‘COPS WANT ME DEAD FOR SIBAYA SUBMISSION’

Vuvulane farmer William Mkhaliphi who was allegedly assaulted by police, gestures during the interview.

VUVULANE – An 82-year-old orator from Vuvulane, who spoke his mind on issues that relate to royalty during the Peoples’ Parliament, is heartbroken after losing his wife, who was a witness when he was allegedly assaulted by a group of police officers.

Ntombi Lessiah Dlamini is said to have collapsed and later died from a stroke-related illness due to the incident. She was rushed to Good Shepherd Hospital but died two days later. She died earlier this year and a cleansing ceremony was recently held in her honour.     
William Mkhaliphi is adamant that his wife would still be alive were it not for the abuse he has suffered at the hands of the police.  His sin, he says, is being vocal on issues affecting farmers around Vuvulane who he claims are being abused.

During the Sibaya in 2012, Mkhaliphi was vocal and at the forefront of the same issue, which he again raised during the 2016 Sibaya.
He said after the 2012 People’s Parliament, police had been occasionally paying him visits, questioning him about his submissions.
Through his own ignorance, he didn’t pick up that something was out of the ordinary but his wife did. Mkhaliphi said when his wife saw a group of police officers assaulting and bundling him into a van she collapsed and later died.

He was starting to put the passing of his wife behind him but then came the opportunity to again raise the Vuvulane’s farmers’ plight when His Majesty the King invited the nation to speak freely on any issues affecting them.

He did exactly just that in August this year but was not prepared for what to follow. “I saw police vans approaching my homestead and I sensed that they had come for me after my previous experience with them. I rushed towards the gate with the intention of closing but couldn’t beat their speed. They hurled all sorts of insults with one senior officer asking if I wanted to live.”    

Mkhaliphi said his response was affirmative but the officer questioned him about his submissions. He identified the senior officer but his name has been deliberately withheld.

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