Swaziland police hitch-hike to crime scenes because of vehicle shortages

Police across Swaziland (eSwatini) have to hitch rides from civilians to get to crime scenes or perform other duties because the kingdom is broke and cannot pay for fuel or repairs to vehicles.

Swazi Police spokesperson Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said ‘a majority’ of police stations across the kingdom were affected by the shortage.

The situation is not new as there have been similar reports over the past two years.

Vilakati was responding to a newspaper report that there was only one vehicle available to police in Mankayane and surrounding areas and ‘police officers are reportedly forced to walk or hitchhike to crime and accident scenes because government has challenges with fuel or vehicle repairs’. 

The only vehicle available was shared among the General Patrol, Crime Investigation Department (CID) and the Traffic Department. Traffic officers were reportedly using their personal vehicles to mount roadblocks.

The Times of eSwatini reported, according to a source, ‘There had been three cases of armed robberies where police were contacted but could not make it on time due to the fact that there was a shortage of motor vehicles.’ This gave the robbers ample time to leave the crime scene before the police could apprehend them.  

Vilakati said, ‘The situation has become even worse as it has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic to a point that we couldn’t service even the few cars that we have and on top of that the issue of fuel shortage also contributed dearly.’

The problem is not a new one. In July 2019 it was reported police at Ngudzeni had been without vehicles for a year. Officers were forced to either walk to crime scenes or to wait for a day or so in order to get the one vehicle that was allocated to the nearby Dumako Police Post.

Vilakati said at the time the police force faced challenges which she attributed to the ‘government’s obtaining economic crisis’.

 In August 2018 it was reported police in the Siteki area were forced to walk or hitch-hike to crime and accident scenes because the government had not paid for fuel or vehicle repairs. Traffic officers used their personal vehicles to mount road blocks.

In May 2018 it was reported that Swaziland was so short of resources that police were unable to secure voter registration centres in the runup to national elections and do their routine work at the same time. Police officers were said to have been left stranded at registration centres in the evenings because there were no vehicles available to take them home.

Police were unable to respond when a five-year-old was abducted and raped because they were on election duty, according to the Swazi Observer at the time. It said a toddler was with her mother at Mahlalini, an area in the outskirts of Nhlangano, when a man grabbed her and disappeared into a thicket where he raped her.

See also

Police forced to hitch-hike to crime and accident scenes as government-induced financial crisis bites

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/police-forced-to-hitch-hike-to-crime.html

 

Media target Swazi Police shortages

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/media-target-swazi-police-shortages.html

 

Police in Swaziland walk to crime scenes because Govt. can’t afford to buy cars

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/07/police-in-swaziland-walk-to-crime.html

Police Turn Swaziland City Into ‘Warzone’ as National Strike Enters Second Day

Police in Swaziland turned the city of Manzini into a ‘battlefield’ and a ‘warzone’ on the second day of the national strike in the kingdom.

The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, the kingdom’s absolute monarch, said the bus rank in Swaziland’s major commercial city was ‘turned into a warzone as stun grenades, teargas, teasers and rubber bullets became the order of the day’.

It happened on Wednesday (19 September 2019) as workers across Swaziland continued their protests against poor pay and other working conditions. They are on a three-day stoppage coordinated by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA). 

The Observer, one of only two daily newspapers in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the King) where the media are heavily censored, said the bus rank was a ‘serious battlefield’ for more than four hours as armed police and other state forces and workers ‘engaged in fierce confrontation’.

The Times of Swaziland called it an ‘open battlefield.’

The Observer reported, ‘The situation got out of control when public transport drivers and conductors joined the protesting workers and clashed with the police.’

The Observer reported, ‘The town was totally shut down as shops were closed and street vendors halted business. Some terrified and frightened commuters sought refuge in offices and shops as the “war” between the police, bus conductors and workers took centre stage, unabated.’

The Times of Swaziland reported police threw explosive grenades and fired tear gas canisters at the protestors.

The Observer reported police threatened ‘everybody who was wearing a red T-shirt’. People in Swaziland wear red to show their support for trade unions. It reported, ‘TUCOSWA quickly understood this strategy and changed their red T-shirts and wore other clothes.’

It added, ‘Efforts by the police to chase away onlookers proved futile as the public made it clear that they are not going anywhere until the strike is over and the kombis [buses] were back at the bus rank.

The Observer reported, ‘As early as 7 am, police officers and warders were sweeping the streets of Manzini, insulting and threatening to beat up anyone who was wearing a red T-shirt.

‘This prompted some TUCOSWA members to change their red colours and wear different T-shirts. The police went on to block any worker who tried to make an entrance to Somhlolo Park where members were supposed to join other workers.’

It added, ‘Police tried firing stun grenades and teargas at the protesting workers who were marching towards the Manzini bus rank. In that moment, a police officer threw a stun grenade at kombi conductors who had mingled with protesting workers.

‘This sparked trouble for the police as conductors made it clear that they will not watch while their customers were being abused by the police. The public transport operators said since the roads were blocked, they could not carry out business anymore. All hell broke loose when conductors threw stones at the police officers and burnt tyres on the road.’

Police attacked members of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) at their union headquarters in Manzini. The Observer reported TUCOSWA Secretary General Mduduzi Gina, ‘said they received reports that some of the police officers stormed the SNAT Centre and ordered the teachers out of the premises but they told the police that they were in a meeting as the place was a private property, to which the police retaliated by throwing grenades at them inside the premises.’

The newspaper reported him saying, ‘While the teachers were running away for cover, they were assaulted by the police and some are reportedly missing.’

It added, ‘Gina said according to the report they received, one of the injured teachers was apprehended while trying to get medical attention from the paramedics who were at the scene when the attack happened.’

The Times of Swaziland reported, ‘The protesting workers were stuck at SNAT Centre as the armed police surrounded the building and threw stun grenades, while firing tear gas canisters at anyone leaving the venue.’

Protests have been taking place in major towns and cities, including Mbabane, Manzini, Nhlangano and Siteki.

In Nhlangano, several union leaders were detained by the police, including SNAT Secretary General Sikelela Dlamini. The Observer reported, ‘There was pandemonium earlier in the morning when protesters clashed with the police at Zheng Young textile factory. Teargas was fired to disperse the strong crowd of workers. In town, police prevented people from walking in groups.’

The Observer reported that in Siteki, ‘people wearing red shirts had difficulty getting into town as uncompromising police officers prevented them from stepping foot into town. Also, people in the same T-shirts were told to immediately leave town.’

Armed police were deployed in Siteki as early as 8 am and union leaders who were known to the police were barred from entering the small town.

The Observer added, ‘Meanwhile, members of the public were also barred from entering the Siteki Park as it was used as a meeting point by protesters.’ Most schools in Siteki remained closed.

Swaziland holds its national election on Friday (21 September 2018). Political parties are banned from taking part. People are only allowed to elect 59 members of the House of Assembly; the King appoints a further 10. No members of the 30-strong Swazi Senate are elected by the people. The King chooses the Prime Minister and Cabinet members. He also chooses top civil servants and judges.

Burning tyres at Manzini bus rank

See also

Widespread Condemnation of Swaziland Police Brutal Attacks on Workers

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/09/widespread-condemnation-of-swaziland.html

Vicious Attack by Swaziland Police on Defenceless Workers Captured on Video

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/09/vicious-attack-by-swaziland-police-on.html

 

Swaziland Police Fire Gunshots During Textiles Dispute, Third Attack on Workers in a Week

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/09/swaziland-police-fire-gunshots-during.html