BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – The Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) is very grateful to the people who attended this year’s Standard Bank Luju Festival for behaving in a good manner during the event.
This was said by Chief Police Information and Communication Officer (PICO) Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati. Speaking on Eswatini TV’s Kusile Breakfast Show this morning (Monday, August 5, 2024), Vilakati said there were no incidents of fighting and any kind of violence during the event and this was a good thing. “We are grateful to those who attended the event because they were well behaved for the entire event, as we have not received any reports of violence,” Vilakati said.
Vilakati further stated that last year, there were many incidents of theft of cellphones, compared to this year, where only six of them were reported missing. She said last year, the police were able to recover most of the stolen cellphones and those found to have stolen them were dealt with, according to the law. She said they also managed to recover some of the six cellphones that were reported missing during the event this past weekend.
The police mouthpiece further said in some cases, it was found that the cellphones were lost and not stolen. She further stated that what was a bit disturbing was that a Mazda Demio sedan was stolen and she pleaded with members of the public to help in recovering the stolen car. She also pleaded with the nation to be cautious when it came to their belongings next time when attending such events.
She said what was also unfortunate was that there was a car accident this past Friday at or near Ezulwini, resulting in the death of a 40-yar-old woman. Vilakati sent condolences to the family, relatives, and friends of the deceased. She said yesterday (Sunday, August 4, 2024), a certain driver in Manzini lost control of a kombi he was driving, resulting in him knocking other three kombis and two cars. Three people, according to Vilakati, were admitted to hospital because of the accident. She wished them a speedy recovery.
There were no other incidents reported to the police. Looking at the incidents from the weekend, Vilakati said it looked like Emaswati heeded to the ‘Nkwe’ command issued by His Majesty King Mswati III during Sibaya, in making sure that road accidents were alleviated. She further pleaded with the nation to work with the police in making sure that accidents were minimised even further. She advised that people should also make it a habit to communicate with other people when they wanted to embark on certain journeys to avoid being classified under lost people. She said being classified as a missing person could have a negative impact on the person in future.
