UMBUTFO SHOOTING: GUNMAN KILLED BY 2 SHOTS FROM HELICOPTER

MATSAPHA – The gunman, who was shot dead on Saturday evening at New Village, Matsapha, died from two gunshots fired by security personnel from the air. The security personnel were in a helicopter, tracking the gunman, Lino Mlandvo Doch (26) of KaPhunga, and they opened fire upon locating him on the ground.

Doch was said to be part of a trio fingered in the shooting of a warrior aged 57 at Mahlabatsini; a peri-urban settlement characterised by accommodation targeting low-income earners working in Manzini and Matsapha. Mahlabatsini is in close proximity to Phocweni Army Barracks and Masundvwini High School. Fana Fana Bhembe, who was shot on Saturday, was on his way to join the rest of Ingatja on their way to Esikhaleni Selusekwane to cut the sacred shrub, lusekwane, as part of the ongoing Incwala Ceremony. He is a member of Inyatsi Regiment.

Targeted

According to sources privy to the matter, the deceased was part of a trio who targeted Bhembe for wearing traditional regalia and partaking in the ongoing ceremony. The warrior, according to sources, was shot in the upper abdomen. It was gathered that after the suspects shot the warrior, they left the scene nonchalantly, assuming that there were no witnesses. However, the sources pointed out that some people had witnessed the incident, alerted law enforcement and described the suspects to them.

The police responded promptly and arrived at the scene. As the police were attending to the shot warrior, the shooter, Doch, was said to have emerged purportedly to finish off the warrior. However, police officers are said to have identified Doch and there was a shootout. The sources said since Doch was outnumbered, he opted to flee. The law enforcers, according to the sources, notified their counterparts about what the gunman was wearing.

Pursued

A team of combined security personnel from the police and army pursued Doch from the air and on the ground. The sources told this publication that during the shootout between Doch and the police, his two accomplices fled the scene. According to eyewitnesses, as the helicopter hovered overhead monitoring Doch’s movements, he fled Mahlabatsini using pathways around the maze of blocks of one-room flats. He ended up in a forest on a farm near New Village. For about 30 minutes, it was gathered that the helicopter hovered over the thicket as the security personnel tried to locate him.

According to the eyewitnesses, three gunshots reverberated in the forest just about 200 metres from the Mhlaleni – Nhlangano Public Road. This was said to have happened just before 6pm, following the about five-kilometre chase. The eyewitnesses stated that following the shooting of the suspect, the thicket between the clinic at New Village and the bus stop was littered with over 50 members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) and police officers. One of the witnesses said after they heard the three gunshots, they feared that stray bullets might hit their houses, since they were not too far from the scene.

The witness further said subsequent to the shooting from the air, the helicopter landed on a stretch of the Mhlaleni – Nhlangano Public Road, forcing motorists to drive on the side of the road. The onlooker said at that point, a contingent of armed personnel combed the forest until late into the night.
He purported that the security personnel were searching for evidence and a vehicle from the Scenes of Crime Department arrived and officers were seen carrying a body tray.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the demise of the suspect and the shooting of the warrior. Vilakati said the swift intervention of the public in alerting law enforcement about the shooting played a big part. She further confirmed that the suspect died while being pursued by security personnel.

Meanwhile, a member of the family of the deceased said they were yet to receive a formal report on the demise of their relative. The relative said they got wind of the incident on Saturday and reports of it had increased yesterday. The next-of-kin of the deceased said the challenge was that Doch was brought up by his mother and there were also relatives from his father’s side, whom they were not certain had been informed of the incindent.

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