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SOLDIERS LEAVE TOP LAWYER WITH BROKEN RIBS

14/04/2020 07:48:00 BY MBONGISENI NDZIMANDZE AND NTOMBI MHLONGO

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Prominent lawyer Sabelo Mngomezulu. (File pic)

MBABANE - The alleged brutality by security forces in enforcing the COVID-19 regulations continues to rear its ugly head.

The latest casualty is prominent Mbabane lawyer, Sabelo ‘Mngo’ Mngomezulu, who stared death in the face after he was run over by his own car while allegedly being assaulted by armed members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF).

The spine-chilling incident, which left the attorney with fractured ribs and injuries on the chest, happened near Msunduza Sports Ground in Mbabane on Sunday evening.

It has been gathered that a contingent of law enforcers were going about their routine spot-checks, as means of ensuring that members of the public adhered to the stipulated regulations which have been set out by government to control the spread the coronavirus.
The armed security forces are reported to have invaded the sports ground after having received information that there were people who had gathered in the area and were enjoying alcoholic beverages.

Dispersed

Before then, the officers had already dispersed others who had gathered against the dictates of the regulations.
Section 25 (1) of the regulations reads; “In order to contain the spread of COVID-19, a gathering of more than 20 people is prohibited.”
It further provides that a person who contravenes a provision of the regulations commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine of E25 000 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years.

Narrating the ordeal, Mngomezulu alleged that he had just made a stop at a certain homestead to collect his keys from one of his employees, who resides a stone’s throw from the sports ground.
He said while chatting with his employee who was with others, the battalion of armed officers accosted them.
According to the lawyer, upon seeing the members of the armed forces, some of those who were within the vicinity ran helter-skelter in fear for their lives.
He said it was then that in compliance, he also went to his car, an army green Jeep Wrangler, which was parked nearby.

According to him, the people he was with were less than 20 and were not enjoying any alcoholic beverages. “We were far less than 20. The place is not a shebeen. The soldiers, who were on foot, emerged from the corner of the sports ground and started assaulting people without uttering a word. There was a commotion which is when I decided that it was time for me to leave as well,” he said.

Kicked

Elaborating, Mngomezulu said as he attempted to open the passenger door in readiness to board his vehicle, which was being driven by a friend, one of the soldiers kicked him on the back and he lost balance and fell.

As he fell, the driver of the car, who was already in panic mode, fortuitously ran him over.
“I laid down helplessly on the ground pleading with the officers to take me to hospital. One of them, a female soldier, enquired why they were assaulting me when all I was doing was try to board my car,” said Mngomezulu.

He said he was eventually saved by police officers from the Traffic Department who rushed him to the Mbabane Clinic for medical attention.
At the private clinic, he said he was treated and discharged and advised to come back today.
He said he was informed by the medical practitioners that the clinic had just re-opened after a temporary closure and was not admitting patients on the day in question.

“I am currently at home and will be going to the clinic again tomorrow (today) as per the advice I was given,” he said.
When probed regarding adherence to the regulations, Mngomezulu insisted that the scene where the incident occurred was not a drinking spot and there were less than 20 people.

Complied

“It was just at the gate of a homestead next to the playground and we were far less than 20. The problem is that the officers never said anything, they just pounced on us in attack mode. If they had engaged us and ordered that we leave the area, we would have complied. I almost died for nothing. The worst part was when I was defenceless with no one to take me to hospital,” he narrated.

In his view, the armed officers were supposed to consider the fact that he had not committed any crime and was a law abiding citizen.
He said he was not in the habit of making up stories and was only detailing his experience.
Since government enforced the regulations as part of the fight against COVID-19, there have been some incidents where the manner in which security forces treated members of the public had been put in the spotlight. Our sister publication, the Eswatini News, reported how an 85-year-old woman collapsed and died after members of the security forces raided her homestead.

The woman, according to our sister publication, was one of those who sold alcoholic beverages in an area situated about two kilometres from the city centre.
It was alleged that officers from the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and His Majesty’s Correctional Services used force and started banging doors and beating people who were outside the homestead.

The 20-day partial lockdown began on Friday March 27, after Parliament adopted the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Regulations of 2020.
In the regulations, it is stipulated that bars are expected to close while bottle stores where customers buy and leave, are allowed to operate between 11am and 6pm. The regulations make it clear that members of the three armed forces would be assigned to make sure that people adhered to the regulations aimed at minimising the spread of the pandemic.

Casualties

Meanwhile, a 29-year-old man of Hilltop in Mbabane was also one of the casualties after he was reportedly assaulted with a baton by a police officer on the right side of his head for loitering.

Sabelo Ginindza was admitted to the Mbabane Government Hospital for four days after he sustained injuries on the head following the incident which has left his right ear with a burst eardrum and partially paralysed as he now has difficulty hearing. Following the incidents and concerns from the public, the Human Rights Lawyers recently urged security forces to be extra cautious when dealing with members of the public and businesspeople during this period to avoid a situation where the State will find itself incurring lawsuits.

One of the Human Rights lawyers, Sipho Gumedze, said: “It cannot be over emphasised that, the security forces as they carry out their duties to ensure full compliance, ought to take into consideration that, citizens of this country still have rights.”

Gumedze pointed out that Section 38 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini, Act 2005, provides as follows: “Notwistanding anything in this Constitution, there shall be no derogation from the enjoyment of the following rights and freedoms-(e) freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

He said any assault of a human being was classified as inhuman and degrading treatment. The Human Rights lawyer further highlighted that in SvWillimas 1995 (3) SA 632 (CC) The Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa stated that; “Measures that assail the dignity and self-esteem of an individual will have to be justified; there is no place for brutal and dehumanising treatment or punishment…even the vilest criminal remains a human being possessed of common human dignity.”