Following the drama that ensued at Nhlambeni Constituency after MP Manzi Zwane challenged the eligibility of a handful of aspiring soldiers leading to the disqualification of some, the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) says MPs have no role in their nationwide recruitment.
The events at Nhlambeni captured public attention, sparking concern among some and disappointment in the MP’s actions from others. UEDF Brigadier General Sotja Dlamini yesterday clarified that legislators were not involved in any stage of the ongoing recruitment exercise, not even during the identification and vetting of the army hopefuls.
Dlamini said the UEDF worked with an identification committee composed of bucopho from all chiefdoms within a constituency, a member of bandlancane, and community police. The chief or indvuna yemcuba may also sit in the committee if available. MPs, however, are not part of the process.
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“MPs are not involved in identification. They attend as residents, not as officials with authority to identify candidates. That’s why we cannot turn them away when they arrive, even though they have no role in the verification process. The committee comprises people who actually know the residents,” he said.
He explained that candidates queue according to their chiefdoms and are identified by bucopho and bandlancane. Those not recognised are removed. Once the process is complete, the indvuna yenkhundla declares that the remaining candidates are indeed from the constituency and may proceed to try out.
“We inform the candidates that they have been successful in the verification just once, no changes are allowed after a candidate has been cleared and permitted to run. However, candidates may raise their cases if, for example, they did not grow up in the area or their chief codes do not match the constituency,” Dlamini added.
He stressed that hopefuls could try out in any inkhundla regardless of chief code, provided someone from the identification committee can confirm their residency. “There are people whose chiefdoms fall elsewhere but who live permanently in another constituency. The law allows them to take part in activities there, including voting. That is why relying on chief codes alone is not enough. Residency matters too. If someone has lived in an area for years, they are part of that community,” he said.
For instance, he explained that someone with a chief code from Lavumisa could try out in Motshane if they had lived there, while a person originally from Ntfonjeni but long settled in Mbabane could vote and therefore also try out there. “If a person can vote in Mbabane, why can’t they also participate in the recruitment there? It is for that reason that the army does not handle verification. MPs know the law on who can vote where, and the same principle should apply in the ongoing recruitment,” he said.
Dlamini emphasised that the army never interfered with the identification process, even if disputes arise or cases go to court.
“Our role begins after verification. We are not part of identification and cannot defend either side. Even if someone with the correct chief code is removed by the committee, we cannot intervene. Once candidates are cleared to run, that is when we step in,” he said. He concluded that if the process was to be restarted, they would have to do so in all the ‘visited’ constituencies, stressing that the army itself does not disqualify anyone since it does not know the residents personally.
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