MBABANE: Sibongile Mazibuko, the President of Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) has condemned the decision by Acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku not to take strong action and discipline police officers who violated COVID-19 regulations by selling alcohol at the police mess in Mbabane.
As reported by the Times of eSwatini, police officers at the Police Mess in Mbabane were nabbed selling alcohol at the time when the country had banned selling of same to mitigate the spread of the virus.
Speaking during an interview with this Swaziland News, the President of NNLC said when the Acting Prime Minister announced the regulations, the police as the law enforcement agency were expected to abide and respect the regulations..
“The first people to implement orders should be the police and they ought to demonstrate the law, after all charity begins at home.The selling of alcohol was banned and it is really surprising that the very people who are supposed to be custodians and law enforcers break the law with no remorse\" said the NNLC President
When reached for comments, Thami Hlatjwako, the Secretary General of Swaziland National Liquor Association (SNLA) said the police canteen no longer operates as per the initial objective which is selling to the group of police officers not the public.
"The police canteens overstock liquor since they buy at low costs, that creates unfair competition and that’s where the problem begins. This is quite clear that they view themselves as competitors with other businesses which are licensed for selling liquor. We had no idea about the selling of the liquor at the police canteen as we were trying to engage with government on a way forward since the selling of alcohol was banned", he said.
Mbabane Police Headquarters.