203 KILLED IN 10 MONTHS - NATCOM

LOBAMBA – Police yesterday released shocking statistics of murders recorded in a period of 10 months.

William Tsitsibala Dlamini, the National Commissioner (NATCOM) of Police said crime was on the rise in the country. He said it was causing fear in the communities. Addressing people during the commemoration of the National Crime Prevention Day, the NATCOM said their statistics indicated that 203 murder cases were recorded from January to October 2022. This, he said, reflected a 76.5 per cent increase when compared to the same period in 2021.

Challenge

Dlamini mentioned that crimes had shown an upward trend in the country recently, with other offences posing a challenge to the police service. Dlamini said the untimely and unfortunate death of the people affected the quality of life for citizens and further threatened the success and sustainability of socio-economic environment in the country.
Dlamini said people seemed to have lost the sanctity and respect for human life as more people continued to lose their lives through violence.

The NATCOM also disclosed that the crime trends in the country indicated that there were many illicit firearms in the wrong hands, which were being used to terrorise emaSwati through commission of various offences. Dlamini revealed during the function that police recorded 100 cases of illegal possession of firearms, which is a huge jump when compared to the past year.

Firearms

He said cases of illegal firearms have gone up by 92 per cent since 2021. However, Dlamini said State police would continue to intensify their efforts through staging of operations that would ensure more arrests and recovery of illegal firearms. “To our partners, members of communities, we request that you assist us with information on anyone suspected to be in possession of an illegal firearm, so that the law can take its course,” said Dlamini. He appealed for a collective resolve to ensure that no more cases occurred throughout the coming festive season.“It should not be a norm that during every festive season we record murders, often due to celebrations gone wrong or overboard,” he said.

Terrorism

Dlamini said terrorism cases might be classed as a contemporary trend that was rapidly increasing across the country. He unveiled the toll free number for reporting cases on terrorism. The number is 112. Since the year begun, he said terrorism had manifested in various forms such a bombing attacks of government buildings and property, extending to other heinous acts aimed at causing anarchy in the land.From January to October 2022, NATCOM said police recorded 75 cases of terrorism.

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