FOUR OK FOODS SUPERMARKETS, OTHERS LOOTED

MANZINI – Four OK Foods supermarkets, two OK Liquor outlets and Spar at Ndlunganye are some of the shops that were looted in the past couple of days.

In Matsapha, this started on Monday night when protesters burnt tyres along the freeway before proceeding to loot. During the looting and burning of structures, shops belonging to Asian nationals at Eposini – opposite Matsapha National High School – were not spared as they were gutted down into rubble by raging fires. Automated teller machines (ATMs) were not spared. The ATMs had their screens pelted with stones and later, the vandals dismantled some of them as debris was found near them. The violence in the streets further spread to other townships within Matsapha. While the chaos was ongoing, from its inception at about 6:30pm until 9:30pm, law enforcers were not in the vicinity. This was on Monday night.

A contigent of about 11 Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU) officers arrived at Ndlunganye just before 10pm. This was followed by a rhythm of gunshots. The officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets towards the protesters. Seeing this, the protesters fled towards Mhlaleni wherein they vandalised and looted the OK Foods Supermarket.

Fleeing

During the back and forth by the protesters, Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) personnel were also deployed in the area. This resulted in the protesters fleeing from the roads and the rhythm of gunfire could be heard from afar as the night quietly slipped into dawn. Meanwhile, the carnage was visible on Tuesday morning as some torched establishments were still smoldering. During what was perceived as calm by many, seemingly the vandals were regrouping and strategising as at about 10am, the chaos ensued again. This started with political songs being sung at Mangwaneni, a peri-urban township in Manzini, which led to road blockages through the burning of tyres, garbage and wood.

Police arrived to dismiss the gathering and the protesters fled towards the city centre. As they fled into town, in fear of the violent actions that were shared on social media platforms, motorists drove out of the city centre at high speed. The empty town was an opportunity for the vandals to loot some of the furniture shops and supermarkets. As the news of this act filtered through social media, surrounding townships resumed blocking roads and looting.

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