ARMY CONFIRMS SHOOT-TO-KILL POLICY

The Army in Swaziland will shoot-to-kill suspected rustlers, it has confirmed.

A newspaper in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch said the army had ‘declared war’.

There has been much evidence in past years that the Army – officially known as the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF) – the police and game rangers have shoot-to-kill policies against civilians.

The Swazi Observer reported that in the latest move Captain Thembumusa Nsibandze of USDF told a meeting that included representatives of the Swazi Army, the kingdom’s police force and their Mozambican counterparts at Lomahasha on Tuesday (27 March 2018) a spate of cattle rustling incidents had gone too far and ‘they will now be unapologetic as they wipe out the syndicate’. 

The newspaper added, ‘Nsibandze clarified that they were not declaring war with any nation, but were declaring war with criminals, regardless of their nationality.’

It went on, ‘He said as an armed force, they can only use their guns to bring these criminal activities to an end. “If the crime syndicate show no intention of stopping their unlawful activity, we will be forced to shoot-to-kill.”’

Alleged rustlers and poachers in Swaziland have been the target of shoot-to-kill policies for years. 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.   

It is not only alleged poachers and rustlers who are targeted. In November 2015 soldiers at border between Swaziland and South Africa, near Mankayane ambushed a truck and riddled it with bullets, killing the occupant, because it would not stop when requested. The dead man ‘had his skull and chest split open’, according to a report in the Times of Swaziland at the time.

 

In October 2015, soldiers put 16 bullets into a man at Gege and killed him because he would not stop his car at a road check. The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported at the time that the soldiers, ‘found themselves with no option but to open fire when a Toyota Tazz bearing foreign registration numbers was smuggled into the kingdom with the occupants failing to stop when ordered to do so’.

It added, ‘A total of 16 bullet wounds were found on the deceased’s body. This incident came less than two weeks or so after soldiers also gunned down another suspected car smuggler near Mshololo not far from Zombodze Emuva. 

In July 2015, it was reported by Titus Thwala a member of the Swazi parliament that Swaziland soldiers beat up old ladies so badly they had to be taken to their homes in wheelbarrows. They were among the local residents who were regularly beaten by soldiers at informal crossing points between Swaziland and South Africa.

Soldiers have been out of control in the kingdom for a very long time. In January 2010 they were warned by the Swaziland Human Rights and Public Administration Commission that their attacks on civilians amounted to a ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy and this was unconstitutional.

In April 2013, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) condemned Swaziland police and state security forces for their ‘increasingly violent and abusive behaviour’ that is leading to the ‘militarization’ of the kingdom.

In a report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) meeting in The Gambia, OSISA said, ‘There are also reliable reports of a general militarization of the country through the deployment of the Swazi army, police and correctional services to clamp down on any peaceful protest action by labour or civil society organisations ahead of the country’s undemocratic elections.’

See also

SWAZILAND ‘BECOMING MILITARY STATE’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/04/swaziland-becoming-military-state.html

ARMY SHOOT 16 BULLETS INTO ‘SMUGGLER’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/army-shoot-16-bullets-into-smuggler.html

 

SWAZI SOLDIERS AMBUSH AND KILL MAN

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/swazi-soldiers-ambush-and-kill-man.html

SWAZI SOLDIERS AMBUSH AND KILL MAN

Soldiers in Swaziland ambushed a truck and riddled it with bullets, killing the occupant, because it would not stop when requested.

The dead man ‘had his skull and chest split open’, according to a local media report.

This was one of a long line of army killings which have prompted accusations that King Mswati III, the absolute monarch in Swaziland, runs a military state.

The latest incident on Friday (6 November 2015) happened on the border between Swaziland and South Africa, near Mankayane.

According to the Times Sunday newspaper in Swaziland soldiers spotted a white South African registered truck ‘being smuggled through a cut fence’ in the borderline at Dwalile area, outside Mankayane.

The newspaper reported, ‘The soldiers are said to have first signalled for the truck to stop but the driver ignored their instructions, prompting them to open fire.

‘The truck did not stop and the army personnel alerted their colleagues from another base to be on the lookout for a white truck that was approaching their direction.

‘Upon receiving the message, the soldiers are said to have waited in ambush for the truck.

‘When they also failed to force the driver to stop, the army personnel sprayed the truck with bullets, some of which are said to have blasted his skull, splitting it open in the process.

‘Other bullets are said to have landed in different areas in the body, including the feet and also leaving another gash wound in the man’s chest.

‘The man died on the spot, possibly from the serious nature of the injuries sustained.’

In October 2015, soldiers put 16 bullets into a man and killed him because he would not stop his car at a road check. The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported that the soldiers, ‘found themselves with no option but to open fire when a Toyota Tazz bearing foreign registration numbers was smuggled into the kingdom with the occupants failing to stop when ordered to do so’.

