FAMILY OF COP KILLED DURING BUY CASH ROBBERY WANTS E6M

MBABANE – The family of the police officer who was shot in cold blood during a robbery at Siphofaneni Buy Cash Hardware, is demanding E6 million from the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and Eswatini Government.

Constable Bongani Bernard Maphalala was shot after about five armed men staged a robbery at the Siphofaneni Buy Cash Hardware store, where an amount of about E200 000 was reportedly stolen. The constable was accompanying a vehicle that had come to collect money from the hardware store. His wife, Dumsile Tholakale Maphalala, who is an executor of his estate, contends that Bongani’s death could have been avoided under the circumstances. Through her attorneys from N.E Ginindza Attorneys, the wife has caused to be issued a letter of demand, where she wants the government to compensate the family with a sum of E6 million.  

The aforementioned amount, according to the executor, was in respect of loss of dependency, loss of financial support and loss of expectation of life. The wife, through her attorneys, narrated that on December 23, 2021, her husband passed on during an armed robbery at or near Buy Cash, Siphofaneni.  She said at all times during the aforesaid robbery, her husband was a member of REPS,  based at Siphofaneni Police Station and he was within the course and scope of his employment when he met his death, which could have been avoided under the circumstances.

Executor

The executor submitted that on the day in question, the REPS allegedly failed to ensure that Bongani was deployed with the necessary backup team and also to ensure that he was easily identifiable, as a police officer on the day. According to the wife, REPS purportedly failed to guarantee her husband’s personal safety by allowing him to escort alone. The police service, according to the executor, also allegedly failed to ensure and/or provide conducive dress code for the assignment on the day in question. It was further the executor’s contention that the police service also allegedly failed to ensure that the driver from Buy Cash Hardware, had knowledge on transporting cash and equipped in advanced defensive driving skills.
These are allegations whose veracity is still to be tested.

In the letter of demand, which was delivered to the office of the attorney general (ag) on March 22, 2022, the REPS also allegedly failed to ensure that the motor vehicle that was to be used by the deceased on the day’s assignment was an armoured motor vehicle. REPS is further accused of having failed to ensure that the environment where Bongani had to pick and/or escort the cash was conductive for a single police officer. The management of the police is further said to ensure that Buy Cash Hardware had its own security company for transporting its money. “REPS also failed to ensure that, the deceased as an escort police officer on the day, was not supposed to have been driven in the same motor vehicle, which was also transporting the money he was escorting on the day,” reads part of the correspondence.  It alleged that on the day in question, REPS as employer, allegedly failed to exhaust all manpower and motor vehicle resources, which could have accompanied the deceased on his assignment on the day.

“To that end, we do advise that, your failure to do what was reasonably necessary and necessity in the circumstances has led you to be vicariously liable to our client’s husband death, which death you (REPS) are the sole cause. As a result of the aforementioned negligence on your part, our client and her children have suffered damages in the sum of E6 million,” submitted the executor’s attorney.

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