MBABANE:Siyabonga Dlamini, a suspended State Police Intelligence Officer is now working as Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini’s spy, monitoring Cabinet Ministers particularly those suspected to be leaking information to this journalist.
But an investigation conducted by this publication uncovered that, Dlamini was suspended as a State Intelligence spy for incompetence and failure to handle State information.
Dlamini was previously working with Prince Vumile, the then Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the Royal Science and Technology Park(RSTP) and Defense and State Security Principal Secretary(PS) Prince Sicalo in monitoring State Departments and by extension, the pro-democracy movement through systems that include RSTP email systems and the gathering of information through Eswatini MTN and Swazi Mobile.
But Siyabonga Dlamini is alleged to have acted recklessly when assigned to monitor the activities of the Police Union. He was allegedly trained to pretend as if he was an active member of the Police Union but after realizing that, junior cops were suspecting that he was spying them, having known him as a State Intelligence Officer, decided to leak some information about the Police Executive Command in an attempt to gain trust of the junior police officers.
Sources within the Police Union told this publication that, ‘Siya’ once tried to convince them to sign membership forms of the People’s United Democratic Movement(PUDEMO) as he was desperately seeking to compile a report suggesting that, the Police Union was influenced by PUDEMO.
“Savele sambuka nje satsi utama kwentani ye-Siya?”said a senior Executive member of the Royal Eswatini Police Staff Association(REPOSA).
But Dlamini also tried to infiltrate PUDEMO and again, he would leak State information in an attempt to gain trust and even though, he was trained to do that sometimes, he was subsequently suspended for overstepping boundaries by leaking critical State information to the progressives in an attempt to gain the trust of those challenging the State by portraying himself as a pro-democracy cop.
But about two(2) weeks ago, Siyabonga ‘Siya’ Dlamini embarrassed the Prime Minister, he allegedly gave Russell Dlamini false intelligence information suggesting that, he had found the Cabinet Minister leaking information to this journalist and the PM acting on the ‘strength’ of that information, told Cabinet Ministers that, he will name the Minister the following week.
It later transpired that, the spy gave the PM false hopes as Dlamini claimed to have ‘bugged’ this journalist’s cellphone and was able to see or listen to all the communication with his Cabinet sources, the Prime Minister failed to reveal the Minister as his spy did not produce evidence.
Eswatini currently does not have a security system that allows the State to spy WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Signal and other communications applications hosted in foreign countries but, the “State Intelligence unit is able to download call records including text not Whatsap messages”.
But the mobile companies does have a system that allows the recording of normal calls, the system also enables the tracing of location of the targeted user through the network infrastructure.
But with most users communicating through Whatsap calls and other communication platforms, the State Intelligence currently struggles to monitor private communication.
As a result, State police officers are forced to physically grab cellphones from suspects and then download WhatsApp messages, Sergeant Dumsile Khumalo’s cellphone was grabbed as the police wanted to download her WhatsApp messages amid tension between junior and senior police officers.
It has been disclosed that ‘Siya’ Dlamini allegedly lied to the PM that, he “uses a system that allows the spying of WhatsApp messages” and worth-noting, the Prime Minister’s spy has been trying to obtain information from this journalist for sometime particularly, the identity of Cabinet sources. He would consistently initiate communication on Whatsap whenever a disagreement erupts in Cabinet about Swaziland News articles and try to investigate who leaked the information.
“Wena ucabanise PM na-Betram on Thursday mane nginebantfu ngabe ngiyashaya”, reads a the message in part sent by the Prime Minister’s spy to this journalist, Dlamini was trying to find out if this journalist was communicating with then Principal Secretary(PS) in the Prime Minister’s Office Betram Steward.
This was after the Prime Minister suspected and accused Steward of leaking information to the Swaziland News but, the accusations against Steward were not supported by evidence.
Acting Government Spokesperson Thabile Mdluli declined to comment about the matter.
On another note, the PM is alleged to have used false intelligence information obtained from Siyabonga Dlamini to report Information Minister Savannah Maziya and other Ministers to Liqoqo, the King’s Advisory Council.
It is alleged that, the PM allegedly refused to listen even when warned by the National Commissioner Vusi Masango and other Intelligence Officers not to associate himself with Siya Dlamini who was suspended as a State Intelligence spy.
This is not the first time Prime Minister Russell Dlamini associates himself with questionable spies, as exposed by this publication, he recently engaged Zimbabwean fugitives as his own Intelligence spies and the fugitives disappeared with over R2million public funds.
But Siyabonga Dlamini is allegedly receiving thirty-thousand Rands(R30,000.00) monthly from the Prime Minister as payment for allegedly monitoring the Cabinet Ministers.
Prime Minister’s spy Siyabonga Dlamini.