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The Eswatini state has moved swiftly to arrest and charge Eswatini Financial Intelligence Unit (EFIU) manager Gcinekile Mavimbela, not for participating in financial crimes, but for allegedly exposing them, the media in Eswatini has reported.
Mavimbela, accused of leaking more than 890 000 confidential financial records, appeared before Principal Magistrate Fikile Nhlabatsi at the Mbabane Magistrates Court on Monday. She faces charges under the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Prevention Act. She was remanded out of custody after posting E5 000 bail and is expected to return to court on Thursday.
Mavimbelas arrest has concerned human rights organisations and lawyers alike. Ndabenhle Hlathswayo, a Swazi lawyer based in Johannesburg, said Mavimbela’s arrest marked a striking contrast in priorities of the state. He said despite credible evidence contained in the leaked EFIU files pointing to suspicious transactions, money laundering rings, and politically connected individuals, the state has focused its investigative muscle on the alleged whistleblower rather than the actors implicated in the irregularities.
EFIU initially launched an internal probe into the alleged unauthorised disclosure, even though the leaked material formed the foundation of the Swazi Secrets investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). That global reporting project revealed how Eswatini’s financial system has been used to facilitate dubious dealings by corporations, politically exposed persons, and cross-border criminal networks.
ICIJ’s findings were far from vague. One report detailed how the EFIU detected over E67 million in suspicious transactions between November and December 2018. The money allegedly moved from a shadowy South African cash-in-transit company to a businessman named Schofield, who then channelled it to Mint of Eswatini in the Special Economic Zone before it eventually landed in Dubai.
According to the reporting, Eswatini’s own authorities flagged the flow of funds as suspicious. Yet none of the individuals or companies implicated in those transactions have faced the urgency, scrutiny, or legal consequences now directed at Mavimbela. Instead, the state’s most decisive response has been aimed at a public official whose “crime,” critics argue, was having a conscience choosing to expose possible wrongdoing in a system that has long been criticised for opacity and selective enforcement.
“While the leaked documents painted a troubling picture of negligence, exploitation, and possible criminality within the financial sector, the spotlight has been turned on the person who allegedly revealed that truth, rather than those who may have abused the country’s financial system,” Hlathswako said in a telephonic interview.
Investigative Journalist Micah Reddy, who was involved in the investigations as part of International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) was shocked to learn that Mavimbela had been arrested. He could not comment on the new developments as yet instead stating that they will likely would like to do a follow up story.
NB; Swazi Bridge reporters, together with Open Secrets South Africa, collaborated with ICIJ in the publication of the Swazi Leaks investigative stories.