An editor of one of Swaziland’s few independent newspapers has accused the Swazi police of killing a man after he refused to pay them a bribe.
The man was shot after officers stopped the kombi he was driving and he ran off to escape from police.
Martin Dlamini, managing editor of the Times of Swaziland, writing in his own newspaper yesterday (28 March 2008), said,
‘It would come as no surprise if the kombi driver was being forced to bribe his way out of trouble and after failing to get the money, the officer decided to silence the driver who would otherwise have exposed him. The driver is dead now, so nobody will ever know.’
The comment follows reports on Tuesday (25 March 2008) that the driver had tried to escape the police to avoid a maximum fine of E5,000 (about US 720 Dollars) for drink driving, under a new traffic law in Swaziland. Police shot him although he was unarmed.
This contrasts with a report in the Times Sunday (23 March 2008) that a government minister who was stopped by police for drink driving refused to take a breath test and eventually the police let him drive home (still drunk) without charging him.
Dlamini wrote, ‘No gun was pointed at him to force him to submit but instead he received offers to drive him home given the state he was in. He refused and was allowed to drink drive again. Senior police officers woke up in the early morning and drove to the police station to afford the minister the best treatment possible.’
The government minister is not the only one receiving special treatment by the police. The Police Commissioner Edgar Hillary was photographed by the Times Sunday (25 March 2008) driving his car while using his cell phone, although this is illegal under the new traffic law.
Newspapers reported on Thursday (27 March 2008) that a 22-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a police officer in the cell at a police station. She had been held in custody because she had not been able to pay a fine of E160 (about 20 US dollars).
On Friday (27 March 2008) the Swazi Observer reported that police allegedly forced a suspect to pick up human faeces left by another prisoner at Lobamba Police Station.
Dlamini wrote in the Times,
‘To call for action by the Police Commissioner Edgar Hillary would be flogging a dead horse. He would first have to pay his fine for driving while using a cell phone before calling any of his charges to order and as we all know, he is not new to breaking the law.
‘The conduct of the police and their crimes should be a matter of serious concern for the Prime Minister’s office and it must be dealt with urgently.’
This latest spate of police incidents comes nearly two weeks after it was announced that the army was to set up bases across the kingdom to (the government claims) help tackle rising crime in Swaziland.
This, Dlamini writes, fuels the ‘growing resentment towards the security forces’.
He writes, ‘That the army will soon be unleashed to invade our homes can only make things worse. Whoever initiated this idea had better call it off immediately. If this is to suggest police are now incapable of carrying out their duties, it can only confirm we are soon to become a military state.
‘Who is suddenly very afraid of the peace loving, respectful Swazi people for him/her to set the army to instil fear and control?’
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