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ANGRY CROWD HOLDS COPS HOSTAGE

05/09/2020 09:00:00 BY MBONGISENI NDZIMANDZE

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MBABANE – Angry community members held hostage police who were travelling in two vans while demanding justice on three suspected cattle rustlers at Malutha, outside Bhunya.

The community demanded the release of the three suspects who had been allegedly apprehended by Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) border patrols while driving a herd of cattle along the borderline.

However, when the police arrived, the crowd was still busy interrogating the suspects, while demanding to know more about their cattle rustling ring. The police from the Bhunya Police Station managed to bundle the suspects in the van but not without difficulty as the crowd pushed and shoved to have them released for jungle interrogation.

The crowd barricaded the dusty road and declined to give way to the police vehicle until their demands had been met. Crowds had also encircled the police vehicles ensuring that they not move. There were two police officers in one van and four in the other, which was a double cab.

Screaming

A video clip shown to Eswatini News, shows a crowd screaming at the police to bring the suspects back.

“Asikacedzi, We are not done with them!” the crowd shouts. The video also shows the residents of about 100 men, women and children blocking the way for the police, while a soldier who is visibly not in possession of a gun is seen pleading with the crowd to allow the police to pass through.

It was revealed that a herd of 17 cattle was also recovered when the army apprehended the suspects.

A source who was at the scene alleged that the police were manhandled by the irate crowd.

“They were only saved by the intervention of the border patrols who pleaded with the crowd to let the law take its course and allow the police to go,” said a resident who declined to be named for personal safety.

It was said that one of the suspects was taken to the Mankayane Government Hospital where he later disappeared, while the two were taken to the Bhunya Police Station where they were formally charged with the possession of stolen livestock.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed that one of the suspects had escaped from hospital and that the two were charged and would appear before a magistrates court soon.

Charges

At the time that the suspect escaped, he was just a person of interest to the police as no charges had been laid against him.

Meanwhile, Vilakati said people must allow the law to take its course.

Meanwhile, UEDF Public Relations Officer Lieutenant Tengetile Khumalo confirmed having received an operational report on the incident.

“Members of the UEDF in that particular area, while on operational duty, managed to apprehend alleged cattle rustlers. Shots were fired by members of the Defence Force as deterrence and measure to apprehend the suspects. The livestock was handed back to the rightful owners and the culprits were conveyed to the Bhunya Police Station,” she said.

Khumalo also said allegations made by some residents to the effect that one of the suspects was shot during the arrests were untrue as no casualties were reported to the army.

Meanwhile, a source from the area who recounted the incident said the soldiers had intercepted the three driving the cattle across the border and fired gunshots to stop them.

He also alleged that one of the suspects had been wounded and had disappeared on the South African side of the border.

“The soldiers based at Mafutseni Army Base brought the men to their camp to wait for the police. Along the way, a crowd started forming and wanted answers from the men,” he said.

Another video clip of one of the suspects was shown to Eswatini News, wherein the suspect was interrogated for the alleged crimes and ordered to name his accomplices. He confessed to have stolen some horses from a Simelane homestead at Mhlabanyoni and further gave the interrogators names of his accomplices, which may not be mentioned for now pending police investigations.

He then said he was a resident of Stafford.

The source disclosed to this newspaper that during interrogation, the man alleged that their buyers were based in Mayflower, Mpumalanga.

He said several families had lost livestock though the rustlers who drove them across the border and then into a certain mountain where they were then ferried by a truck to buyers.

Gripe

“Our gripe is that whenever we call the police they do not do justice in their investigation. This is why we wanted them to tell us all the information so we can go and fetch our livestock from these buyers,” he said.

He said his estimate was that the community loses at least 1 000 cattle per year to the thieves.

He said what enraged the residents was that the wife of one of the suspects is alleged to have gone around bragging that her husband would be released because there is no evidence of his involvement in the crime.

“That is what further infuriated the crowd because families have lost a lot of wealth to the rustlers.

Meanwhile, this newspaper has documented the theft of two herds of cattle within the same area last year, where suspects managed to outpace members of the Malutha Community Police and disappeared into the thick bushes on the South African side.

In their performance report for July to September last year, the REPS reported that cattle and goats valued at E616 000 were stolen within three months in the country.

Of these, 26 were recovered in South Africa while 106 were recovered in Eswatini.

Said the report: “Police records reflect that rural livestock farmers are the most affected and cattle remains the prime target for stock theft.”