‘POLICE DRINK OUR BOOZE’

PIGG’S PEAK – Despite so many raids conducted on illegal drinking spots, one thing you may never see is the confiscated alcohol being destroyed.

Unlike South African Police Minister Bheki Cele, who publicly destroyed 10 000 litres of confiscated alcohol in Cape Town, local shebeen owners, whose alcohol was taken during raids by the police, claim the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) never destroys the fermented drinks.

Shebeen owners who lost out after their alcohol beverages were confiscated alleged that police officers instead helped themselves to their alcohol and did not destroy it.

Coincidentally, members of the police service under Pigg’s Peak had their end of year party yesterday at the police camp.
“When will they destroy the alcohol?” asked some of the shebeen owners, who lost thousands of Emalangeni worth of alcohol.

Some of the police officers admitted that there would not be a party if there was no alcohol though they could not confirm whether the beer was taken from among the cases which had been confiscated.

Consuming

This is, however, not to suggest that they were consuming the confiscated alcohol at the party.
Impeccable sources also revealed that some of the officers had been to local pubs, asking to exchange some beer with a certain brand which they had.

This was revealed by some shebeen owners who then accused the police of trying to swap the beer they had collected from the illegal traders with their favourite choice of drink.

Several homesteads where alcohol was being sold illegally were raided and over 200 cases taken away by the law enforcers.
In some cases, alcohol which had already been opened was thrown away.

The raids happened around Nkomazi, Pigg’s Peak, Ndzingeni, Ntfonjeni and Matsamo.
In Matsamo, the imbibers were so angry that they even attacked a police officer and attempted to vandalise a van he was travelling in.
In the two days that the police are said to have conducted the raids, it is alleged that at least 200 cases of alcohol were confiscated, including about 60 which were taken in one night.

This publication has established that there were so many cases of beer that the officers struggled to store as there was not enough space at the police station.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, some of the shebeen owners said it was not right for police officers to take away their alcohol then use it for their own parties.

They said the law states that the alcohol should be auctioned or destroyed but that this should be done through the court.
“It is a court that should issue an order that the beer can now be disposed of,” one of the shebeen owners said.
According to the Liquor Licence Act of 1964, ‘the court may in the cases of liquor which is adulterated or not in sealed containers, or a still, in its discretion, order it to be destroyed’.

In case of forfeitures, the law states, ‘subject to subsection (2), liquor or a still, wagon or other article or vehicle declared to be forfeited under this Act shall, in accordance with the directions of the principal secretary (PS), be sold and the proceeds thereof paid into the public revenue of Swaziland (Eswatini)’.
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said police funded their own parties and did not have to use the beer which had been confiscated.

She said in addition to the money which the police officers had donated for the party, other stakeholders had also given support to the officers.

Donated

Vilakati did not mention which organisations donated to the end of year party.
She further said it would not be right for the police to use the beer which had been confiscated because it was part of court cases.
“Even if they had paid admission of guilt fines, it does not mean the matter had ended,” said Vilakati.

She revealed that the matter had to be taken to court and later acquire an order which would then allow the police to auction or destroy the said amount of alcohol.

Vilakati said this may take some time and insisted that the police would not take the alcohol for their end-of-year parties.
Nhlanhla Mbingo, the Secretary of the Liquor Licensing Board, when reached for comment on the matter, said he did not believe the police officers deliberately raided for the purpose of getting free beer for their parties.

He said normally, a liquor inspector would do the inspection, however, there was only one in the country and that was the reason they needed assistance from the police.

Mbingo said any person selling alcohol even if it was traditional brew should have a licence.
He also said the police would then have to seek an order from court to have the alcohol destroyed.

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