Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Southern African Development Community(SADC) has condemned an attempt to overthrow Felix Tshisekedi,the democratically elected President of the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC).
This comes after an armed group led by eSwatini Defense Principal Secretary(PS) Prince Sicalo’s close friend Christian Malanga, attempted to seize power by removing the legitimate Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) on Sunday.
Malanga was killed during the attempted coup while the other members of the armed group were arrested, some of the arrested ‘rebels’ were allegedly trained in eSwatini before the failed attempt to overthrow the DRC Government.
In a press statement released on Monday subsequent to the attempted coup d’etat in DRC, the SADC Secretariat expressed appreciation to the DRC army for arresting the perpetrators and ceased any escalation that could have occurred from this unfortunate incident.
“While condemning this act of violence,SADC wishes to extend its appreciation to the DRC army for having arrested the perpetrators and ceased any escalation that could have occurred from this unfortunate incident,” reads the statement in part.
A questionnaire was sent to eSwatini Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo,however, he had not responded at the time of compiling this report.
“Good day Mr Alpheous Nxumalo.There are accusations suggesting that,eSwatini might have played a role in the attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC).Kindly respond and clarify these accusations,” reads the questionnaire in part, sent to the Government Spokesperson.
Reached for comments on Tuesday evening,Mlungisi Makhanya,the President of the People’s United Democratic Movement(PUDEMO) called upon SADC not to issue a mere statement but, investigate the alleged involvement of King Mswati’s son Prince Sicalo, the Principal Secretary(PS) in the eSwatini Ministry of Defense.
The eSwatini Defense Principal Secretary(PS) was on numerous occasions,seen in eSwatini with Christian Malanga,the leader of armed group who was killed during the attempt coup.
Malanga,a businessman and politician with interests in mining,consistently referred to Prince Sicalo as his ‘Military Advisor’.
“We noted the statement from SADC,however, we believe that SADC needs to do more to protect her members from rogue member States such as Swaziland who have demonstrated to have become a refugee for all sort of mercenaries of the world who are masterminding the destabilization of the region. We are therefore, calling for an investigation around the role of Swaziland both as an enabling State but also and particularly, the role of the royal family with specific reference to Sicalo and his father”,said the PUDEMO President.
On another note,the PUDEMO President said,they will soon write to the Government of the DRC, SADC, the African Union(AU) and other regional and continental bodies calling for the said investigation adding that, the people of DRC deserve peace under the current democratically elected Government after years of suffering.
The PUDEMO leader further accused the King and Prince Sicalo of habouring mercenaries in eSwatini who are secretly training, with an intention to overthrow some Governments within the region as part of the advancement of their own business interests.
For More News And Analysis About Eswatini Follow Africa-Press
