890 000 LEAKED STATE DOCUMENTS: SOLDIER, MAN DEMAND E230K BRIBE FROM ARCHBISHOP LUKHELE, ARRESTED

MBABANE - Police have arrested two men for reportedly attempting to extort a sum of E230 000 from Archbishop Bheki Lukhele of All Nations Church in Zion.

This is the first spin-off from the widely publicised Swazi Secrets, an investigative project coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). It was said the project is based on 890 000 leaked documents from Eswatini’s Financial Intelligence Unit (EFIU), which ICIJ says it shared with a team of 38 journalists across 11 countries. The reports documented Archbishop Lukhele as having allegedly played a role in the transfer of certain monies from the African National Congress’s election account.

Responding

There is no record of Archbishop Lukhele responding to the allegations. Police are said to be investigating allegations that the two emaSwati men took advantage of the allegations made in the reports to solicit a bribe from the church leader. One of the two men, who posed as officers from the Eswatini Financial Intelligence Unit (EFIU), was arrested yesterday.
In the attempt to extort Lukhele, they are said to have informed him that they could assist to protect him from being arrested, as he was aware of the information contained in the recently published leaked documents. It has been gathered that one of the suspects is a soldier.  The duo aged 38 and 34 allegedly misrepresented to Lukhele that they were investigating the matter and that he would be arrested unless he paid the bribe.

However, sources said Lukhele, who insisted on his innocence, hastened to report the matter to the police, whose investigations led to the arrest of the duo. The duo was subsequently arrested and is currently assisting the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) with information. They were due to appear in court yesterday afternoon, however, they were produced and taken back to the police station, without appearing before any judicial officer, after spending about an hour in a police van, at the Mbabane Magistrates Court. They were brought to court in a white police van, which was escorted by an army-green sedan from the Military Police, under the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force.  Senior Crown Counsel Chris Sibandze and Mbabane Police Station Desk Officer Inspector Akhona Dludlu left the court premises shortly after the arrival of the duo.

It was later gathered that the Crown had left to take instructions from the director of public prosecutions.  It was after Sibandze’s return that the duo, who remained in the police van, was taken back to the Mbabane Police Station for further investigations. The army vehicle left shortly after the police van. Those who saw the army vehicle wondered why it escorted the police van. Some said the presence of the army vehicle could mean that a soldier was involved in the ongoing investigations. Journalists who anticipated seeing the suspects after the news started circulating on social media, were left confused, after the suspects were taken back to the police station, without alighting from the police van. Deputy Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent Nosipho Mnguni confirmed that that duo was currently assisting the police with information.

Finances

Meanwhile, the reports by the ICIJ analysed Archbishop Lukhele’s finances from as early as 2017. Attributing their investigations from the EFIU documents, they documented the movement of money in these accounts, further citing high profile people as beneficiaries of the accounts. The investigators said they had also visited Lukhele’s All Nations Church in Ezulwini and further analysed the structures. They also wrote extensively about Lukhele’s properties and their values. The ICIJ also documented how Lukhele had close relations with an Eswatini diplomat and a municipal councillor.

Also, the reports had details about his activities, such as his leadership role at Mbabane Swallows Football Club and further made mention of his motor vehicles. The reports quoted an old interview Archbishop Lukhele had with Swaziland News, in which he said there was nothing sinister with his finances. It was alleged in the reports that the police had asked him questions about his finances but later left him alone after getting the answers. EFIU serves as a national centre for the receipt and analysis of suspicious transaction reports and relevant money laundering information, associated predicate offences, and terrorist financing.

Transactions

It is used by institutions, such as the Central Bank of Eswatini and banks, to analyse certain financial transactions that have been red-flagged. It must be noted that not all transactions reported to the EFIU are deemed fraudulent. Some of the information carried in the leaked reports touch on institutions such as the Farmers Bank and its application for a licence with the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE). It also touched on former President of Zambia Dr Edgar Lungu, who was allegedly offered a piece of land to build a home in Eswatini, but he did not take up the offer. The international journalists said: “The documents include bank records, police investigation reports, court affidavits, and confidential exchanges between government agencies within southern Africa. The records also include details about banks in African countries and beyond that have facilitated financial transactions for people and companies suspected of criminal activity.”

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