Swazi Observer

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KING IMPLORES COPS TO TACKLE CRIME HEAD-ON

By ANDILE NSIBANDE | 2022-08-06

Police officers have been implored to give the nation confidence that they will continue to protect them despite challenges brought about by insurgents.

It was the Chief Commissioner of the Police Service, His Majesty King Mswati III, who encouraged police officers to continue carrying out their national duties with zeal and great confidence even in the face of rising targeted attacks against them.

The occasion was the commemoration of Police Day, which was held at the Police Academy in Matsapha yesterday, where the king noted that the work of police officers nowadays has been increasingly under threats of violence.

Despite his observation, the king assured the police officers that the country’s leadership was fully behind them.

He gave the officers confidence that his presence, together with that of the nation during the important day was evidence that everyone was fully supportive of their work.

“We are here to give you the support so that you may know that the country is fully behind you. On the same vein let me also seize this opportunity to send out condolences to some of your families who have lost their loved ones,” he said.

His Majesty reminded the police officers that they were not trained to be scared. He said police culture required officers to be resilient and be able to deal with any form of lawlessness decisively.

Although the king recognised that police officers have been intimidated by the continued violent attacks against them, he said this should not discourage them to work in the spirit of the oath that they took to protect the country and by extension its inhabitants.

He noted that even the country’s economic prosperity depended on police work.

“It is important to recognise that fear cannot be the answer. The nation has placed their confidence in your hands. So, it is important that whenever you are called to perform important duties that you do it without fear,” he said.

The king said he was aware that these days police officers faced their work with competing demands and exposure to traumatic incidents, such as those of colleagues being shot while doing their private errands or carrying out their duties unarmed.

He encouraged them to be strong despite the circumstances.

The king pleaded with police officers not to allow intimidation by insurgents to neutralise their work. He encouraged them to soldier on and continue to assure the country’s citizens that they can still call them anytime or whenever their safety is threatened.

“The landscape where you find yourself in today has dramatically changed. You should move out in full alert in readiness to respond to any threat which you must meet eye for an eye,” he declared.

He then applauded them for the physical fitness they had displayed earlier on during the drill, which formed part of the day’s festivities.

He said the strength and the zeal which they displayed demonstrated that they had the full capacity to carry out their duties without being compromised.

‘Education helps fight contemporary crime’

His Majesty King Mswati III has recognised the significant role played by education in fighting contemporary crime.

The king was speaking at the Police Academy during the celebration of Police Day, where the REPS celebrated 115 years of existence.

Remarking, the king observed that criminals had become sophisticated in carrying out their evil deeds and recognised that access to information and the latest technology gives power to police officers to be able to deal decisively and effectively with lawlessness. He noted that the police service had over the past years undergone significant transformation, including the improvements that were introduced at the Police Academy.

He applauded the collaboration that exists between the University of Eswatini and the Police Academy. He said the results have contributed in enhancing knowledge and what is known about the elements that influence officers in fighting crime and lawlessness effectively. Moreover, he said it has further ensured that the Academy was able to produce highly qualified officers who will be able to meet contemporary crime.

“Crime is very sophisticated nowadays and all this calls for an improvement in police studies. These days technology requires people who will be able to master it and be able to fight contemporary crime,” remarked the king.

...Hits back at SA media, assassination claims of SA national

His Majesty King Mswati III came out strongly against recent SA media reports dragging his name through the mud, talking lightly about a bereaved man who insinuated that he may have had something to do with a certain ongoing matter in the courts in that country.

The king wondered where the reports were emanating from and described them as fabrications that were presented to the media through a Twitter account. He said the media outlet responsible for publishing the allegations also disappointed by not subjecting the claims to further scrutiny.

Issue

He mentioned that he had expected the media house to uphold journalistic standards which rely heavily on verified facts and not simply following people’s social media accounts.

He said what disappointed him the most was that the issue raised by this particular person was subject to ongoing arguments in court, and wondered if such did not amount to interfering with court processes. “What surprised me is that his evidence did not form part of the proceedings. That matter is still pending in the courts of that land. No man has the right to interrogate those proceedings. I wonder if anyone had taken their time to find out from prosecutors if his version of events tallied with their evidence,” he said.

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