Police in Swaziland
disguised as news reporters have been spying on prodemocracy activists, a
newspaper reported.
It is only one incident
in a long history of spying in the kingdom that includes members of parliament,
pensioners and journalists as victims.
The Sunday Observer in Swaziland reported (24 September 2017) that
plain-clothed undercover police were at a march of public servants in the Swazi
capital Mbabane on Wednesday.
The newspaper called it ‘spying’
and said it had happened before at other public demonstrations, ‘They [police]
are always plain clothed and carry traditional journalistic tools including
cameras and notebooks,’ the newspaper reported.
It added police took
video and still photographs of marchers. The newspaper speculated that these
might be used to later track down and intimidate participants. The march was
legal.
A police spokesman said
they were not spying because the march took place in a public place.
Swaziland, which is ruled
by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, has a long history
of spying by police, Army and state forces. In Swaziland political parties are
banned from taking part in elections and prodemocracy advocates are prosecuted
under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
In
August 2017 it was reported that police infiltrated a Pensioners’ Association
meeting to make notes on proceedings.
In June
2017, some senior politicians in Swaziland
reported fears their phones were being tapped. One also thought his car
might be bugged.
In July
2013 it was reported that police in Swaziland were spying on the kingdom’s
members of parliament. One officer disguised in plain clothes was thrown
out of a workshop for MPs and one MP reported his phone had been bugged. Ntondozi
MP Peter Ngwenya told the House of Assembly at the time that MPs lived in fear
because there was constant police presence, in particular from officers in the
Intelligence Unit.
The Times of
Swaziland
newspaper reported at the time that at the same sitting of the House Lobamba MP Majahodvwa
Khumalo said his cellphone had been bugged ever since he started being ‘vocal
against some people’.
In May
2013, the Media Institute of Southern Africa reported
that police spies had infiltrated journalism newsrooms in Swaziland, which
had led to a heightened climate of fear.
It is
legal in certain circumstances to tap phones in Swaziland. The Suppression of
Terrorism Act gives police the right to listen in on people’s conversations if
they have the permission of the Attorney General.
When the
Act came into law in 2008 Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini said that anyone who criticised the
government could be considered a terrorist sympathiser.
In 2011,
a journalist working in Swaziland for the AFP international news agency
reported on her blog that her phone calls were being listened in to.
In 2012, it came to light that the Swaziland Army
had attempted to buy cameras and phone monitoring
equipment worth US$1.25 million. The Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF) – the
formal name of the Swaziland Army – was sued
in the Swaziland High Court because it ordered the equipment, but did
not pay for it.
The
equipment was known as GSM Option: Voice Intercept or delivery and SMS (Short
Message Service) Intercept or delivery, as well as spy cameras and alarm
systems, the Times of Swaziland reported at the time.
The
equipment could be used against the civilian population in Swaziland. The Voice
Intercept equipment is marketed as a tool to monitor and record live phone
conversations, which, according to one supplier called SyTech Corporation, the equipment can be
a valuable asset to any agency and investigation. It, ‘delivers the
evidence that makes the case while protecting officers’
safety’.
The GSM
equipment is designed to monitor mobile phones. This type of equipment is
widely available across the world. Another supplier listed the main use as,
‘following a person’s activities and staying undetected’.
The
equipment records all information on the phone as it happens and records ‘phone
events’. It can spy on SMS text messages, on web browser activities and call
logs (inbound and outbound). It can also track the phone’s location using GPS.
It was,
one supplier said, ‘100 percent undetectable and you can spy on unlimited
[number of] phones.’
The
Swaziland Army ordered equipment worth about E10 million (US$1.25 million at
the then exchange rate) from Naspoti J & M Security Solutions, in
Nelspruit, South Africa, the Swazi High Court heard, but cancelled the order
just as the company was ready to deliver.
No reason was given to the court for the cancellation but, then as today the Swazi Government was broke
and struggling to pay its bills, including public sector salaries.
The
revelation came at a time of growing activity in the kingdom to force King
Mswati to democratise. All political parties and opposition groups are banned
and the King controls the parliament and judiciary.
This was
not the first time that the Swazi ruling elite has been found trying to spy on
the King’s subjects. In August 2011, Wikileaks published a cable from the US Embassy in Swaziland
that revealed the Swazi Government had tried to get MTN, the only mobile phone
provider in the kingdom, to use its network for ‘surveillance on political
dissidents’.
Tebogo
Mogapi, the MTN chief executive officer (CEO) in Swaziland, refused to comply
and later did not have his work permit renewed and so had to leave the kingdom.
See also
TOP SWAZI
POLITICIANS’ ‘PHONES BUGGED’
STATE
POLICE SPY ON SWAZI MPs
POLICE
SPIES INFILTRATE MEDIA
AFP
JOURNALIST’S PHONE BUGGED
STATE
POLICE SPY ON SWAZI MPs
POLICE
SPIES INFILTRATE MEDIA
http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/police-spies-infiltrate-media.html
SWAZI POLICE NOW A PRIVATE MILITIA
SWAZI POLICE NOW A PRIVATE MILITIA
http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/swazi-police-now-private-militia.html
SWAZILAND ‘BECOMING MILITARY STATE’
SWAZILAND ‘BECOMING MILITARY STATE’
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