This comes amid reports suggesting that soldiers were deployed to stage roadblocks and further shoot civilians during protests.

But in a public statement sent to this Swaziland News by the office of the Army Spokesperson, Lieutenant Khumalo denied that soldiers were shooting civilians.

Khumalo further warned those who abused social media by posting pictures of soldiers and accuse them of shooting civilians.

“It has come to the  attention of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence  Force  that certain miscreant individuals  are  taking  advantage of  the current  situation by misusing social media platforms to  pepertrate violence against some members of the  (UEDF) ,  because of personal differences.This has been observed in  various occassions that have  been on going.There is a tendency of spreading  untrue identification of the soldiers  on the duration of a particular  operation  for reason  known to them.Pictures of our members are posted,untruthfully associated and alligned  with serious  accusations among  others  of shooting incidents while they were   not  part of that  particular days of operation,” she said.

The Army Spokesperson warned Swazis about people who masqueraded as soldiers deployed by the Defense Force on particular operations.

“On another note, it is equally imperative and noted with great concernment also to caution emaSwati on those who masquerade as soldiers and deployed by the UEDF on particular operations in full gazetted army gear,” reads the statement in part released by the Army PRO.

Reached for comments, human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, the Chairperson of the pro-democracy MultiStakeholder Forum(MSF) wondered how the army could claim its not soldiers who shot civilians when in fact soldiers were deployed to take over the work of the police.

“Soldiers are on the streets, they have taken over the work of the police. Even at the High Court, there were soldiers, so they cannot claim it’s not soldiers who kill civilians because soldiers are the streets,” said the MSF Chairperson.