Game rangers in Swaziland shot
dead a man hunting food for his family and wounded another in the latest
example of the kingdom’s ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy against poachers.
The Swazi Observer newspaper reported on Wednesday (15 November 2017)
the men begged for their lives but the rangers shot them anyway.
It happened near Somntongo
in Lavumisa. The dead man was named as Caiphas Mpisi Zwane. The newspaper said
he was in a hunting expedition with a friend Mxolisi Tebe Mbhamali on 10 November
2017.
The newspaper said, ‘It is
said they were seen trespassing by rangers who then followed them as they were
leaving with game that they had already killed.
‘Zwane was gunned down by
the rangers while his friend also got shot but he managed to flee with the
bullets lodged in one of his legs.’
The Observer said that following the recent drought that killed
livestock people have been hunting game to survive and have been trespassing
onto private land.
The newspaper said the two
were spotted by rangers but it was too late for them to flee.
It added, ‘Having managed
to apprehend the two poachers, it’s unclear what actually then led to the
rangers decided to shoot them.
‘The two tried to reason
with the rangers where they asked for forgiveness, but the rangers opened fire,
hitting the target.’
It said, ‘Reports are that
as the rangers opened fire which thundered all over the area, their bullets hit
Zwane on the thigh and also riddled him near the stomach, killing him
instantly.’
Other bullets hit Mbhamali
on one of the legs but he managed to escape.
Police are reported to be
investigating the incident.
In May 2017 it was reported
that game rangers shot dead a ‘mentally challenged’ man they suspected of
poaching at Inyoni Yami Swaziland Irrigation Scheme (IYSIS), Sihhoye. The Swazi Observer reported at the time rangers
shot the man who had lived all his life on the roadside and was known to the
rangers who assaulted him and ‘finished him off as he ran for dear life’.
The newspaper called it ‘cold
blooded murder’.
It came at a time when a
United Nations’ group was questioning Swaziland about a law that gives game
rangers immunity from prosecution for killing any person suspected of having
poached and just after Survival
International reported
Swaziland ‘appears’ to have a shoot-on-sight policy that
allows game rangers to kill suspected poachers.
The United
Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) questioned
the Swazi Government about the Game
Act (No. 51/1953) as amended in 1991, which gives conservation police personnel
(game rangers) immunity from prosecution for killing any person suspected of
having poached, in line with the Covenant, and to train game rangers in human
rights.
In April 2017, Survival International wrote
to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary
Executions, saying Swaziland ‘appears’ to have a shoot-on-sight policy that
allows game rangers to kill suspected poachers.
In its letter it said, ‘We say “appears” because
usually the policy is not defined by any law, or even written down. As a consequence, nobody knows when wildlife
officers are permitted to use lethal force against them, and it is impossible
for dependents to hold to account officers whom they believe to have killed
without good reason.’
Stephen Corry, Survival International Director, said
the shoot-on-sight policy directly affected people who lived close to game
parks and guards often failed to distinguish people hunting for food from
commercial poachers.
There has been concern in
Swaziland for many years that game rangers have immunity from prosecution and
can legally ‘shoot-to-kill’.
In 2016, the Swaziland
Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations (SCCCO) reported to a United Nations
review on human rights in Swaziland, ‘There are numerous cases where citizens
are shot and killed by game rangers for alleged poaching as raised by community
members in several communities such as Lubulini, Nkambeni, Nkhube, Malanti,
Sigcaweni, and Siphocosini.’
In January 2014,
Swaziland’s Police Commissioner Isaac Magagula said rangers were allowed to
shoot people who were hunting for food to feed their hungry families.
Magagula
publicly stated, ‘Animals
are now protected by law and hunting is no longer a free-for-all, where anybody
can just wake up to hunt game whenever they crave meat.’
He told a meeting of
traditional leaders in Swaziland, ‘Of course, it becomes very sad whenever one
wakes up to reports that rangers have shot someone. These people are protected
by law and it allows them to shoot, hence it would be very wise of one to shun
away from trouble.’
See also
RANGERS ‘CAN SHOOT TO KILL’
TRUE FACE OF INJUSTICE IN SWAZILAND
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/01/true-face-of-injustice-in-swaziland.html
KING LETS GAME RANGERS SHOOT-TO-KILL
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/01/king-lets-game-rangers-shoot-to-kill.html
KING LETS GAME RANGERS SHOOT-TO-KILL
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