VERMAAK ON ‘SPECIAL LEAVE’ AFTER ASSASSINATION TIP-OFF

 MBABANE – A State wit- ness in the murder case of police officer Mdudu- zi ‘S’chaza’ Matsebula has been forced to go on ‘special leave’ following allegations that he was wanted dead.

The State witness is none other than police officer Ngcebo Ver- maak, who is expected to testify against suspect Lucky ‘Obama’ Matsenjwa in the murder case of Matsebula. Matsebula was a witness in the case of officers, among them be- ing Matsenjwa, who were charged for allegedly partaking in the ille- gal deletion of fingerprint records for convicts who wanted to be cleared so they could be employed or needed the clearances for other purposes. Vermaak became a State witness after he gave information to in- vestigators on the circumstances leading to Matsebula’s death last year.

Hired This newspaper has gathered from impeccable sources that Vermaak was granted the ‘spe- cial leave’ after authorities at the Royal Eswatini Police Service allegedly received a tip-off to the effect that there were men who had been hired to kill him.

According to the sources, the authorities received the tip-off two weeks ago after which they en- gaged Vermaak and deliberated on how his safety could be ensured. The informant allegedly in- formed the authorities that the plot to kill the officer was linked to him being a State witness in Matsenjwa’s murder case. The matter is said to have been kept under wraps as the authorities feared that investigations could be jeopardised.

“The authorities at the head- quarters received news that some hit men were on their way from neighbouring South Africa to kill Vermaak. They then informed him of the situation and advised that he should go on leave to ensure he was safe,” the sources alleged. Vermaak is said to have heeded the advice and his whereabouts are currently unknown. When this newspaper made attempts to get hold of him, his phone rang unanswered for the better part of yesterday. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Super- intendent Phindile Vilakati reluc- tantly confirmed the matter when called yesterday.

“There are allegations of that sort which have reached the po- lice, which we are looking into. However, for now there is nothing that has confirmed their credibili- ty. What we can emphasise is that State witnesses are safe and there is nothing that can cause them to fear or panic in any way,” she said. Asked on the allegations that Vermaak was currently not at work, Vilakati said he was actu- ally having normal off-days just like all other employees and that there was nothing sinister about him being away. It is an undeniable fact that Matsebula’s death dealt the Crown a major blow as his ev- idence was vital for it to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against the accused per- sons in the fingerprints case.

This is because he was the one who had information on the mo- dus operandi allegedly employed when clearing the criminal re- cords.  He also allegedly knew the amounts that were paid by some of the convicts, who had their criminal records cleared, by the accused law enforcers. After Matsebula’s death and Matsenjwa’s subsequent arrest, Vermaak assisted the police dur- ing the investigations into his (Matsebula) and recorded a state- ment. S’chaza was discovered dead in a river in May last year by chil- dren who were going to church.

Lifeless When his lifeless body was dis- covered, it had missing body parts and it was suspected that animals in the river had eaten his mouth and nose. A week after his death, Matsen- jwa was arrested at the Ngwenya Border Gate upon his return from neighbouring South Africa. During his application for bail, Matsenjwa claimed that a certain officer was in fact the one who was last seen with Mastsebula.

He contended that if the infor- mation the officer gave to the investigators on the circumstances leading to Matsebula’s death was anything to go by, he must have acted in common purpose with him and he should be arrested. Even though he did not mention the name, it was common knowl- edge that officer Vermaak was the one who came out to state that he was allegedly sent by Matsenjwa to call Matsebula.  

As a means of clearing his name, Vermaak even granted this newspaper an interview where he clarified speculation that was doing rounds that he had also been arrested. He further put it on record that he never colluded with the suspect (Matsenjwa). It should be noted that in June last year, it was submitted in court that Matsenjwa allegedly threatened to kill more witnesses, especially police officers, in the fingerprints clearance case.

Opposing These submissions were made by Mbabane Desk Officer Assistant Superintendent Solomon Mavuso who was opposing Matsenjwa’s application for bail at the time. Mavuso informed the court that there was enough evidence im- plicating Matsenjwa in the com- mission of all the offences and he had no bona fide defence.

He alleged that Matsenjwa was at Solani’s in Mbabane at the time Matsebula was called from his house by a certain person, believed to be Vermaak, on the accused person’s instructions. The senior law enforcer con- tinued to state that evidence showed that Matsenjwa had been requesting Vermaak to make some arrangements for him to meet with Matsebula. Matsenjwa, according to Mavuso, disclosed the purpose of such meeting to the witness.

Assistant Superintendent Ma- vuso went on to tell the court that there was also evidence which revealed that Matsenjwa was the one who organised a car to collect Matsebula from the gate, where he was waiting since Matsebula told Vermaak that he had no form of transport to go to Solani’s.

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