Soldiers in Swaziland (eSwatini) have been illegally selling beer to the public from an army facility, while sales of alcohol remains banned during the coronavirus crisis.
They set up a make-shift store at Mgenule, near the Matsapha International Airport.
The Times
of eSwatini in an investigation found dozens of uniformed soldiers were
involved.
It reported, ‘A majority of them were behind the
offices and they were busy counting and repacking crates with empty bottles of
beer. While the majority of the military men were counting and repacking the
empty cases of beer, some were monitoring closely.’ It added pieces of a tent
had been hung over a perimeter fence to prevent people outside seeing what was
going on.
The Times reported that alcoholic beverages had
always been available at Mgenule during the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown
which started in March 2020.
It added, ‘However, the allegations are to the effect
that the liquor which was being sold did not belong to the army, but one of the
senior officers based at the army wing in Matsapha Airport.’
It said the liquor was allegedly smuggled from neighbouring
South Africa, through an informal border crossing.
In a separate
report, the Times said an army vehicle was
alleged used to transport the stock to this facility.
It added there had been reports that a senior soldier was
among four people detained last month for smuggling alcohol into Swaziland
using an army vehicle. ‘We are told that a group of Military Police helped
apprehend some of their own, but it is disappointing to learn that the culprits
were released without the sort of punishment that warrants the crime,’ the
report said.
The Umbutfo eSwatini Defence Force (UEDF), the formal
name for the Swazi Army, is investigating.
The ban on alcohol in Swaziland has been controversial
and many jobs and businesses have been put a risk as a result.
The alcohol industry is thought to inject
more than E400 million (US$24 million) into the
economy annually and provide more than 14,000 jobs.
Separately, on Thursday (8 October 2020) Prime
Minister Ambrose Dlamini told a meeting of media editors that
the alcohol ban had been extended indefinitely. He said the Government would
continue to review reports from health experts before a decision on removing
the ban was made.
See also
Top Royal presses Swaziland Govt to send riot police, army into homes to confiscate alcohol https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/07/top-royal-presses-swaziland-govt-to.html
Swaziland bans alcohol production and sales, threatens media as coronavirus lockdown extended https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/04/swaziland-bans-alcohol-production-and.html
Swaziland authorities ban march to protest ban on alcohol during coronavirus crisis https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/09/swaziland-authorities-ban-march-to.html
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