Times Of Swaziland: GOVT BLASTS COUNTRY HARBOURING SOLIDARITY FORCES

GOVT BLASTS COUNTRY HARBOURING SOLIDARITY FORCES
================================================================================
Mfanukhona Nkambule on 12/03/2023 15:45:00


MBABANE – Government is not happy with countries that harbour elements that
plot against the Kingdom of Eswatini.
As the faces behind the formation of terrorists and military bandits such as the
Solidarity Forces were unmasked, government said it would have to engage
intensely to establish the sources of their support. This was said by Alpheous
Nxumalo, the Government Spokesperson, in a statement. Nxumalo said government
had questions on ‘where are they being given sanctuary and who is abating
their criminal military strikes in the country?’ “This and many questions
must be asked. As a country, we have key and strategic national interest to
which we must commit to protect, defend and to advance. As a country, we can no
longer afford to procrastinate,” the government press secretary said.
He stated that the Kingdom of Eswatini still noted with deep concern about those
neighbouring States that were fermenting and breeding conflicts in the country.
He said it was a pity that they allowed their soil and other infrastructure to
be used as conduits to launch attacks against the country and the population at
large. He did not mention the name of the countries. It is understood that most
of the members of the Solidarity Forces are in South Africa. Nxumalo said
government continued to look at all possible options on the table. He said they
looked at all the possible options, not only with a view to inform the
kingdom’s diplomatic and strategic friends and partners around the globe of
this unprovoked threat, but also to mobilise the necessary resources to
neutralise this aggression against the country.
He pointed out that the biggest threat and challenge posed by bigger States to
smaller ones was, perhaps, the failure to understand that when it came to
defending the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of countries,
the size of population, economy or geography did not count for anything. “They
usually and rightfully say that it is not the size of the dog in the fight, but
it is the size of the fight in the dog,” he said. Nxumalo stated that it was
not necessarily a matter of physical size, but rather of mental or psychological
size or attitude.
Unfortunately
“Every nation, State, small or big; will always pay the ultimate price in
defence of the national elements which constitutes a State. Unfortunately, the
equation has always remained the same here as the aggression of one State
against another will lead to drastic measures of resistance through all means
short of war,” he said. He said if all those means tended to fail, States, big
or small, would resort to ultimate argument for peace, which is war itself. He
said one dies for a nation and people die for the King and they also sacrifice
their lives for the kingship. “If you don’t believe me, take a quick glance
at the history of the formative stages of this nation; then you will know
better,” the government press secretary said. He said it was also on this
score that certain emaSwati like him were anticipating that the national
security officers who died, in fact, executed by ‘military bandits’, while
they were on the line of duty, were to be recognised and celebrated in a
particular special way during the forthcoming 55/55 double national
celebrations.
His Majesty the King will celebrate his 55th birthday this year. The nation will
join him in celebrating the 55th Independence Anniversary. The country attained
independence from the British in 1968. Eswatini News reported yesterday about
the commander of the Swaziland International Solidarity Forces (SISF) who
unveiled himself on Thursday night. The Swaziland Democratic News, a Facebook
news platform, posted a video in which ‘the commander’ unmasked himself. 
His video was finally aired live on the publication’s Facebook page on Friday
morning. While introducing himself, he did not reveal his name. He only
introduced himself as the commander. Even though people were able to see him,
his face was still not clearly recognisable due to poor picture quality.
However, the Eswatini News team identified him as ex-police officer Thabo
Kunene. Kunene was a lead investigator for the Royal Eswatini Police Service
(REPS) and cracked high profile cases such as the Evukuzenzele E2 million
robbery case during his time as an officer. He made a name for himself while
serving the country in Siteki as an officer. It must be said that the identity
of ‘the commander’ was first revealed by the investigative reporters of the
Times SUNDAY on January 29, 2023. The publication reported that Kunene, an
ex-cop, was linked to the SISF. At the time it was not stated what role Kunene
played within SISF, but the publication was able to bring compelling evidence of
pictures, showing the link between him and the underground group.
What was a mere link based on leaked pictures of six camouflage-clad members of
the then underground group, revealed that Kunene, as he appeared on Thursday,
was actually the voice behind ‘the commander’. Kunene confirmed the
speculation that he was linked to SISF. “Lokhulumako ngu commander,” he
said, meaning ‘the one who is speaking is the commander. Kunene was clad in a
military camouflage gear. His appearance established that indeed, Kunene was a
member of the group which has been linked to several terrorist activities around
the country. According to his own declaration, he was the man behind the command
to carry out such acts.
rebuked
In his address, Kunene rebuked those calling his Solidarity Forces terrorists
and said the SISF was not a terrorist group. He said the SISF was a group of
freedom fighters who wanted political change in the country. He said he had been
hearing people referring to them as terrorists, but warned against the use of
the term. “We are freedom fighters. We are not owned by anyone,” he said. He
said some people called them hit men and claimed that they were being paid for
engaging in the activities. Kunene refuted the statement, adding that they were
not paid, hired or controlled by any person or group. He said no amount of money
was worth his life or that of his ‘soldiers’ even if they could mention a
figure.