Times Of Swaziland: PS PRINCE SICALO’S HOUSE PETROL-BOMBED

PS PRINCE SICALO’S HOUSE PETROL-BOMBED
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Stanley Khumalo on 04/04/2022 08:43:00


MANZINI – A second senior member of government and prince suffered an arson
attack last night.
The senior member of government is the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry
of Defence, Prince Sicalo. A house, which was still under construction,
belonging to the PS at Mbekelweni, was petrol-bombed in the wee hours of
yesterday. The house, which is a rondavel, had its roofing collapsing after
unknown arsonists supposedly threw a petrol bomb inside it. According to
impeccable sources, the petrol bomb was thrown inside the house just after
midnight. The sources disclosed that a loud thud was heard by neighbouring
homesteads before the blaze engulfed the house. It was reported that the unknown
arsonists gained entry by cutting through the fencing of the homestead, before
setting the house alight.
Guarded
When this publication’s reporter arrived at the compound, it was gathered that
there was an individual who guarded the yard. The guard was said to have been at
the far end of the compound. It is worth noting that within the residence, there
is an incomplete guard house, the main house and a shack constructed from
corrugated iron sheets. When the individual responsible for manning security at
the compound was sought for comment, he said: “The elders are not here. Please
wait for them.” When this reporter requested to assess the damage, he politely
requested that the proprietors of the homestead should be the ones to give the
authority to do so.
On the other hand, it was established from neighbours that police officers had
already visited the homestead to carry out an investigation. Also, while this
publication’s reporter was at the compound, senior members of the community
arrived to assess the damage. Thereafter, a vehicle which is frequently driven
by the PS, arrived at the compound. It had three occupants, which among them was
a member of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF). The UEDF member, who was
identified by his last name, Dlamini, was approached by this publication’s
reporter. Subsequent to pleasantries, he was informed that means had been made
to establish communication with the Prince; however, at the time they had not
been successful. This was at around 8:40am.
Dlamini said given the circumstances which had brought the reporter to the
compound, it would be hard for him to comment or allow pictures to be captured.
He said the arson attack was a sensitive matter, which required the elders to
engage the media. Dlamini further cast doubt that the PS would arrive at his
homestead yesterday, as there was the annual Buganu Ceremony at Hlane Royal
Residence; hence he was committed. In vernacular, he further said: “Tindzaba
takaNgwane atikhulumeki tidzinga banikati.”
Issues
Worth noting is that kaNgwane is often used to refer to the royal family and in
this context, the verbatim of the UEDF member loosely means ‘Issues involving
the royal family, can best be addressed by them (royal family). Thereafter, the
compound was left at about 9:15am. Meanwhile, the first senior government
official to have his house petrol-bombed was the Minister of Tinkhundla
Administration and Development, David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala. He had his
house at Sigwe petrol-bombed on December 21, 2021. Also, Madlangempisi Member of
Parliament (MP) Sibusiso ‘Scorpion’ Nxumalo had his three-bedroom house,
including the sitting room, kitchen and the three bathrooms, petrol-bombed by
three unknown men who were armed with guns (pistols). The incident, which left
everything inside the house reduced to ashes, took place around 10pm last
Wednesday. This publication last Friday reported that the MP said his children,
who were in the house, informed him through a phone call that there were armed
men who were looking for him at his home, and that they had set the house
alight. This arson attack follows others that have happened in recent months.