MBABANE – It is 9pm and Gogo Thoko’s phone rings.
The man on the other end of the line says he is Dr Musa from the hospital where her daughter, who is suffering from cancer, is admitted.
He tells her that the hospital needs E30 000 for her daughter’s life-saving operation. Since she has the money in her bank account, she quickly transfers it on the doctor’s instructions. However, a few minutes later, it turns out that Dr Musa is not even a medical officer but a criminal, popularly known as ‘bofacata’.
For Gogo Thoko, her daughter will never get the much-needed treatment. For over 13 months, the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) has arrested more than 100 individuals in connection with ‘facata’ scams. Is the REPS losing the war against criminals? This is the question that the Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer, Assistant Superintendent Nosipho Mnguni, was asked.
Despite over 100 arrests linked to the ‘facata’ online scam epidemic and financial losses now exceeding E7.2 million annually, not a single conviction has been secured in Eswatini, a startling failure that has left law enforcement confounded, legal experts questioning judicial processes, and the public dangerously exposed to digitally savvy criminals.
This revelation emerges from an investigation by Eswatini News, which found that police and prosecutors are struggling to convert over 525 reported cases into successful court outcomes, crippled by complex digital evidence, low technological literacy among victims and a legal system that appears ill-equipped for the pace and sophistication of modern cybercrime.
The situation paints a gloomy picture of a nation caught in a rapidly evolving digital war where arrests are plentiful, but justice remains elusive.
The term ‘facata’, a siSwati word meaning ‘click’, refers to pervasive scams where unsuspecting victims are deceived into clicking malicious links embedded in fraudulent communications. These links, often disguised as messages from legitimate institutions or acquaintances, harvest personal login credentials, which cybercriminals then use to plunder bank accounts.
Many of the ‘facata’ scams begin by first stealing personal information about an individual, which the scammers then use when they make calls. Often, by the time they contact their victims, they already know enough information to convince them that the person they are speaking to is genuine.
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... zero convictions worrying - ex-magistrate
MBABANE – This criminal ingenuity stands in stark contrast to the faltering official response.
While the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) has made over 100 arrests in connection with ‘facata’ activities, the judicial pipeline is said to have produced zero convictions.
Lawyer Joe Gumedze, a former prosecutor and later magistrate, expressed deep concern over this discrepancy. “It is puzzling,” Gumedze said.
He noted that he was aware of the large number of arrests, yet could not recall any convictions.
Gumedze pointed to a potential procedural flaw complicating prosecutions, which is the charging of suspects under multiple statutes for a single alleged act. “It appears that for one act, several laws or statutes are cited,” he observed.
The challenge is not unique to Eswatini, but reflects a broader global struggle.
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Matters proceeding in court – Acting DPP
MBABANE – The Acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) says the matters are proceeding in court.
Lomvula Hlophe first stated that she would have to enquire from the person responsible to check how many cases had been concluded. However, she said many of the cases already had trial dates set.
“The matters are proceeding in court,” she stated. She further said that, at some point, it had appeared as though nothing was happening, but this was not the case.
Meanwhile, this week, Eswatini commemorated the 2026 Data Protection Day, held on Wednesday.
During the event, the Minister for Information, Communications and Technology (ICT), Savannah Maziya, used the opportunity to warn against online scammers by narrating how she lost money through one of her bank cards.
She said she only discovered some days later that someone had been using her card. The minister said the incident demonstrated how vulnerable personal information had become in an increasingly digital society.
*Full article available on Pressreader*
Criminals often start by sending a link which steals personal details and it is this information that they use to pretend to know their would be victim. (Courtesy pic)