Swazi Police Commissioner Isaac Magagula intensified the pressure on human rights in Swaziland yesterday (12 January 2010) by announcing a further crackdown on terrorists.
This came despite an assurance only last week from Swaziland’s illegally-appointed Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini that there were no terrorists in the kingdom.
Magagula said terrorists would not be allowed to operate in Swaziland. ‘Our priority is the safety of our country, he said.
Magagula claimed, but has given no evidence to support this, that some people go into Swaziland as investors ‘but later siphoned the money they obtain from their business operations to other countries, where it finances terrorist activities’.
He wants a ‘Financial Intelligence Unit’ set up with Swaziland’s Central Bank to track suspicious accounts.
According to the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, Magagula said, ‘We are fully aware that some investment activities come with a lot of crime attached. It is our priority as police to curb money laundering and ensure that terrorism is not financed through monies obtained from Swazis.’
But the people of Swaziland need not worry. Magagula is after all a self-proclaimed friend of the people and his police service wouldn’t dream of infringing on civil liberties by spying on people’s bank accounts.
No, he told the Swazi media, they won’t be targeting all accounts only those that are ‘suspicious’.
I hope Mario Masuku and other PUDEMO members keep their spare cash in a sock under the bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment