MBABANE:Major General Collen Lasco, the Head of the Royal Close Protection Unit has summoned King’s bodyguards to an urgent meeting to be held at Nkoyoyo on Monday.
This comes after this Swaziland News exposed how Lasco ordered soldiers to harass former Army Commander Lieutenant General Jeffery Sipho Shabalala.
The former Army Commander was subsequently denied entry at Mankayane Sports Ground despite carrying an invitation card to the King’s Birthday.
The soldiers who alerted this publication about the meeting on Saturday afternoon alleged that, Major General Collen Lasco wants to convince them to deny that,the order was issued by him should the King demands answers.
“It’s possible that he wants all of us who were on duty during the King’s Birthday to either convince us to either deny that he issued the order should the King demand answers, or he wants to grab our cellphones to investigate who is talking to you manje loko akayuze akutfole.Asiyitsandzi lentfo layenta lo-Shabalala. Tsine sayiva iNkhosi ikhuluma kahle nga-Shabalala itsi loku lokwamehlela kungehlela noma nguyiphi indvodza, sonkhe siyaganwa, naye lo-Losco weva, beyiticocela nje Inkhosi.Kweva-ke loku, manje nyalo sebamhluphela kutsi angacale nje abonakale lakuneNkhosi khona, they are afraid the King might remember him when making appointments. They lied that the King doesn’t want to see him, listen Dlamini, we stay with the King we know he long forgave Shabalala. There are actually four(4) top soldiers who are fighting Shabalala and this include Lasco, Mashikilisane,Mngometulu, Sikhondze from the Intelligence Unit. Kutsi wabadlelani lomuntfu lomdzala ngoba already sebamhluphile asati”,said one of the King’s bodyguards who confirmed the meeting.
Efforts to reach Major General Collen Lasco proved unsuccessful at the time of compiling this report.
On another note,after being harassed for over ten(10) minutes at the entrance of the Mankayane Sports Ground during the King’s Birthday, Lieutenant Shabalala left after uttering these words;
“Ngiyabati labalwa nami(meaning: I know those who are fighting me)”.
Reached for comments on Saturday evening,King’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane said, he was not sure why Shabalala was blocked from entering the Mankayane Sports Ground on Friday during the King’s Birthday.
“The military operates through orders.In this case I do not know what the order was.Only those who carried it out know it.It would therefore be difficult for me to say what allegedly happened to the former Army Commander was right or wrong because,as expected I don't know what the order was.What is not difficult to note is that the institution that issued the invitation card to Mr Shabalala and the one that controlled entrance to the Birthday Arena are two different entities.It is very likely that these two institutions appreciate Mr Shabalala differently”, said the King’s Spokesperson.
Major General Collen Lasco.