Home | News | 2 COPS ASSAULTED, 1 STABBED FOR SINGING INCWALA SONG

2 COPS ASSAULTED, 1 STABBED FOR SINGING INCWALA SONG

26/07/2022 07:03:00 Thokozani Mamba

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SITEKI – Two police officers were assaulted with one being stabbed for allegedly singing a song usually sung during the Incwala Ceremony.

The incident happened around 1am on Saturday in one of the drinking spots at Siphofaneni, in the Lubombo Region. The 31-year-old police officer, who was stabbed, is currently receiving medical attention in one of the hospitals after he sustained severe stab wounds in his upper body. The law enforcer’s identity is known to this publication but will not be disclosed for now for safety reasons. According to a source close to the matter, the injured officer joined the police service in 2017 and ‘it was unfortunate that he has become a victim of the ongoing spate of police shootings, attacks and killings across the country’.

Beverages

The source, *Themba, who is also a police officer, said they were enjoying alcoholic beverages at Siphofaneni Town and they left the drinking spot after it was closed. He said they went to another drinking spot not far from where they were initially enjoying themselves. The source informed this publication that due to lack of space in his car, the officer who was later stabbed, could not be accommodated and he joined their other friends and colleagues as they walked to the next drinking hole. Narrating the incident, Themba stated that he was informed by the others who were with them that they were not the targets on the night but the ‘Solidarity Forces’ were looking for two of his colleagues, who were not in their company.
‘Solidarity Forces’ are said to be a group of unknown individuals, who according to some online publications, have taken ownership of the spate of killings of police officers and soldiers, as well as the sporadic arson attacks. Themba mentioned that his colleague’s sin was to sing one of the songs commonly sung during the Incwala Ceremony while walking towards the other drinking spot. This, according to Themba, angered some of the men in their company, resulting in one of them drawing a knife and repeatedly stabbing him in the upper body.

Stabbed

He said he had been informed before reaching the crime scene that those who stabbed his colleague called them (police officers) Mangololo as they repeatedly stabbed the law enforcer. Themba said he made some calls enquiring why they had not reached the drinking spot they were walking to and that was when he discovered that his colleague had been stabbed several times. He mentioned that he was also attacked but managed to overcome his assailants when they assaulted him with fists after he confronted them about the stabbing of his colleague and managed to escape to a secluded area.
According to Themba, this happened when he went to the scene where he found out that the others had left his colleague sprawled on the ground.
He further mentioned that the men who stabbed the police officer approached his vehicle when he alighted to check on his injured colleague and he fought them, and sustained minor bruises on his head and body. Themba added that he called for back-up and an ambulance to take his injured colleague to hospital. He stated that he was informed that his colleague was transferred to a hospital in Manzini around 8am on Sunday, since he had sustained severe internal injuries.

Ambulance

“I immediately rushed to the scene and then my car ran out of fuel and I called an ambulance that whisked him to a hospital in the Lubombo Region and he was subsequently transferred to a hospital in the Manzini Region, due to the seriousness of his injuries,” Themba said. A sister of the stabbed officer confirmed having been informed about the incident but indicated that she was currently residing in the Hhohho Region. “One of his colleagues called to inform me about what had happened to my brother. I reside in the Hhohho Region and I am yet to inform my siblings about the incident,” *Gugu said.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the incident. “The matter has been reported and he is currently recuperating in hospital. Police are conducting investigations around the circumstances leading to the incident,” she said. The stabbing of the police officer happened on the backdrop of a recent shooting and killing of a police officer, Bonginkosi Dlamini (46), who is said to have informed the officers he was travelling with that they should tell the ‘Solidarity Forces’ not to approach him as he would retaliate. This was after some officers supposedly advised him not to walk to his house as he was still in his uniform. It was said he decided to walk to Matsapha Police Academy, where he was stationed, because it was daybreak and a number of people were already out and about.

Killing

It was gathered that his assumption was that the killing of law enforcement officers previously occurred at night. Dlamini was shot dead at Mathangeni, along the Ndlunganye – Police Academy Public Road. According to a family member, Dlamini had forgotten his mobile phone charging at the guard point, where he was working at night. Following this, Dlamini was said to have requested officers who were travelling in a bus from His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS), which was yet to depart his duty station, to bring with them his cellphone. In order to get his cellular phone, he alighted at Ngabezweni Bus Stop to wait for the officers who were bringing his phone with them. He disembarked from a Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) bus, which was to drop him off at his destination, which was about two kilometres away. While Dlamini walked towards the Matsapha Police Academy, a gunman alighted from a white Nissan NP 200 bakkie, with South African registration numbers.

The bakkie drove past him while his assailant crossed the road and walked behind him. The gunman reportedly pulled the police officer’s jacket and Dlamini did not respond. The assailant shot him in the base of the head (where the head links with the neck). Another police officer, Sibusiso Elphas Matsebula, was killed about 500 metres from his duty station - Matsapha Police Station. A gunman, who shot the traffic police officer based at Sigodvweni Police Station, reportedly cocked his gun in front of street vendors before shooting Matsebula. According to eyewitnesses, the shooter was walking on the pavement along the main road before he crossed to the shopping complex where a police sedan, assigned to the Traffic Department, was parked.

Shot

Another officer, Zinhle Mavuso from northern Hhohho, was shot dead and her colleague was shot in the chest. This incident happened in the wee hours of Saturday in the outskirts of the Manzini Central Business District (CBD). The Times SUNDAY reported that there were two gunmen who carried out the shooting and it was suspected that they used pistols or hand guns. The male officer was reportedly shot in the chest and had to be rushed to hospital for treatment. During this attack, it was said at least 14 gunshots were fired at the motor vehicle that was being used by the two officers to patrol around the area, to ensure that the heavy plant machinery being used by two construction companies was safe from the arson attacks currently being witnessed countrywide.

Gunmen

Meanwhile, Matsebula is the third State security agent to have been shot dead by unknown gunmen. Last month, a member of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) was shot dead by gunmen who attacked him at his home where he was reportedly holding prayer at New Village. Another attempt in killing police officers was witnessed last month when two traffic officers were aimed at by gunmen while they were inside the REPS Malagwane Cooling Station. The first instance was when a member of the UEDF was targeted by an unknown gunman. It has been gathered by this publication that the soldier was shot while within a vehicle he was driving. Impeccable sources claimed that the soldier saw the gunman pulling out the weapon beneath his jacket. The soldier was said to have failed to flee from the scene as his vehicle was in close proximity to the one ahead of him.
NB: *Not their real names