MBABANE: Prince Sicalo Nkopolo has hired South African lawyers, Mathopo Attorneys, he is demanding that Swaziland News editor Zweli Martin Dlamini should retract the “guns smuggling story”.
This comes after this publication exposed how the Prince secretly left the country through the Oshoek border to meet other State State security agents who were allegedly assigned to purchase guns to shoot and kill protesting civilians in the midst of the political unrest.
Evidence in our possession suggest that while the Prince secretly left through the Oshoek border on 22nd November 2021, Superintendent Clement Sihlongonyane who was part of the guns smuggling team left through King Mswati International airport on Sunday, 21st November 2021.
“It is our instruction that on 23rd November 2021, you published in the Swaziland News in electronic platforms as well as widely circulating through Facebook and Twitter accounts, an article which contained statements that are false and defamatory against our client. The article has since been widely transmitted and/or shared on other social media platforms, including but not limited to Twitter and Facebook”, read the letter from Prince Sicalo’s Attorneys sent to the editor of this publication.
The Prince has given the editor not later than Sunday, 28th November 2021 to issue an apology or be taken to the High Court.
On another note, Swaziland News editor Zweli Martin Dlamini when reacting to the latest developments said he would not publish any retraction regarding that article which he said was true.
“We publish articles here based on substantive evidence, like his father King Mswati, Prince Sicalo is free to take us to court and we will argue our case there. For now, we will hand over this letter to our legal team and instruct them to formally respond and inform the Prince that he will not get any apology here over that article because we have substantive evidence. Our lawyers will handle this while we continue doing our job as journalists”, said the editor.
Prince Sicalo