24 cops charged for criminal,traffic offences

MBABANE – A total of 100 cases were reported to the police Legal Affairs department between April 2023 and January 2024.

This depicted a decline from the previous year, where there were a total of 124 cases reported. Out of the 100 reported cases, there were 24 police officers cases that were reported for criminal and traffic offences, while 22 were reported for flouting the police disciplinary code.

This was detailed in the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), Performance Report on Recurrent and Capital Expenditure and other Allied Police Administrative and Operational Activities for the period between April 1, 2023 and January 31, 2024.

The remaining reported cases included 22 cases emanating from complaints against the police and 32 cases emanating from civil suits.

Then report, however, detailed that there was a remarkable decrease in the number of civil suits compared to the previous parallel period.

“The decrease is attributed to continued initiatives inclined to enhance professionalism in the organisation, that is, operating within the precincts of the law and adherence to ethical code of conduct,” read part of the report.

The police Legal Department is responsible for providing legal support to the organisation. During the period under review, there were programmes that were undertaken by the department, such as supporting the drafting of enabling pieces of legislation.

In this regard, there are Bills that remain awaiting promulgation into law and they are all still in Parliament. These include the Crime Prevention Bill of 2014, National Intelligence and Security Service Bill of 2010, Firearms and Ammunition Bill of 2014 as well as the Drugs and Poisonous Substance Control Bill of 2023.