By Musa Mdluli

MBABANE:Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini is allegedly behind the decision allowing the United States(US) to dump dangerous criminals in the tiny Kingdom of eSwatini.

Eswatini is an absolute Monarchy and the Prime Minister is not elected but appointed by the King from the ruling Dlamini clan, decisions impacting the country and/or emaSwati are normally made without even consulting Parliament and other State institutions.

The appointed PM is alleged to have reached a secret agreement with the US without even consulting Cabinet and as a result,there was a huge disagreement within the Executive Arm of Government on Wednesday as Ministers including the country’s Attorney General(AG) Sifiso Khumalo were blasting the Prime Minister on the Cabinet’s Whatsap group, demanding answers regarding the deportation of these criminals.

King Mswati’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane dismissed accusations suggesting that,the King was involved in this secret deal when asked by this Swaziland News,he reffered comments to Cabinet specifically, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The PM is alleged to have concluded this ‘deal’ secretly with Foreign Minister Pholile Dlamini-Shakantu and Home Affairs Minister Princess Lindiwe, the PM and the other two(2) Ministers are members of the royal family and previously colluded in alleged secret corrupt deals.

An investigation is being conducted by this publication to ascertain if money was involved or not in the process of accepting these criminals and if, the King’s Spokesperson was telling the truth when denying the Monarch’s alleged involvement. 

But on Friday afternoon as the story develops, the Prime Minister rushed to address a press conference held in the capital city-Mbabane where he clarified the matter, amid domestic and international concerns regarding the safety of emaSwati and citizens of the neighboring countries including South Africa.

The five(5) dangerous criminals were previously convicted of murder and child rape among other criminal charges and, their respective countries that include Jamaica, Vietnam, Yemen, Cuba and Laos allegedly rejected them hence the US decided to dump them in the tiny Kingdom.

The eSwatini Prime Minister told journalists during the press conference that, Government was engaging the criminals’ respective countries with an intention to repatriate them.

“We would like to confirm that, we have these five(5) criminals in the country’s prisons but we are engaging their respective countries, they will be repatriated”, said the Prime Minister who used the siSwati phrase “tivakashi teNkhosi” when referring to the dangerous criminals.

On another note, women rights organizations marched to the United States(US) Embassy Eswatini, demanding the immediate repatriation of the dangerous criminals.