Swazi civil servant arrested in Germany

Zandile Ndlela, employed by the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development, is based at the Kwaluseni Inkhundla where she is a secretary.

She was arrested by the German police when they discovered that her visa indicated that she was destined for Canada and, therefore, her stay in their country was questionable.

The details of how the arrest took place are still scant, however, there are allegations, which are still being probed, that she had also sought to relocate to that country for political asylum as well as to seek employment while a political exile.

It is not known, at this stage, why she may have sought political asylum.

Yesterday this reporter gathered that local government officials were still investigating the issue of the arrest after being alerted of the incident two weeks ago.

For now it is alleged that she was alone when arrested.

Government officials interviewed yesterday said Ndlela had filed for leave before she left for overseas on a private trip.

The Manzini Regional Secretary at the Regional Administration office, Thamsanqa Mpanza　confirmed that one of their officers was arrested.　　

However, Mpanza said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation was in a better position to state how the civil servant was arrested.

"I can state though, that she was not in Germany on official duty as a civil servant, she was on a private visit," said Mpanza.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mtiti Fakudze, said his ministry was informed of the incident by the Swazi Embassy in Germany. Fakudze said when the ministry was informed of the arrest Ndlela was in the process of appearing before that country’s courts to face charges related to the visa.

"Her visa indicated that she was supposed to go to Canada, but for some reason she ended up in Germany. We are not sure why, but the allegation is that she told officers there that she sought political asylum, and she would be job hunting while in that country. That is the information we have so far," alleged the Minister.

"At the moment we will not be in a position to say how the Government of Swaziland will assist her, I think the ministry will wait until she is sentenced because she could still be deported to Swaziland. If she is deported then it will be easier, but at the moment I think it is safe to say we will see how the situation unfolds from here on," said Fakudze.

The minister said he was not certain whether the ministry would play a role like it did in the repatriation of Lisa Zikalala, who was arrested and sentenced to life in prison in Thailand for drug possession.

Kwaluseni Member of Parliament, Sibusiso Mabhanisi Dlamini, said he would not comment on the matter. Efforts to get comments around Kwaluseni about her also yielded no fruits as the people spoken to said they were not aware of the issue and would, therefore, prefer not to comment.

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