Last day in office for deputy sheriffs

SCORES of deputy sheriffs crammed High Court Registrar Lorraine Hlophe’s office yesterday in a bid to get their appointments renewed.
This is because by the end of business today all deputy sheriffs cease to exist unless they have ad hoc or special appointment letters.
Secretary of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association Bongani Mamba confirmed that today, appointment letters for all deputy sheriffs expire. This comes as good news to many members of the public who had fallen victims to unscrupulous deputy sheriffs who attached people’s properties and expropriated the proceeds for themselves.
Mamba said he would rather have all the appointments renewed because some of his colleagues had not completed their assignments. He said that was more especially because there were various concerns from members of the public about the work ethic of some of the deputy sheriffs and therefore they must be given the opportunity to clear the air ‘or finish their work’.
A number of the deputy sheriffs have been reported to Hlophe while others have been removed because of misconduct. Some of the misconduct relates to a deputy sheriff colluding with a bogus labour consultant whereby a worker, who had been unfairly dismissed lost what the court had awarded him to the two. The complaint reached the registrar’s office and is since pending with the Anti-Corruption Unit.
Others also hold double citizenships in that they practice as deputy sheriffs in the Kingdom and also in neighbouring South Africa while Swazis cannot do the same in the neighbouring countries.
There are also reports of deputy sheriffs hoarding large sums of monies belonging to their clients in a bid to inflate their fees. There had also been a call for the code of ethics for deputy sheriffs and also a rigorous screening process before they are given the job.

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