NATCOM REVEALS: GANGS SIGN SECRECY CODE

MBABANE - As police ramp up efforts to eliminate gangsterism nationwide, investigations have uncovered that gang activities have shifted into highly-organised crime networks.

These gangs now operate within tightly-knit cells, designed to be difficult for authorities to infiltrate. Members are bound by strict oaths of secrecy, sworn not to reveal the identities of fellow members or the masterminds orchestrating their operations. This was revealed by the National Commissioner (NATCOM) of Police, Vusi Manoma Masango, during Mankayane Crime Prevention fund-raising dinner, which was held last Friday.The dinner was attended by Members of Parliament (MPs), senior police officers and government officials among others.

Prevention

A sum of E102 000 was pledged towards Mankayane crime prevention. The event was aimed at raising funds that will go towards aiding the Mankayane community police forum with working equipment, such as handcuffs, whistles, torches, reflector vests and identification name tags, among other necessities. This will benefit 22 chiefdoms under the jurisdiction of Mankayane Police Station. Recently, Masango warned about a new gang, which calls itself ama27. It is said the gang is causing havoc in communities and has infiltrated a number of schools across the country, and some pupils have joined it.

The NATCOM raised concern about the emergent gang; which he said is deadlier than the 26s and 28s. Masango said they got to know about the new gang recently. He said this calls for everyone to play a role in the fight against gangs in schools. Masango said this during a house presentation to a Msibi homestead at Sandlane. Speaking during the dinner, Masango said the country is currently faced with a new crime phenomenon, which is gangsterism. He said this crime phenomenon has evolved into coordinated criminal activity, whereby gang members operate in certain cells, which are hard to penetrate and whose members are sworn into secrecy, against divulging the identities of fellow members and/or their handlers/masterminds. According to Masango, these are their children with whom they live and who grew up right in front of their eyes, yet they have now become monsters who have created an environment of unease and fear within their communities.

Collaboration

He stated that in close collaboration with other agencies in the fight against crime, they must strive to prevent the formation of such groupings through the establishment of anti-crime clubs in schools, out-of-school youth anti-crime clubs working with imiphakatsi and local community committees, as well as neighbourhood watch schemes. “Plaudits should be accorded to His Majesty’s Correctional Services, who have dedicated specific officers to address this crime phenomenon. I, therefore, wish to urge every citizen of this beautiful kingdom to be vigilant and collaborate with the police and strive towards eliminating this scourge, which has permeated the very fabric of our youth and school-going children,” Masango said. The NATCOM also pleaded with every individual and group formation in this community to resist all criminal activity and report crimes as the criminals/perpetrators live amongst them.

Collaboration

“This rings true with our calling that ‘Nawe uliphoyisa’, from which we derive our operational theme for the year to ‘Combat crime and road traffic accidents through robust police action in collaboration with the public,’ he said. Adding, Masango also revealed that they noted the emergence of contemporary crimes such as cybercrime. “At the beginning of this week, we made a breakthrough and made significant arrests in the ‘facata’ scam, which mostly targets Mobile Money users. Suffice to state that a number of suspects have already been arrested for this crime and have appeared before the court,” he said.

He explained that there is also the issue of economic crimes, such as the theft of copper, which are on the rise. According to Masango, this kind of crime is crippling to the economy, as it targets the infrastructure affecting service delivery.  Furthermore, he noted that they have also seen a rise in violent crimes such as sexual offences and domestic violence (SODV)-related murders, stock theft, gender-based violence (GBV), dagga wars and mob justice incidents that have led to atrocious acts with fatal consequences.

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