NOKWANE: King Mswati never issued any order to shoot and kill civilians during the political unrest, newly appointed Army Commander Mashikilisane Hulumende Fakudze has disclosed.
Speaking during the Army Day on Friday, the Army Commander said these were operational matters that had nothing to do with the King.
“These were operational matters, any request by the police for us to intervene goes through the department and had nothing to do with the King. When the police ask for assistance, we intervene”, said the newly appointed Army Commander.
But the Army Commander did not disclose who exercised the powers of the King as the Commander-in Chief of the military and unleashed the soldiers on civilians.
A source told this publication that the sentiments of the Army Commander were systematically uttered to shift the blame to Jeffery Shabalala who was the Commander at the time when the civilians were killed.
”They now wants to shift the blame to the former Army Commander and once Shabalala died, they think Mswati will be safe from the alleged crimes against humanity possible charges”, said the sources.
Worth-noting, Jeffery Shabalala, the then Army Commander who was heading the Umbutfo Eswatini Defense Force(UEDF) during the political unrest revealed in an electronic evidence that Mswati issued an order to shoot and kill civilians.
King Mswati, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army who rules eSwatini as an absolute Monarch was reported to the International Criminal Court(ICC) for allegedly killing civilians merely for demanding democratic reforms.
King Mswati.