‘POLICE STEAL ILLEGAL DRUGS TO SELL’

Swaziland police officers have been accused of stealing illegal drugs from residents and selling them.

People in Mahlangatsha accuse armed police of forcefully taking away the marijuana (known locally as dagga) that they had illegally farmed.

The Swazi Observer newspaper reported on Thursday (8 June 2017), ‘The farmers who said they were aware that they were breaking the law had no problem with the long arm of the law bringing them to order however they were unhappy with the police illegally taking their illegal drug for their own benefit.’

Police are expected to burn illegal drugs they seize, instead residents say they sell them.  

One farmer was reported by the newspaper saying, ‘They make deals outside the country then come to our homes, armed with government guns, bought with our tax and harass us.’

Swazi Police said they would investigate.

See also

SWAZI POLICE CORRUPTION PROBE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/06/swazi-police-corruption-probe.html

SWAZI POLICE ‘TORTURE’ INQUIRY

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/05/swazi-police-torture-inquiry.html

POLICE ‘BRUTALLY ASSUALT’ WORKERS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/09/police-brutally-assualt-workers.html

SWAZI MOVE TO LEGALIZE CANNABIS

Swaziland lawmakers are to investigate legalising the use of cannabis as a way of boosting the kingdom’s ailing economy.

They believe the small landlocked kingdom with a population of about 1.3 million people could make E23.4 billion (US$1.63 billion) in a year. This would be 26 times more than the value of sugar, Swaziland’s major crop. They believe the gross domestic product of the kingdom could triple. 

A campaign has been running in Swaziland for some time to legalise cannabis (also known as marijuana and dagga). The economy of the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, is always in the doldrums. The King lives a lavish lifestyle with at least 13 palaces, fleets of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars and a private jet. He is soon to take delivery of another jet. Meanwhile, seven in ten of his subjects live in abject poverty with incomes less than US$2 per day.

The Swazi House of Assembly was told on Friday (31 March 2017) that various products could be made from the cannabis plant, including carpets and army uniforms and it could treat diseases like tuberculosis, cancer and HIV.

The House appointed a five-member committee to explore the possibility further.