Swaziland is not a supply country for weapons nor is it an end-user to the extent that South Africa is. It has, instead, acted largely as a transit country as weapons have moved from Mozambique through Swaziland, with which it shares a border, into the provinces of South Africa. The end of the war in Mozambique saw an upsurge in the number of weapons seized by the Swazi police, many of which initially were AK-47 assault rifles though later, from 1994 onwards, handguns appeared. However, in comparison to the number of weapons being seized by South African police along borders with Mozambique, the number of illicit weapons seized by the Swazi police is very small. It seems that there could be two possible hypotheses: either poor policing of border areas is allowing large numbers of weapons to pass through Swaziland or the number of weapons being moved through is smaller than estimated. Oosthuysen, however, disagrees with the latter hypothesis, stating, "[t]he route from Mozambique through Swaziland into KwaZulu-Natal has been one of the largest (if not the largest) smuggling route for illegal weapons into South Africa ...".1 Swazi authorities acknowledge that Swaziland was at one time the major transit route into KwaZulu-Natal, but claim that, with the opening of the Kosi Bay border post between Mozambique and the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, this trafficking has subsided.
Many weapons, in passing through Swaziland, ‘fell off the truck’ and were absorbed into that country, which previously had enjoyed relatively low levels of crime and violence, little of which was gun-related. The exception for Swaziland is the murder rate, which is the highest reported rate per 100 000 among reporting countries, at almost 80 murders per 100 000 people compared to 64 per 100 000 in South Africa and less than 15 per 100 000 in Botswana.2 However traditionally few of these murders have been committed with firearms. Now, anecdotal evidence suggests that the presence of cattle rustlers armed with assault rifles has changed a traditional way of life, increasing rural dwellers’ fear of victimisation and convincing some that it is necessary to obtain a weapon to protect themselves, their families, homes and livestock from well-armed adversaries. Answering questions posed to them by enumerators, rural-dwellers indicated that they had felt safer before 1992: currently they feared cattle rustlers and ‘bandits’ armed with guns and had responded by barricading themselves in their homes at night and considering purchasing firearms.3 Another respondent, a police officer on duty at the Tikhuba police post bordering Mozambique, also commented on the changing nature of life in Swaziland, as a consequence of independence in Mozambique: "[C]rime is going up. There is much more armed robbery using AK-47s which have entered the [country] illegally. The Swazi police get many reports on AK-47s being traded at the fence on the border, but the reporting is not accurate and by the time the police are informed, it is too late."4
Many weapons, in passing through Swaziland, ‘fell off the truck’ and were absorbed into that country, which previously had enjoyed relatively low levels of crime and violence, little of which was gun-related. The exception for Swaziland is the murder rate, which is the highest reported rate per 100 000 among reporting countries, at almost 80 murders per 100 000 people compared to 64 per 100 000 in South Africa and less than 15 per 100 000 in Botswana.2 However traditionally few of these murders have been committed with firearms. Now, anecdotal evidence suggests that the presence of cattle rustlers armed with assault rifles has changed a traditional way of life, increasing rural dwellers’ fear of victimisation and convincing some that it is necessary to obtain a weapon to protect themselves, their families, homes and livestock from well-armed adversaries. Answering questions posed to them by enumerators, rural-dwellers indicated that they had felt safer before 1992: currently they feared cattle rustlers and ‘bandits’ armed with guns and had responded by barricading themselves in their homes at night and considering purchasing firearms.3 Another respondent, a police officer on duty at the Tikhuba police post bordering Mozambique, also commented on the changing nature of life in Swaziland, as a consequence of independence in Mozambique: "[C]rime is going up. There is much more armed robbery using AK-47s which have entered the [country] illegally. The Swazi police get many reports on AK-47s being traded at the fence on the border, but the reporting is not accurate and by the time the police are informed, it is too late."4
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