Eswatini police accuse Makhanya and Dlamini of coordinating unrest
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Times of Eswatini
Eswatini’s Royal Police say Mlungisi Makhanya, president of the PUDEMO movement, and Zweli Martin Dlamini allegedly coordinated activities by phone during the 2021–23 unrest. The allegations appear in court documents related to the extradition application for Ntokozo Kenneth Vilakati, according to an affidavit by an Eswatini police investigator.
Eswatini’s Royal Police accuse Mlungisi Makhanya, president of the banned political movement PUDEMO, and Zweli Martin Dlamini, editor of Swaziland News, of coordinating activities by phone during the 2021–22 unrest, according to court documents cited by the Times of Eswatini. The allegation appears in papers filed by prosecutors seeking the provisional arrest and extradition of Ntokozo Kenneth Vilakati, who is being held in South Africa over alleged unlawful residence.
In an affidavit, Assistant Superintendent Bhekani Shiba, an investigator with the organised crime unit, says that firearms stolen during the unrest were allegedly handed to Makhanya. He portrays Makhanya and Dlamini as leaders who gave instructions to people on the ground and links these activities to a group described in the documents as the “underground solidarity forces”.
The investigator says Vilakati allegedly acted on the instructions of Thabo Kunene, described as the group’s commander, as well as Makhanya. He links him in particular to alleged operations in Dumako, at the home of former Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala and at properties around Pigg’s Peak, where gunfire, deaths, fires and livestock destruction are mentioned. The allegations are set out in an affidavit and have not yet been considered by a court.
