By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE: First National Bank(FNB) accounts belonging to one Mezie C Mojele are a subject of a high level investigation by the police in the midst of the ongoing petrol bombings in the country.

This is contained in a highly confidential investigation file at the Police Headquarters and or a correspondence between the office of the Head of Criminal Investigation Department(CID) and the State Intelligence Unit.

The Intelligence Department is a unit within the police service whose primary objective is to, among others, gather, evaluate information and disseminate intelligence that pertains to State security, however, the law enforcement agency has been manipulated by King Mswati to target and silence those calling for democratic reforms.

An independent investigation by this Swaziland News uncovered that on Wednesday(06 April 2022) at or near the Matsapha Police College, Assistant Commissioner Josefa Bhembe, the then Head of Crime Intelligence, Assistant Commissioner Bizzah Dlamini the then Criminal Investigation second officer-in-charge met a team of police detectives to deliberate on, among other findings, an intelligence report and how to deal with the ongoing petrol bombings.

It has been disclosed that Bhembe and Dlamini being retired highly experienced investigators were recalled by King Mswati after it transpired that senior criminal investigator Clement Sihlongonyane had failed to apprehend the perpetrators of the bombings.

The chain of Command as per the information in our possession suggests that Senior Superintendent Sihlongonyane who had been vigorously working towards getting the attention of the King saying he took an oath to protect their Majesties, will now report to senior cops Bizzah Dlamini and Bhembe.

“Sihlongonyane is not happy about the return of Bizzah and Bhembe, even during the meeting we had yesterday(Wednesday)at the Police College, he came late and showed no interest in the discussions”, said one of the top cops who was part of the meeting at the police College.

A questionnaire was sent to Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, the Police Spokesperson, however, she had not responded at the time of compiling this report.

Information in our possession further suggests that during the discussions of the intelligence reports at the Police College on Wednesday, Bonginkosi “IB” Dlamini, the Convenor of the United Eswatini Diaspora(UED) was identified as the one heading and training members of the Swaziland International Solidarity Forces(SISF).

Reached for comments, Bongnkosi ‘IB’ Dlamini, the Convenor of the United Eswatini Diaspora said the police were just fishing by linking him to the Solidarity Forces.

“You will recall that at some point, the name of one Vusi Shongwe was linked to the Solidarity Forces and now it’s me. Actually, after failing to investigate and apprehend the Solidarity Forces, they decided to embark on fishing and identify any name, in my case, they took what was re-written by the Observer. But whether they link me or not, I maintain that I don’t know the Solidarity Forces but remain in full support of what they are doing. We won’t stop to call for liberation just because they call us names,” he said.

An independent investigation by this Swaziland News further uncovered that subsequent to the meeting that was held at the Police College, on Thursday morning , top criminal investigators within the Crime Intelligence Unit met at the Manzini Regional Headquarters to deliberate on, among others, preliminary findings of an investigation into the high profile cases reported since the unrest started.

A preliminary investigation is an investigation that is conducted in the early stages of a full investigation, it seeks to collects supporting evidence substantiating that a crime has occurred and it’s findings recommend strategies that could be used during the process of the full investigation.

But evidence in our possession suggests that as part of the deliberations and or as per the fundings of the preliminary investigation, the Crime Intelligence officers allegedly discussed details of a ballistic report with information of a firearm that was consistently used during the ongoing attacks.

A ballistic report comes subsequent to a forensic investigation that involves the examination of evidence from firearms and or guns that may have been used when a suspect committed a crime. 

Other details of the investigation as contained in the police file suggest that detectives have been collecting  microscopic marks and cartridge cases from the crime scenes.

A criminal investigator within the Police Service who was asked by this publication to analyze the purpose and importance of the ballistic report in the whole investigation said it seeks to link the suspect with the crime scene.

“This means anyone who might be found with the gun linking the forensic evidence as per the ballistic report will automatically be a suspect and be arrested”, said the police officer within the Criminal Investigation Department(CID).

When asked to share a legal opinion on how forensic evidence link with the accused, highly regarded human rights lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi said samples are normally collected from the crime scenes for investigation purposes.

“Those samples are then examined by an expert and that expert is then expected to testify in court on how the evidence linked with the accused,”said the human rights lawyer.

The investigation file within the Police Service further contained two MTN Mobile Money numbers belonging to one Zanele Matfosi and Fanelo Mamba, their Mobile Money transactions and details of outgoing and incoming calls.

Other details contained in the crime intelligence documents cannot be revealed for now as doing so might jeopardize our investigation and compromise the safety of our sources.