Swazi Observer

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RETIRED OFFICERS HONOURED

By Crime Watch | 2025-04-06

The Royal Eswatini Police Service has honoured more than two hundred retired police officers who served the organisation with diligence.

Speaking during a farewell event National Commissioner of Police Manoma (NatCom) Vusi Masango said the REPS appreciated the retired men and women who selflessly served the police service.

He said the former officers served the police service with distinct dedication, loyalty and heightened spirit of patriotism while ensuring national peace and security.

Event
The farewell event for the 220 retired officers and civilian support staff held on Wednesday at Matsapha Police Academy was aimed to honour and appreciate the contribution of the officers while they were serving in the organisation.

He said the day was to celebrate the sacrifices the officers had made while serving the people of Eswatini.

“During your service, you were deployed in various areas of the police service where you helped in nurturing and mentoring young ones. You have done what you were supposed to do. When people talk of experts, those will be you, not people we do not know,” he said.

Masango congratulated the retirees for their tireless service, as some have served for more than 40 years, while some due to differing factors served lesser years. He said the farewell was a reminder that the officers had earned their rest and it was well deserved.

He said though they were now retired, they should not forget that the oath of office and allegiance extended beyond retirement. He said they were now ambassadors for the REPS in the fight against crime.

The national commissioner said the retired officers’ experience and knowledge would be beneficial in supporting community policing initiatives implemented by the police service.

He urged the retirees to help the REPS to build trust and foster relationships between the organisation and the public. He further stated that the retired officers had a duty of offering support to the officers had.

Your duty is to offer support to serving officers should they face difficult situations such as investigations or threats to national security. He said the police service was looking at tapping retired officers’ vast experience and knowledge as it could go a long way in REPS’ training programmes.

Masango said crime continued relentlessly despite the effort the police were putting but that did not mean the REPS would quit fighting. He said crimes committed through cyberspaces remained a thorny issue for the police service as Emaswati lost their hard-earned monies to the unscrupulous criminals.

He said approximately E2,7 million had been lost through the ‘facata’ scam and police have been able to make at least 59 arrests.

He highlighted gangsterism as another crime emerging in the country that is proving to be a challenge. Masango said this was being actively addressed through a combination of initiatives that include; prevention, intervention, and suppression strategies.

He said the REPS was working in collaboration with the community as they were being targeted by the criminals.

Guest of honour, former Commissioner of police Edgar Hillary, lauded the police executive for honouring retired officers and the civilian staff imploring the latter to live true to the adage ‘Once a Police Always a Police Officer.’ He advised the executive to often engage in dialogue with the lower rank if there are issues that need ironing out.

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