CIVIL SERVANT ARRESTED FOR PUPILS’ DRINKING SPREE INSIDE GOVT HOUSE

MBABANE – A man living in a government house has been arrested after 27 pupils from a local high school were found drinking in his house.

Police rounded up the 27 pupils from one of the high schools in town, with the youngest being 14 years old, after they were found drinking alcohol in a government house on Friday.
The pupils were released by the police and the occupant of the house, Siboniso Mabuza (30) from Mankayane, was arrested and charged.

Mabuza appeared in court on Saturday before Senior Magistrate Nonhlanhla Dlamini, who granted him bail fixed at E1 000.
He was facing two counts of contravening the Children Protection and Welfare Act of 2012 and he was represented by a lawyer.
The pupils were rounded up by the police on Friday afternoon at Checkers where they were found drinking alcohol.

Information gathered was that the children were reported to the police by a parent after his child returned home under the influence of alcohol. This pupil is said to have been punished by the parents until she revealed where she  had taken the alcohol. The head teacher of the school was also called to Checkers and he came and saw the pupils before they were taken to the police station. The pupils are said to have arrived at their drinking venue in a Toyota Quantum at around 10am and were taken to the police station after 4:30pm.

In the first count, Mabuza was charged with contravening Section 75 (1) of the Children Protection and Welfare Act of 2012 in that he intentionally temporarily kept and controlled the children for any valuable consideration and thus contravened the said Act.
Count two is that he contravened Section 16 of the Children Protection and Welfare Act of 2012 as read with Section 238 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act number 67/1938 in that he unlawfully and intentionally allowed children to take alcohol inside his house and in his presence and thus contravened the said Act.

In the charge sheet, there was a list of 27 pupils and 15 of these children were males while the rest were females.
The youngest of the boys was 15 years old and the eldest was 19 years old, according to the charge sheet. From the girls, the youngest was 14 years old and the eldest was 17 years old and all these children were sent to the police station where they were collected by their parents.

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