COPS IN FINGERPRINTS SCANDAL NAMED

MBABANE – Today, the Times of Swaziland SUNDAY reveals the modus operandi and names of at least 11 police officers who partook in the illegal deletion of fingerprint records for convicts who wanted to be cleared so they could be employed or needed the clearances for other purposes.

However, these officers have not had charges preferred against them; instead, they have been made State witnesses and are expected to give evidence against four of their colleagues.
The four officers who have been charged are; Senzo Matsenjwa, Lucky ‘Obama’ Matsenjwa, Apollo Mabila and Elizabeth Matsebula.
Documents seen by this publication reveal that one Linda Mzambiya Mkhonta, a police officer based at the police headquarters in Mbabane, allegedly assisted a robbery convict identified as Banele Govi Masina of Ezulwini to have his fingerprints record removed from the system.

Masina is said to have got a job in an unnamed place and his employer requested that he produces a police clearance and he called Mzambiya for assistance with the clearance.
Mzambiya reportedly ordered Masina to take a set of his fingerprints and leave them at the police headquarters’ guardhouse, something that the latter did.
Upon return to the guardhouse, he received a police clearance showing that he had a robbery conviction and he reported this to Mzambiya who told him to leave the clearance at the guardhouse and returned the following day.
The next day, Masina came back and was furnished with a police clearance showing no previous conviction record, meaning he had been cleared.

Another police officer, Constable Bongani Lucky Seyama who is based at the Mbabane police station, was allegedly approached by one Maxwell Mbongeni Mndzebele of Matsapha who was convicted of assault.
Mndzebele is said to have approached Seyama after he had got a job as a security guard under Buffalo Soldiers where a police clearance certificate was required.
It is reported that Seyama promised to assist Mndzebele ‘by talking to someone at the finger printers (sic) department’.

Mndzebele allegedly gave E200 to Seyama and the two remained in constant contact for purposes of discussing the issue of the fingerprints record until the former got employed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Seyama is expected to testify in court on how he related Mndzebele’s predicament to Matsenjwa and gave him the convict’s set of fingerprints.
One other police officer is Constable Abner Shabangu, who was allegedly approached by his brother, Mandla Makhosini Simelane of Ndlalambi, who wanted a police clearance certificate after he had been promised a job at Unitrans Swaziland.

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