COP HELD FOR SHOOTING WIFE, ‘BOYFRIEND’

MANZINI – A police officer has been charged with two counts of murder, after he allegedly killed his spouse and her male companion, who was a civil servant under the Ministry of Agriculture.

The pair was shot dead on Monday evening at Madonsa, Extension 6 with a gun belonging to the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS).
Malangeni Julius Dlamini, 47, of Nyakeni under Chief Malunge II, was in the first count accused of unlawfully and intentionally killing Sipho Zungu (51) by shooting him with a pistol once in the head, which resulted in his death.

In the second count, Dlamini was charged with allegedly killing his wife, Dumile Kunene (48), who was also a police officer under the royal guard and based in Matsapha. Dlamini allegedly fired the pistol twice at Kunene.

Confession

Dlamini made his first court appearance and confession at the Manzini Magistrates Court yesterday before Magistrate Lucia Lukhele. During his confession, Dlamini submitted that before the shooting, they (him and his deceased wife) both went to their parental homes, which was over the weekend.

He claimed that upon his return on Monday, he discovered that his spouse had returned on Sunday. Upon arrival, the accused purported to have found his wife at their house, allocated to them by the REPS at the Matsapha Police Academy, having prepared clothes in a manner that made him conclude she was going out.

Dlamini submitted before the judicial officer that he allegedly found clothes ironed and laid on the bed while his wife was taking a shower. Following this set-up, the accused claimed that he did not bother asking his wife on her intended destination.
This, he alleged, was because Kunene had a tendency of not being truthful to him when asked direct questions. Instead, he claimed to have reported to work at around 10am.

While at work, at around 11am, he purportedly sent her a message through WhatsApp - which Kunene did not respond to.
According to the narration of the accused, thereafter, he called her, but there was no response. He claimed to have concluded that Kunene was not responding to his message and calls because she was with Zungu.

After that, Dlamini said he called his wife again at around 4pm, which was the time he had knocked off from work.
This time around, his call was purportedly responded to and Kunene informed him that she was in Siphofaneni to visit her sick aunt.

Infidelity

Dlamini claimed that with the background he had with his wife, of alleged infidelity, after hearing this from his spouse, he returned to his workstation where he took his service pistol.
According to him, the intention of getting the gun was to ‘control’ the pair as his gut feeling made him believe that they were together. From there, the accused claimed that he went to Madonsa, where from previous conversations with his spouse, he had learnt that it was where Zungu resided.

This, he alleged, was at around 6pm. After some time, Dlamini claimed that he spotted his spouse’s vehicle parked at a bus stop around Madonsa. Upon seeing the vehicle, Dlamini claimed to have walked towards it, where he allegedly found the pair kissing.

After seeing this, the accused informed the judicial officer that he asked the duo what they were doing and he did not get a response from them. Dlamini suspected that it could have been because he was wearing a mask which covered half his face.

The accused claimed that after the pair, still seated in the car, recognised that it was him, Zungu leaned back. At this instance, Dlamini alleged that he was under the impression that Zungu was pulling out a gun and would shoot him.

This conclusion, he alleged, had come up in previous conversations with his deceased wife. Kunene purportedly warned Dlamini that Zungu was a dangerous man.

Dlamini submitted that fearing for his life, he pulled out the service pistol and shot Zungu once in the head, resulting in his demise. He claimed that soon thereafter, Kunene alighted from the car and since she was a trained police officer, he suspected that she was preparing to shoot him.
Through reflex action, he alleged, he fired twice and killed her on the spot.

Bullet

One bullet is believed to have hit her in the head and the other in the arm.
After the shooting, he claimed to have walked to Moyeni where he then hitchhiked to Nyakeni.

While at his parental home, Dlamini claimed to have been remorseful of his actions and contacted his authorities at work and informed them about the tragedy, which resulted in some police officers being sent to transport him so he could hand himself over to the police at the Manzini Police Station.

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