MAN TAKES PM TO COURT FOR MUM KILLED DURING UNREST

MBABANE - A son to a woman who died after she was allegedly heavily assaulted by soldiers during the political unrest in the country has taken the PM to court.

Sizwe Shoulder of Mbelebeleni wants the High Court to compel and direct Prime Minister (PM) Cleopas Dlamini to appoint a coroner to preside in an inquest of his late mother, Dumsile Simelane. A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead. Dumsile was reportedly heavily assaulted by soldiers while at Mashibhini, Lobamba.
Other respondents in the matter are the commander of the  Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF), national commissioner of police (NATCOM), the coroner and the chief medical officer- Mbabane Government Hospital.

Report

Shoulder is also praying for an order directing the chief medical officer at the Mbabane Government Hospital to compile a report on the death of Dumsile in terms of Section 6 of the Inquest Act, 1954. The applicant (Shoulder) further wants the High Court to compel and direct the chief medical officer to submit to him a medical report on the death of his (Shoulder) mother forthwith. In his application, he told the court that he had a locus standi to bring this application as the biological son of the late Dumsile. It was further his argument that he had a substantial interest in the matter as the death of his mother was not through natural cause. He told the court that he was dependent on her for support together with all his siblings. “The deceased had a legal duty to support me and other children because of the requisite degree of consanguinity. I and the other children are indigent and the deceased maintained us,” he argued.

It was further his contention that Dumsile was a breadwinner in the family and through her death, they had been deprived of a right to the life of their mother. Giving background of the matter, Shoulder narrated that on June 30, 2021, Dumsile, who was aged 54, was attacked by members of the Umbufto Eswatini Defence Force during the evening at her rented flat at Lobamba/Mashibhini. “She was severely assaulted all over the body, without just cause and she later succumbed to the injuries she sustained at the hands of members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force,” alleged the applicant. He brought it to the attention of the court that his mother died on July 23, 2021, a few weeks after she was allegedly heavily assaulted by the soldiers.

Beaten

According to Shoulder, his mother was severely beaten and never given a chance to explain anything. “During the assault of my mother by members of the army, her friends ran away. My mother could not go to hospital due to financial constraints,” submitted the applicant. Shoulder also noted that no one was aware that the head injuries his mother sustained were going to complicate her health. He alleged that his mother later developed blood clots which caused her blood flow to decrease later leading to her death a few weeks later. These are allegations whose veracity is still to be tested in court.  The plaintiff told the court that he also gathered from the pathologist’s verbal report that the deceased died from the head injuries she sustained and as such developed blood clots. The matter is still pending in court and appearing for the applicant is Leo Ndvuna Dlamini and the respondents, through lawyers from the attorney general are still to file their papers.

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