UNREST VICTIM DEMANDING E3M: I SAW SOLDIERS KILLING PEOPLE

MBABANE – “I saw soldiers gunning down people I know and I was traumatised.”

This was an assertion of a man of Lobamba who was reportedly shot by soldiers in the buttocks and thigh during the political unrest. He is now demanding over E3 million from the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF). Mfundo Bhala Shongwe also claimed to have witnessed some people being gunned down by a contingent of soldiers at Mashibhini in Lobamba, where he had gone to buy roasted chicken and porridge (chicken dust). In his particulars of claim, Shongwe narrated events leading to his shooting, which saw him being admitted to hospital for five weeks. He told the court that on July 3, 2021 near Lobamba- eMashibhini at around 4pm, a white Isuzu arrived and it was driven by one Nyoni, a Lieutenant in the UEDF.  

Blood

“I was buying chicken dust, when about eight soldiers alighted from the motor vehicle and shot me in the thigh unexpectedly. It only registered with me that I had been shot when someone shouted that there was blood oozing out of a wound on my thing,” submitted the plaintiff (Shongwe). He recounted that during the skirmish, he witnessed one Mandla Matimela being shot in the head and he (Matimela) died in front of him.  The plaintiff claimed that while he was trying to limp away, another soldier approached and shot him in his left foot and he fell to the ground. “Even as I was writhing in pain and making failed attempts to flee the scene, yet another soldier came and shoot me in the buttocks,” alleged Shongwe. According to Shongwe, Lieutenant Nyoni then approached him, and ordered him to stand up and he was joined by another soldier, who suggested that they finished off what they had started. He said the soldiers who had gathered around him could not reach a consensus.

“Police officers, among whom the plaintiff  identified as Simelane who is based at Lobamba Police Station, arrived at the scene and the army personnel tried to turn them away, while hurling insults and telling the police to go to hell,”  read part of the plaintiff’s particulars of claim. In his narration of the events, Shongwe submitted that Simelane (police officer), however, drove him to Mbabane Government Hospital, where he was admitted and bullets were retrieved from his thigh and buttocks. Shongwe said he returned to the hospital for a check-up and upon arrival, he was told that his situation had worsened. He claimed that this resulted in him being admitted for five weeks and discharged on August 7, 2021. 

“On September 13, I had to undergo a skin graft operation on my leg. I was further informed that I may never be able to walk properly again,” alleged the plaintiff. A skin graft is where healthy skin is removed from an unaffected area of the body and used to cover lost or damaged skin. This can be used for bone fractures that break the skin (open fractures), large wounds, or where an area of the skin is surgically removed.

Scope

“Among the army personnel who shot and tortured me, and  were at all material times acting within the scope of their employment with the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force- were Yoyo and Mashiya, who are only known to me by their names of kubutseka,” he argued. He submitted that as a result of the alleged unlawful assault, he sustained injuries to his leg and was unable to walk without the aid of crutches. The plaintiff is represented by Mabila Attorneys in Association with Noncendo Ndlangamandla. Shongwe alleged that, as a result of the alleged unlawful assault, he suffered damages in the following manner:

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