 21, 2022 due to the concerns they raised. She said the charges as reflected in their letters were seven in total, but some of them were slapped with only two of them. She stated that the officers said they should have been served with letters that had charges which related to them.

As such, the secretary general said the presiding officer postponed the matter as they had to amend the charges in the junior officers’ letters.
It is worth noting that the police staff association secretary general had mentioned that there were names of officers who had also been charged, yet they were not part of those who delivered petitions, among other counts. She also highlighted that despite having been suspended from work, they would not stop demanding their money under the Phase II salary restructuring exercise.

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