MBABANE – The ongoing investigations into the illegal gambling business in the country has resulted in six additional foreign nationals being charged and brought to court.
While 49 foreigners appeared in court on Monday, after being arrested last Friday, over 40 others were rounded up on Monday and loaded into a bus outside Madlenya House. However, six appeared before Mbabane Principal Magistrate Fikile Nhlabatsi yesterday.
They are Vu Thi Thaoh and Truong Thunga from Vietnam, Le Man and Myo Wtntwrerswe from Myanmar, Inzaman Patel from India and Theimmae Sone from Malaysia.
According to the charge sheet, the accused persons entered and remained in the country without valid permits. Worth noting is that foreign nationals wishing to enter and remain in Eswatini should have a passport valid for at least three months, but six months is often recommended with two blank pages. For a longer stay, visitors are required to apply for a temporary residence permit at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The foreign nationals have also been charged with engaging in employment without work permits while at Madlenya House. For a foreign national to engage in any employment in the country, they have to apply for a work permit.
Additionally, the six are accused of participating in gambling activities without valid permits. The Crown applied for their remand in custody until next Monday, pending their cojoinment with the others who were previously arrested for similar offences.
Their lawyer, Nqobile Moringani of Linda Dlamini and Associates, did not oppose the application but indicated his intention to file a full-blown bail application on behalf of his clients at their next court appearance.
The accused were all remanded in custody until March 30, 2026. They were brought to court in a white Toyota Quantum. While some of the previously arrested accused’s expressions were somewhat sombre, among those who appeared yesterday, others posed for cameras and it seemed the arrest and court appearance failed to break their spirits.
Others covered their faces upon seeing photographers. The six individuals were arrested during a raid at the offices of the business trading as Xwin at Madlenya House, following the arrest of the alleged Director, Nhlanhla Tsabedze and a Chinese businessman, Lipeng Chin, from the People’s Republic of China.
The duo was charged separately for operating the business without a valid permit and for employing individuals illegally in the country. Tsabedze was admitted to bail set at E5 000, while Chin was remanded in custody pending his bail hearing on March 31.
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