SECURITY TIGHTENED AS FEARS FRIENDS WANT TO SNATCH SIPHO SHONGWE

Armed police officers pave way for the convoy that transported Sipho Shongwe as he left the High Court yesterday. (INSET) Shongwe having a conversation with his defence counsel Advocate Jacobus Lodewicus Coetzee Jansen Van Vuuren. (Pics: Sibusiso Shange)

MBABANE – Fears that there was an alleged plot to snatch murder suspect Sipho Shongwe by his friends changed the security scene altogether at the High Court yesterday.

Leaving nothing to chance, sniffer dogs and police officers from the Bomb Disposal Unit were dispatched to the High Court and it was a first of its kind.

This was in addition to the usual contingent of armed police officers who provide security during Shongwe’s court appearances.
There was even a bomb disposal detecting machine, which was also used to detect if there were any explosives planted in the courtroom in which Shongwe’s bail hearing was scheduled to be held.

The beefing up of the security was reportedly necessitated by information received by the intelligence department of the law enforcers, that there was a plan to ‘steal’ Shongwe by some of his friends from South Africa.

It seems like the police and officers from His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS) were geared up to suppress any daring attempt to snatch Shongwe from their watchful eyes.

According to the officers who were present in court, there were threats to security, which resulted in them making sure that there were no foreign elements at the High Court.

It was at 8:20am when members of the Royal Swaziland Police and HMCS officers did a clean sweep of Court B of the High Court.
A sizeable number of people, notably Mbabane Swallows fans, had occupied their seats in the public gallery.

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