DON’T USE PEOPLE’S BLOOD TO GAIN POLITICAL POSITIONS - KING

MATSAPHA – His Majesty King Mswati III is concerned about social behaviours, which continue to show their ugly heads in the country, and has implores HMCS to address this ‘cancer’.

The King, who is the Commissioner General In-Chief of His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS), said this during the celebration of the 15th Correctional Services Day, which was combined with the pass-out parade of 372 trainees. The event was held at HMCS College in Matsapha yesterday. He said the theme for the celebration was: ‘Ensuring a corrections dispensation responsive to inherent emerging socio-security challenges’.

To live up to this theme, the King said it was important that the Correctional Services personnel were well equipped to respond to the day-to-day challenges. He said as recruits, they have applied themselves diligently for the duration of their training period and adhered to all standards expected from Correctional officers. Thereafter, he commended the Correctional Services for contributing significantly to reducing crime rates in the country. He said they were equally impressed with the fact that, the department had low escape rates and this showed that the officers were always vigilant and alert.

Pleased

“As a nation we are pleased with the status quo,” the King said. After that, he said their mandate was to ensure every offender finishes his or her sentence before going home, after undergoing extensive rehabilitation programmes. He said the officers should ensure these offenders become law-abiding and productive citizens upon release and that they would live in harmony with their families and communities. He then encouraged the correctional services to intensify its rehabilitation and social re-integration interventions in correcting the social behaviour that was showing its ugly head in the country.

“We need to address this cancer because it affects the core fabric of our society. We must live in harmony with each other,” The King said. He said violence against women and children was a cause for concern. His Majesty added that since this was a year for the general election, emaSwati, in particular the aspiring politicians should desist from ritual killings.

Albinism

“Do not use people’s blood to gain political positions,” the King said. He added that children, women, the elderly and people living with albinism should not be killed for beliefs that their blood would give them power to win political positions. Therefore, he implored the correctional services to fully rehabilitate such offenders, to reduce the chances of them relapsing into the same behaviour of crime. He added that this went well with the theme of the event. On another note, the King commended the Correctional Services for extending various services and support to the nation. He said they heard that emaSwati were receiving professional health services from its health facilities. He said this gesture was highly appreciated because it was in line with the United Nations (UN) 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs), which calls for healthcare services to be in close proximity to the people.

“Such help is essential because a healthy nation is highly productive,” the HMCS Commissioner General In-Chief said. Furthermore, he said many emaSwati have benefited immensely from the various trades that the department offers to the members of the public. He said they heard that the department train them in carpentry and bricklaying, to mention a few. 

He added that such trades were critical because recipients were able to get job opportunities after training. He said the beneficiaries could also start their own small businesses after training. In that regard, he said this complements government’s efforts of fighting poverty and unemployment. The King added that rehabilitation of offenders was a societal responsibility, where as a nation, they expect the Correctional Services to work hand-in-hand with society in ensuring that recidivism was eradicated completely.

Correct

“This process will ensure the safety of the public from criminal elements and also give an opportunity to offenders to build their characters and correct their criminal behaviour to regain the trust of their communities,” the King said. On top of that, he said it was encouraging to note that they always engage with the chiefs across the country on a regular basis. He said this enables them to find ways and means of implementing social reintegration programmes in the chiefdoms and ensuring a safe and secure re-entry of offenders to society.

In terms of elections, he said given that offenders were an integral part of the society and they would return to their respective communities after completing their sentences, it was in this vein that they were also allowed to register for the general elections so that they could exercise their democratic right to vote for their preferred candidates to represent them in Parliament.

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