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EX-MINISTER STELLA STABBED, ROBBED

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mbongeni@times.co.sz

MBABANE – She is lucky to be alive. Former minister of Housing and Urban Development Stella Lukhele is thanking her God after surviving an attack by two armed men on Wednesday.


The former minister was stabbed in the face and robbed of E400 in cash.
The erstwhile politician, who resides in the foothill of Mbikwakhe, was with a female housekeeper  and her eight-year-old niece when the suspects broke into her house and committed the crime.


The incident, which has left her tenants and neighbours gob-smacked, happened around 7pm.
Interviewed yesterday, the 84-year-old Lukhele said she was preparing to watch the 7pm news on Eswatini TV when she suddenly saw two men inside the living room.


She said she  doesn’t know how they broke in as no one had heard any strange noises .
“As soon as I saw them I asked what were they looking for and they told me that they came for money. They violently told me that I am a businesswoman, hence I must be loaded.


“I told them that I did not have any money and that’s when trouble started,” she said.
She said they then demanded to know whether there was anyone else inside the house.
Shocked young niece
She said her shocked young niece quickly responded and told the suspects that the maid was in the bedroom. One of them, according to Lukhele, went to the bedroom for the maid.


She said after holding them hostage in the living room, one of the thugs ransacked the house in search of the cash they were demanding.
She said in the process they threatened to injure them using a hot iron which they had already plugged in one of  the electric terminals inside the living room.
“They told us that if we thought they were joking they were going to kill me hence I should show them the money. I asked that they allow me to pray but instead they said I was making noise,” she said.


attempt to strangulate her


She said one of the thugs then took a towel and attempted to strangulate her. This, she said, happened after one of the thugs had stabbed her in the face for ‘being talkative’.


“After stabbing me they took E400 cash from me and some money belonging to my niece. In fact, my niece, because of shock, led them to her bedroom where she was keeping her savings. Imagine a young child being that terrified” she said.
She said after realising that there was no more cash in the house, the two men ran out and left them there.
That is when  they  then raised the alarm and screamed for help. She was then taken to the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) hospital where she was treated and discharged.


Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer, confirmed the robbery incident.
She said even though no one has been arrested  so far but information has surfaced that people who attacked and robbed Lukhele had earlier attacked a judicial officer.


“Police are tracking down three suspects who first attacked a prosecutor and forcefully took his car. They drove to Matsapha where they caused the prosecutor to withdraw some cash from the ATM.


“From there, they then proceeded to Lukhele’s home where they committed another crime,” she said.
Vilakati said after attacking Lukhele the suspects are said to have used the prosecutor’s car as a getaway and eventually dumped it in Matsapha where they had dumped the prosecutor.


“Police are still investigating the matter and there are no arrests for now,” she said.

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