Army not taking orders from King – Army Commander

• King formally appoints Mashikilisane as Army Commander
• Say decision to rope-in soldiers during unrest was result of NATCOM request

Bethany – It is far from the truth that His Majesty King Mswati III ordered soldiers to be deployed to strengthen security measures during last year’s political unrest in June that led to destruction of infrastructure and looting.

This is according to Army Commander Hulumende Mashikilisane Fakudze who had held the position on an acting basis until officially being appointed by the King on 22 April 2022 during the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF)’s Army Day held at Nokwane UEDF Headquarters in Bethany.

Making his remarks, Fakudze said, “as soldiers, we must do the work which we took an oath to execute. We have two mandates as soldiers. Our primary mandate is to protect their majesties, the constitution, the people as well as infrastructure. Our secondary mandate is enshrined in the King’s Order and Counsel.”

“The King did not give soldiers an order to reinforce security as others are saying. Assistance was given to other security forces such as the police after the National Commissioner, William Dlamini, had asked that such help be afforded to the force.”

The army commander then added that the army superiors have been visiting soldiers’ camps around the kingdom to ascertain whether soldiers still upheld their values and the oath they took when they were recruited to the UEDF. He reported to the king that they were pleased to establish that soldiers still worked as per their oath which incorporated values such as honour and respect.

“We had also invited veterans to be part of this event. Prior to this celebration, we met with the veterans and they assured us that they will continue serving and are still serving as per the oath they took when they were also recruited by the army.  Fakudze told the king that some of their members were training in different countries of the world with the aim to acquire skills necessary for attainment of First World status.

According to the Army Commander, His Majesty King Mswati III’s birthday celebrations was also merged with the 2022 Army Day held at the Nokwane UEDF Headquarters in Bethany. The King turned 54 this year and Army Commander Mashikilisane Fakudze, on behalf of the UEDF members presented five cattle to their majesties. This was in the presence of the Zulu nation King Misuzulu KaZwelithi who was among the king’s distinguished guests.

Two of the cattle belonged to the Queen Mother while three belonged to the King. As part of the celebration for his birthday an additional two was given to the Commander-In-Chief.

Furthermore, a E50 000 replica cheque was presented to Their Majesties for the queen mother’s Philani Maswati Charity Organisation.

His Majesty King Mswati III has sanctioned the recruitment process of new members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force during the Army Day Celebrations. The king said, “It has been a while since a recruitment exercise had been taken by the army. Nonetheless, now that we are past the COVID-19 era, soldiers have been told to implement the recruitment process once again. I am sanctioning the start of the exercise as of now. It excites me to announce that next year during the very same day, it would not only be celebrations of the Army Day but it will also be a pass out day for newly recruited soldiers.”

The announcement by the king was met with excitement and applauds from both soldiers and members of the public. The king further indicated that the soldiers who had been or are trained in other countries will bring home First Word expertise and mentality.