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RECRUITS ALLEGEDLY DEPRIVED WATER FOR 3 DAYS

31/12/2022 08:44:00 Thokozani Mazibuko

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MBABANE – Startling allegations of long hours of training without water at Mbuluzi Army Barracks have surfaced.

The allegations gathered from highly placed sources and medical practitioners attributed the recent deaths at the army infantry school to dehydration, among other reasons. The dead soldiers were allegedly brought to different hospitals, where doctors were informed to surrender all documentations regarding to the deaths of the armed officers at Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF). The armed officers were said to have monitored the doctors as they recorded all information regarding the late army recruits and subsequently confiscated all the documentations. Different credible sources from the hospitals used by the army to certify the dead bodies said the allegations were true.

Warn

A medical officer found in one of the health facilities, said the armed officers warned the doctors against leaking information on the deaths and demanded to take all documents to avoid information being shared to the public or the media. “It has been a touch and go situation and I can definitely confirm that dehydration could have been the cause of death, even though we might not be aware of how they got dehydrated.“We do not have the documents of the body that was brought to our facility because armed soldiers, who were monitoring the certification of the dead bodies, took the documents with them to avoid leaking of information, as is the case now” said the source.

Death

Eswatini News further learnt that more recruits were feared dead. According to well placed sources in the army, one male from the first group of recruits suffered kidney failure and was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Mbabane Government Hospital, where he was admitted. The incident allegedly happened at the beginning of December and the sources disclosed that he died a day after he was admitted. UEDF Public Affairs Officer 2nd Lieutenant Tengetile Khumalo said her office was in no possession of a report of more deaths at the army training facility. “The Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force is a professional establishment, that being said, the pertinent structures within the Defence Force, in this case the training battalion duly conveys any reports to the rightful designated proper channels.

Allegations

“Coming to your questionnaire, my office is in no possession of the alleged increasing numbers, but only those that I have shared with your publication last week. “It is worth mentioning also that the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force Public Affairs Office can not respond to allegations,” Khumalo said. Newly-appointed Chief Ma- khahleleka II (40) of KaDlovunga was among the deaths confirmed by the army spokesperson and it has since been gathered that he was among the second group of recruits. It was further gathered that he arrived on December 10, 2022 and spent only three days at the infantry school before he collapsed and subsequently died on his way to Dvokolwako Health Centre. His body was then fetched by his family members from the health centre, but it was established that they couldn’t accept the report brought by the army when they came to inform the family of his demise, which they believed was sudden.

Investigations

His family members then went to Dvokolwako Health Centre to make their own investigations surrounding the death of their family member who spent only 72 hours at Mbuluzi. After the shocking death of chief, sources said the there were two more recruits (male and female) who were said to have also collapsed and died while at training. It was alleged that the their bodies were later taken to one of the health centres to be certified by one of the doctors. The sources disclosed that the army officials arrived in a white government registered car to get a doctor to certify the bodies dead.

Three others are said to have also collapsed on Friday (last week) while a female recruit estimated to be in her 20s allegedly died while on the way to hospital. According to well placed sources, the female soldier’s body was fetched by a vehicle from a well-known funeral service parlour.
The sources further made unsubstantiated allegations on how the families were silenced by the army. The allegations cannot be repeated because they could not be verified.

Hospitalised

It has also been established that some of the families of the deceased and the hospitalised recruits were not informed of the current turn out of events and they only got to learn from the health workers who were concerned. Meanwhile, the other families of those who died were allegedly informed after their death and not the hospitalisation by the army. Sources within the army further revealed a brewing agitation as one recruit failed to control himself and critiqued the way one of his colleagues was punished. Our sources said that the recruit was then informed that he would not be allowed to consume water for three consecutive days.

“They all died due to exhaustion, dehydration and others from kidney falure. Another doctor at the facility is said to have threatened to stop attending to the recruits being brought by the army to the health facility. She had valid concerns, however, the army personnel could not hear none of it and continued bringing casualties on a daily basis,” said a source. Sources within the army infantry school also alleged that the recruits were made to eat hot food in less than five minutes.

According to the sources, the recruits we’re told that the infantry school was not a vacation or their homes. They were allegedly told to forget where they come from and that they were not going to be treated with a kid glove. Allegations were further made by sources that senior army officials delayed taking some of the recruits to hospital after they collapsed. This, according to the sources, could have caused their death. Most of the deaths allegedly happened within a space of two weeks. The army is obligated by law to report to the families or next of kin if anything happened to a recruits under their supervision.

Discharged

It has also been established that one recruit was allegedly discharged after a few days into the infantry school. He was among the first group intake at the beginning of this month. He was allegedly informed by the army that he was not fit to proceed with training. “He collapsed and was admitted to one of the health centres and later transferred to a government hospital, where he was treated and discharged after a few days. This then raised major concerns on whether there were real fitness and medical check ups made or we rushed to recruit people into the army?” quizzed the source.

Another source at the army confirmed that there were numerous illnesses among the current group of recruits. The source said this year’s group of recruits was the most sickly group and the deaths could be caused by underlying illnesses that were not dictated during medical checkups.
The three armed forces have all taken in quite a margin number of recruits in a bid to beef up the national security of the country due to the political turbulence. Training of recruits take a period varying from six to 18 months in the three armed forces.