A recent spate of violence targeting both civilians and senior government officials has left the government of Eswatini expressing deep disquiet over personal safety in the kingdom, APA learnt on Wednesday.
The government said in a statement that it is deeply concerned about reports of the shooting of a government vehicle that forms part of Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini’s escorts.
It said 48 hours later there were reports of the brutal murder of a civilian kidnapped from his home on Tuesday 27 December 2022.
His body was later found dumped in Ntondozi.
The government said all these took place against the backdrop of alarming murder cases across the country in the past few weeks, and several other failed attempts to kill police officers.
”These unfortunate incidents are sending a two-fold message to the public: that rogue elements in the country are in possession of illegal and unlicensed firearms and that guns are in the hands of a happy trigger lot that shoots without any reason or specific purpose” its statement said.
The government while condemning the acts as barbaric and criminal promised to thoroughly investigate them to unearth the hide-outs of their architects.
It said a mopping up operation already begun will be intensified nationwide especially in places around Matsapha and surrounding areas, which have given the state enough evidence that they may have already been saturated with illegal firearms.
The government called for vigilance among citizens.
WN/as/APA