MBABANE: William Tsintsibala Dlamini, the National Commissioner of Police allegedly threatened to shoot junior police officers who would attend a mass meeting at the Cathedral in Manzini on Saturday to discuss issues of salary increment.
Tension is escalating within the Royal Eswatini Police Service(REPS), junior police officers are demanding answers as to why Government is offering 3% to them and 22% to their superiors.
On Friday, Sergeant Dumsile Khumalo of the Police Staff Association allegedly sent an audio to the police WhatsApp group informing officers that their superiors were insisting in awarding them the 3% increment.
“I am from the meeting, they are insisting on the 3% increment.Batsi bona labafuna kuva ngako ngulomhlangano ngoba lomhlangano lona Commissioner akawudzingi awukho emtsetfweni such that sesidibene nema warder, sifika njani? Sitsi tsine nisho kutsini kutsi sifika njani ngoba kadze safikiswa, tsine nema warder siyintfo yinye. Ngikhuluma nje ngibashiye lapha eMalkerns mine baya emsebentini, sibopha nabo, senta ema-roadblock nabo, si-patrolla titolo nabo. Lemhlangeni kusukela ngaLesibili sinabo, nani le-document niyente nawo lama-warder. Batsi ema-warder kwasha kwacima atsetse tibhamu(meaning: They told us the Commissioner doesn’t want the meeting to take place and even asked us why we are now involving warders in our demand for a salary because warders disappeared with guns).We don’t understand why they are involving the disappearance of guns in this matter, we want our salary increment,” said Sergeant Dumsile Khumalo of the Staff Association when reporting about a meeting they had with the Police Executive Command on Friday over the matter.
Subsequent efforts to reach Sergeant Dumsile Khumalo for a comment over the ‘burning’ issue proved unsuccessful at the time of compiling this report.
The 3% increment suggests that officers who earned around ten thousand Rands(R10,000.00) would receive an increment of only three hundred Rands(R300), the money might be reduced to two hundred and fifty(R250)or less after Pay As You Earn(PAYE) deductions.
On the other hand, senior police officers who earn between forty(R40,000.00) and fifty thousand Rands(R50,000.00) would receive around Eleven Thousand(R11,000.00) with their 22% increment.
A questionnaire was sent to National Commissioner of Police William Dlamini,however, he had not responded at the time of compiling this report.
A police officer who spoke to this Swaziland News on Friday said the National Commissioner was hoping that he would send officers from the Operational Support Services Unit(OSSU) to shoot other police officers and disperse them.
“As OSSU officers we want the money as well, how can we shoot other police officers? I can advise other officers to create a Facebook Group that we can use to discuss our issues. Ngoba nyalo asikhoni lokuhlangana sikhulume, after lomhlangano wakusasa nje, kumele kwakhiwe i-Facebook Group sitongena ngema fake accounts sikhulume lendzaba, nesive sitibonele khona ka-Facebook kutsi kwentekani lapha,” said the police officer.
Police officers during a protest.