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MAN DIES AFTER ALLEGED ASSAULT BY SOLDIERS

21/07/2022 14:05:00 Sibusiso Zwane

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MANZINI - Samukeliso Matsebula, a 35-year-old man of Mangcongco, is said to have died after he was heavily assaulted by members of the UEDF.

The incident took place on Saturday night and a source close to the matter alleged that the soldiers were following a tip-off that a man who allegedly assaulted a police officer and took a service gun from the law enforcer, was spotted around the area. The gun incident happened a while ago and it was recovered, but the person responsible for the episode evaded arrest and is still on the run.

According to a close relative of ‘Macross’, as he was widely known, the deceased, who spent more time in neighbouring South Africa, had called and informed his family that he would be coming home on Saturday. He said as a family they expected him the whole day on Saturday, but he did not show up. However, he said on Sunday morning, they were informed by some community members that ‘Macross’ was assaulted by a group of soldiers on Saturday night and they took him away.

The relative said when they asked the military men why ‘Macross’ was assaulted and further taken away; they did not get an explanation as the community members alleged that they found him walking along the road with another man. In fact, they were from enjoying alcoholic beverages. “Since the army base was not that far, they waited and hoped that he would come home on the day (Sunday) and narrate what happened on the previous night, but he did not come,” the relative said. He said on Monday morning, police officers from Bhunya Police Station called the deceased’s father and invited him to the police station. He said when he arrived, without telling him anything about ‘Macross’, the law enforcers asked him to bring an identity (ID) card and birth certificate of his son.

Thereafter, he said the deceased’s father called home and asked them to bring his son’s ID and birth certificate. However, the source said when the father arrived home; he was informed that only the birth certificate was available as he took his ID with him. After that, he said on Tuesday, the father went to the police station with the birth certificate of his late son and that was when the police informed him that his son was late. “However, when he ( father) asked how and when his son died, the police asked him to come to Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital on Thursday because a detailed report would be delivered to them after a post-mortem had been conducted,” the relative said.

He said as a family, the past four days had been the longest of their lives as they had been itching to hear what had happened to their son. He said the main purpose of him coming home was to assist in the payment of school fees. He said the deceased had two children; one was doing Grade II, while the other was still breastfeeding. Later on, the relative said they had gathered that when their loved one was found by the soldiers, he was walking with the man who is wanted for disarming a police officer, but the suspect bolted immediately after seeing the military men and disappeared into the thick of the night. He said the soldiers ended up apprehending ‘Macross’, who was not their intended target. However, he emphasised that they would be in a better position to talk about the matter after the post-mortem as the police had promised to give them a detailed report about the death of their loved one.

On another note, the relative revealed that they have since gathered that in certain platforms, some senior members of the military have disclosed that ‘Macross’ incident was a mistake as the soldiers found that he was not linked to any criminal offence. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said the police were investigating a matter of a man who was found dead at Mangcongco on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, by the time of compiling this report yesterday evening, the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) Public Affairs Officer 2nd Lieutenant, Tengetile Khumalo had not responded to a questionnaire which was sent to her at 3:09pm. In the questionnaire, Khumalo was asked if the UEDF was aware of the incident. She was also asked what criminal offence had the deceased committed and why the members of the UEDF assaulted him. Moreover, she was asked what the army was doing to address the issue because there were claims that the man had not committed any crime.