BY GCWALISILE MHLABANE
MATSAPHA – The Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) is being positioned to play a stronger regional security role as Eswatini prepares to assume the SADC Troika Chairmanship, with the SADC Secretariat briefing police leadership on the responsibilities that will come with the country’s leadership term.
The engagement at S&B Restaurant in Matsapha is focused on strengthening the police’s understanding of SADC security structures, operational expectations and priorities, particularly as the region confronts increasingly sophisticated cross-border crimes.
The briefing comes as National Commissioner of Police Vusi Manoma Masango serves as Chairperson of the Southern Africa Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO), placing Eswatini’s police leadership at the centre of regional law enforcement cooperation.
Masango said the region’s security threats required police services to work beyond national boundaries and strengthen trust and coordination.
“Every day, our officers confront crimes that do not respect borders—human trafficking, cybercrime, drug smuggling, terrorism, vehicle theft and financial crime,” Masango said.
“These challenges cannot be defeated by one country acting alone. They demand trust, coordination and a shared regional vision.”
He said SARPCCO was critical in translating the objectives of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation into practical policing cooperation.
“Our responsibility is not only to respond to crime, but also to safeguard peace, stability and the security of our citizens across Southern Africa,” Masango said.
The National Commissioner said the success of regional policing depended on a strong relationship between the SADC Secretariat, police chiefs and officers responsible for implementing security measures on the ground.
“The SADC Secretariat provides the strategic policy direction, while SARPCCO brings operational experience from the ground,” he said.
“When these two work hand in hand, our region becomes better prepared to prevent conflict, combat transnational crime and protect vulnerable communities.”
Director of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs Professor Kula Ishmael Theletsane said the purpose of the engagement was to brief Masango on the roles, responsibilities and planned activities attached to his SARPCCO chairmanship.
Theletsane said the Secretariat was ready to strengthen the leadership and operational capacity required to steer regional policing priorities.
“We are looking forward to working with you, to support you at the Secretariat, to ensure that your tenure leaves an indelible mark within the historical path and lineage of this sterling organisation,” he said.
He said intelligence, policing mechanisms and training remained central to building competent law enforcement institutions capable of responding to regional security threats.
Theletsane also singled out drug trafficking as one of the major challenges requiring coordinated intervention across Southern Africa.
“We will also be looking at programmes such as drug trafficking, which is very much a pertinent issue that is bedevilling the region across,” he said.
Head of the INTERPOL Regional Bureau for Southern Africa Sello Moerane assured Eswatini that the Secretariat would remain available to support the country’s police leadership throughout the chairmanship.
“We are here as the Secretariat to say to you, we are at your service,” Moerane said.
“We will support you in the next few months that you are going to be at the helm as the chair of the Organ. And we assure you that we will support you to the end.”
Moerane challenged the incoming leadership to establish clear priorities that could leave a measurable legacy when the chairmanship concludes.
“We can only assist you if we know your vision, if we know what you want to achieve,” he said.
He said the Secretariat had a competent team prepared to assist Eswatini in advancing its police and state-security priorities.
For Masango, the briefing was also an opportunity for police personnel to engage directly with regional structures and ensure that the responsibilities assumed at leadership level translate into practical benefits for officers and communities.
“The knowledge we gain today should ultimately benefit the police officer serving at a border post, the investigator pursuing organised criminals, and the communities who depend on us for safety,” he said.
The engagement places REPS in a strategic position to contribute to SADC’s regional security agenda while strengthening cooperation against crimes that increasingly operate across borders.
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(Courtesy Pic)
