JUNIOR OFFICERS TAKE COMMISSIONERS, SENIOR OFFICIALS TO COURT

MBABANE - Junior police officers and warders have launched a legal battle against their respective commissioners and senior officials, citing acts of harassment and intimidation.

The application was filed by the officers through their respective staff associations, the Royal Eswatini Police Staff Association (REPOSA) and the Eswatini Correctional Services Staff Association (ECOSSA).

In the application filed in the High Court, they are seeking to interdict the respondents from interfering with their activities and to halt disciplinary proceedings against their members.

The respondents cited in the court documents are: The commissioner general of His Majesty’s Correctional Services (first respondent), the national commissioner of police (second respondent) and Assistant Commissioner Gabisile Manyatsi (third respondent).

Affairs

Others are the minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs (fourth respondent), the attorney general (fifth respondent), Assistant Superintended Sipho Sibusiso Metfula (sixth respondent), Superintendent Jabulani Welcome Nkambule (seventh respondent) and Assistant Superintendent Siboniso Shongwe (eighth respondent).

The court papers detail a series of grievances, including allegations of unlawful surveillance, victimisation and obstruction of the associations’ lawful activities. The officers claim that their fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and association are being violated by the actions of these senior officials.

At the heart of the dispute is a long-standing issue concerning salary disparities between junior and senior officers. The associations allege that a 2014 Establishment Circular, which significantly increased salaries for senior officers while neglecting junior officers, has created a wide and unjustifiable gap.

The officers further argue that attempts to address these grievances through meetings and petitions have been met with repression and clampdowns. They claim that members have been subjected to disciplinary hearings, transfers and suspensions as a form of intimidation.

The court application seeks several key orders: An urgent interdict to stop the ongoing disciplinary proceedings against multiple officers; a restraining order to prevent the respondents and their subordinates from interfering with the associations’ meetings and operations; a declaration that certain sections of the Correctional Services Act are unconstitutional; the setting aside of charges against the affected officers; and a directive for the minister for Justice to expedite the appointment of commissioners to the Correctional Services Commission.

The application also seeks to have all disciplinary proceedings against Correctional Service officers be heard by the Civil Service Commission (CSC), pending the appointment of the Correctional Services Commission.

The court papers highlight a recent chaotic incident at a REPOSA meeting held at the Caritas Centre on Saturday. According to the documents, police officers intervened, detaining REPOSA’s Secretary General Dumisile Khumalo, and using tear gas to disperse junior officers who had gathered for the meeting.

This incident, which has already been reported, is set to be included in supplementary papers to be filed by the associations’ legal team, as it occurred after the initial court documents were submitted.

Supplementary

Lawyers representing the associations have indicated that they will be filing supplementary papers to include the details of the Saturday incident, further bolstering their claims of harassment and intimidation. They argue that this incident is a clear demonstration of the ongoing interference they are experiencing.

The junior officers, through their associations, are determined to fight for their rights and ensure that their voices are heard. They are seeking the court’s intervention to protect their constitutional rights and to address the long-standing grievances that have fuelled this legal battle. The matter will be heard today.

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