MBABANE:Sergeant Dumsile Khumalo, the Secretary General of the Royal Eswatini Police Staff Association(REPOSA) has confirmed that, junior police officers will soon march to Parliament to deliver a petition specifically to Senator Isaac Magagula,the former National Commissioner of Police.
Speaking to this Swaziland News on Monday, Sergeant Khumalo said, Senator Magagula “has all the answers as to what happened to their money that was Gazzetted by Government” but never reached their pockets.
“It’s true, we will soon march to Parliament to deliver a petition specifically to Senator Isaac Magagula, the former National Commissioner of Police. We could have chosen to visit him at home but we decided to deliver the petition personally to him at his workplace”, said the REPOSA Secretary General.
Senator Isaac Magagula,the former National Commissioner of Police declined to comment.
On another note, Sergeant Khumalo further said, they have realized that, even the “Anti Corruption Commission(ACC) is staggering in investigating the circumstances surrounding the issue of their salary increment” under Phase two(2) hence their decision to conduct their own investigation while engaging in the protests.
“We will demand a report from the former National Commissioner because he was central in this matter”, she said.
Junior police officers went on a rampage on Saturday in their ongoing demand for a salary increment, National Commissioner Vusi Masango subsequently deployed other cops armed with guns to intimidate the officers who were holding a meeting at SNAT Centre Manzini.
The deployed cops were compiling names including “force numbers” of all the police officers who attended the meeting.
But the matter is escalating in the corridors of power after this publication reported that, National Commissioner of Police Vusi Manoma Masango and the Police Executive Command held a meeting plotting to report Deputy Speaker Madala Mhlanga, Mayiwane Member of Parliament(MP) Sicelo ‘KhungaNkhosi’ Dlamini and Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo to the King for amplifying the voices of the junior police officers.
MP Marwick Khumalo, Madala Mhlanga from Mhlangatane supported a motion that was moved by the Mayiwane MP seeking to increase salaries for junior police and Correctional Services officers, the motion was further supported by the entire House.
Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, the eSwatini Police Spokesperson declined to comment about the matter.
But King’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane when responding to this Swaziland News on Sunday evening wondered what those who “are allegedly plotting to report the MPs to the King seek to achieve as the King is aware and following what is happening in Parliament”.
Simelane then clarified and maintained that,his Office does not have a record of a plot by the Police Executive Command to report the MPs to the King adding that, should it happen, it would be the first of its kind.
“We have no record of the Police Executive Command concerns and effort to report some Parliamentarians to the King. Our experience is that the King follows Parliamentary debates remotely and doesn't miss anything.It would therefore be strange for anyone to seek to report to the King what members said in Parliament. We are not aware of any similar case before, it would be a test case if it happens”, said the King’s Spokesperson.
But apart from that, Supreme Court Judges made comments regarding this matter in an open court, Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala and Judge Phesheya Dlamini wondered “why the junior police officers were being persecuted” for demanding a salary increment.
Senator Isaac Magagula, the then National Commissioner of Police allegedly created about twenty(20) Deputy, Senior Deputy and Assistant National Commissioners positions with an alleged intention to loot the millions that was meant to benefit even junior police officers.
Magagula and the Police Executive Command, first mislead the King that they were benchmarking with the Southern African Development Community(SADC) when allegedly looting the millions meant to increase salaries for both junior and senior police officers under Phase one(1) and two(2).
As a result, the money that was budgeted for the junior officers salary increment was ‘looted’ by the Executive Command including the current National Commissioner Vusi Manoma Masango triggering tension as the standard of living for junior police officers “is now very low”.
Senator Isaac Magagula, the former National Commissioner of Police.