Africa-Press – Eswatini. JUNIOR police officers yesterday confronted Government Spokesperson, Alpheous Nxumalo, and demanded answers on why he called them terrorists.
Nxumalo was leaving Cabinet offices when he came across about 15 junior police officers who had gathered at the gate to demand answers to the petitions they submitted a month ago.
The officers had demanded to meet with the Principal Secretary, Bertram Stewart, after being informed that the prime minister was not available and that their issues were being addressed.
Cabinet meets every Tuesday.
The officers together with those from His Majesty’s Correctional Services petitioned the prime minister, minister of finance, minister of justice and constitutional affairs and the minister of public service calling for an urgent implementation of Phase II of the salary restructuring programme.
The officers insisted on seeing Stewart and waited for over two hours, hoping to meet with him.
It was while they waited that Nxumalo exited and upon seeing him, the officers blocked his vehicle and demanded answers on his previous statement that terrorists’ elements had infiltrated the police service.
Nxumalo, however, denied that he called them terrorists, adding that he respected them as the country’s assets.
He further assured the officers that their issues were being addressed.
Royal Eswatini Police Staff Association (REPOSA) Secretary General, Dumisile Khumalo, accepted Nxumalo’s explanation and said a number of people called them terrorists yet they had never committed any terrorist acts. She said they would continue to fight for their welfare despite being called terrorists.
Nxumalo later continued with his journey.
Responses
The officers decided to wait for over two hours to see the principal secretary for responses to their petitions.
This was, however, after they expressed their disappointment at being ignored as they claimed.
They said they were tired of being disrespected and ignored.
Khumalo said they went to Cabinet because they wanted responses to their petitions submitted to the prime minister.
She stated that their next stop was to seek an audience with His Majesty King Mswati III as the Commissioner in-Chief of the police.
She said the king had been told a number of things, which were not true by their superiors and they wanted to clarify their stand to him.
According to Khumalo, all they want is the Phase II salary restructuring programme, nothing else.
“We received a number of reports whereby our bosses are badmouthing us to the king yet what they are saying is not true,” Khumalo said.
She said they would be happy if they would meet the king before the Incwala ceremony.
Khumalo said they had exhausted all the government processes, adding they were ignored, yet they had never abandoned their work.
“A number of reports suggests that the people killing officers are allegedly financed by some officers yet they claim junior officers are terrorists,” she said.
Senior officers urged junior officers to use proper channels when voicing their grievances after they locked the gate to Cabinet. The gate was allegedly locked by junior police officers who had come to demand answers on the petitions they delivered at the Cabinet offices a month ago.
Some junior officers stated that locking the gate was a sign that they demanded to be heard on their plight.
They claimed that they had been ignored for far too long.
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