It added, ‘A total of 16 bullet wounds were found on the deceased’s body which the army riddled through at him as he tried to escape.’

The shooting occurred at Gege. There were two occupants in the vehicle believed to have been stolen from around Piet-Retief. The driver was killed on the spot while his colleague who also got shot managed to flee with several bullet wounds, according to the Observer. 

This incident came less than two weeks or so after soldiers also gunned down another suspected car smuggler near Mshololo not far from Zombodze Emuva. 

In July 2015 it was reported by Titus Thwala a member of the Swazi parliament that Swaziland soldiers beat up old ladies so badly they had to be taken to their homes in wheelbarrows. They were among the local residents who were regularly beaten by soldiers at informal crossing points between Swaziland and South Africa.

Soldiers have been out of control in the kingdom for a very long time. In January 2010 they were warned by the Swaziland Human Rights and Public Administration Commission that their attacks on civilians amounted to a ‘shoot to kill’ policy and this was unconstitutional.

In April 2013, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) condemned Swaziland police and state security forces for their ‘increasingly violent and abusive behaviour’ that is leading to the ‘militarization’ of the kingdom.

In a report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) meeting in The Gambia, OSISA said, ‘There are also reliable reports of a general militarization of the country through the deployment of the Swazi army, police and correctional services to clamp down on any peaceful protest action by labour or civil society organisations ahead of the country’s undemocratic elections.’

See also

SWAZILAND ‘BECOMING MILITARY STATE’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/04/swaziland-becoming-military-state.html

ARMY SHOOT 16 BULLETS INTO ‘SMUGGLER’

Soldiers in Swaziland put 16 bullets into a man and killed him because he would not stop his car at a road check.

This was the latest in a long line of incidents that show the kingdom’s army is out of control and also enforces a shoot-first-ask-questions-later policy.

The army in Swaziland is known as the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF) and has King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, as its chief.

The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported on Friday (16 October 2015) that the soldiers, ‘found themselves with no option but to open fire when a Toyota Tazz bearing foreign registration numbers was smuggled into the kingdom with the occupants failing to stop when ordered to do so’.

It added, ‘A total of 16 bullet wounds were found on the deceased’s body which the army riddled through at him as he tried to escape.’

The shooting occurred at Gege. There were two occupants in the vehicle believed to have been stolen from around Piet-Retief. The driver was killed on the spot while his colleague who also got shot managed to flee with several bullet wounds, according to the Observer. 

The newspaper added, ‘Army mouthpiece Madoda Mkhatshwa said the soldiers tried to stop the car but the driver ignored them even after firing warning shots.’

This incident comes less than two weeks or so after soldiers also gunned down another suspected car smuggler near Mshololo not far from Zombodze Emuva. 

In July 2015 it was reported by Titus Thwala a member of the Swazi parliament that Swaziland soldiers beat up old ladies so badly they had to be taken to their homes in wheelbarrows. They were among the local residents who were regularly beaten by soldiers at informal crossing points between Swaziland and South Africa.

This was not the first time soldiers in Swaziland have been accused of beating and torturing people. A man was reportedly beaten with guns and tortured for three hours by soldiers who accused him of showing them disrespect.

Soldiers have been out of control in the kingdom for a very long time. In January 2010 they were warned by the Swaziland Human Rights and Public Administration Commission that their attacks on civilians amounted to a ‘shoot to kill’ policy and this was unconstitutional. 

See also

SWAZI SOLDIERS TORTURE OLD LADIES

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/07/swazi-soldiers-torture-old-ladies.html

ARMY FIRE AT OPPOSITION LEADER'S HOME

Swaziland soldiers sprayed the house of the kingdom’s main opposition leader with bullets in what prodemocracy activist believe was a planned attack.

The home of Mario Masuku, President of the banned People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), at Makhosini near Nhlangano was hit by bullets fired by members of the kingdom’s army, known as the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force.

The bullets riddled the structures but members of Masuku’s family who were inside at the time were not injured. Masuku himself was not at home.

Masuku’s home is situated over 200-300 metres away from a road, but the local Swazi media say the house was reportedly hit by accident. Soldiers were said to have been chasing and firing at car smugglers.

Zakhele Mabuza, spokesperson for PUDEMO, said, ‘We don’t want to believe this was a mistake but it was something done deliberately and those who did this had a motive.’

The Army told the Times of Swaziland it had no record of the incident, but Swazi police confirmed receiving a complaint about the incident.

Masuku has been a target of the Swazi government in the past. In September 2009 he was found innocent of making statements at a rally to incite people to terrorism by the Swaziland High Court after spending 10 months in jail on remand. The court threw out the case in a matter of hours, saying there was no case to answer.

PUDEMO and all other political parties and most opposition groups are banned in Swaziland, where King Mswati III rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

See also

SWAZI STATE STAND HUMILIATED

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2009/09/swazi-state-stands-humiliated.html