Home | News | MY WIFE HAD MULTIPLE RELATIONS – MASHUMI

MY WIFE HAD MULTIPLE RELATIONS – MASHUMI

01/04/2023 10:29:00 Kwanele Dlamini

Font size:

MBABANE – Jailed unionist and football administrator Mashumi Shongwe has accused his deceased wife of having multiple love relationships.

He alleges that despite informing his in-laws about his deceased wife’s adultery, she did not stop her infidelity. Shongwe is facing a charge of murder after the death of his wife, Tigezile Magongo, who was a police officer. The charge sheet states that Shongwe acted jointly with an unknown individual, who is being sought, when committing the murder. Magongo was killed on November 30, 2022. In his application for bail, which is opposed by the Crown, Shongwe informed the court that from 2016, he had unresolved issues with Magongo, which resulted in them holding family meetings with his family and in-laws.

The meetings, according to Magongo, did not yield positive results. He stated that he had been taking care of Magongo and their children. He said, despite the misunderstandings, she was still his wife. They were married in terms of Eswatini Law and Custom. “The conflict between myself and the deceased started after I intercepted telephone conversations and WhatsApp text messages from her cellphone. The conversations were with a certain Maseko of Matsapha.

Admitted

“My wife admitted to me that she was in a love relationship with the said Maseko and they had sexual intercourse on several occasions. Even the said Maseko admitted that he was in a love relationship with my wife and all that my wife had informed me was true,” Shongwe alleged. He said from then on, despite informing his in-laws about his wife’s alleged adultery, she never stopped the infidelity and she became involved in love relations with several men.“As the misunderstanding with my wife became intense, I decided to stay with my second wife, LaDlamini, whom I married in 2015. I tried by all means to solve the problem but the deceased was not pleased.

“The killing of my wife, however, happened at a stage when we were seeing light at the end of the tunnel; that our conflict would be resolved. This is because, since our families were not able to convene meetings successfully for quite some time; both our royal kraals had taken up the matter and they were facilitating and monitoring our meetings,” he added.

The accused alleged that even though their misunderstanding was intense in 2016, things were getting normal from 2018 to Magongo’s time of death. He said in 2021, the Lobamba Royal Kraal categorically ordered Magongo’s parents to attend the meetings without fail to find a lasting solution and they attended at Vusweni Royal Kraal.

Positive

The discussions seemed to take a positive turn, said Shongwe. “I could not, therefore, after all these, hatch a plan to kill my wife. Hence I will plead not guilty to the charge. I had no incentive to kill my wife.” He narrated that his wife continued to stay in his house in Nhlangano and he had no problem with that as he had other wives, LaSimelane and LaKunene, whose homesteads he had built at Makhwelela in the Shiselweni Region.
Shongwe, who is employed by Montigny as a Group Employee Relations Officer, said his continued incarceration would jeopardise his employment.
Yesterday, his attorney, Sakhile Dlamini of S.K. Dlamini Attorneys, told the court that Shongwe had been suspended from work. “Already, my job is at stake as my employer has served me with a suspension letter and the walls have started cracking, indicating that in no time I will lose my job if not released on bail.”

He attached his suspension letter to his bail application. The accused continued to tell the court that he is chairperson of the chief’s advisory committee at Ezikhotheni Chiefdom. He described himself as a loyal man to the country and proud of being a liSwati, who was willing to shape and develop the economy from all angles. “I am also a leader of a workers union and federations that are crucial in developing the economy of the country. I am also the vice chairperson of the Eswatini Football Association, chairperson of the Interim Council Committee at Nhlangano Municipal Council and member of the Eswatini National Provident Fund Board of Directors. This clearly shows that I am rooted in this country and I cannot in any single day think of abandoning these projects and my job as well as my family,” he submitted.

Shongwe told the court that if the court granted him bail, the safety of the public would not be endangered. He said the community of Makhwelela would not be outraged by his release and he was not a danger to the community where he had lived from a young age. He said from the date of the murder of his wife, he became a prime suspect and the matter went viral on social media where he was accused as the culprit. The police, according to Shongwe, had been all along investigating and he knew because they told him so. He submitted that he cooperated fully with the investigators.
He alleged that on March 24, 2023, Senior Superintendent Clement Sihlongonyane called him and they met at Nhlangano Police Station.

Sickly

He said the police informed him that they had decided to lay the charge of murder against him and they detained him. He has been in custody ever since his arrest. He wants out of custody and has told the court that he is sickly and requires frequent medical check-ups. On March 27, 2023, he was booked at Nhlangano Correctional Services and: “I was quickly admitted to the prison hospital as my sugar levels and blood pressure was very high. I am currently under check-ups almost twice or sometimes three times a day. My health condition is worsening each day here as I am even not getting the diet I need.”

He said if he was released from custody, he would not conceal or destroy evidence of the Crown. Shongwe mentioned that from the death of his wife in November 2022 to date of his arrest, he had been travelling to other countries and he did not harbour any intention to escape. He said recently, in March 2023, he went to Rwanda on a FIFA Congress assignment and he came back to Eswatini. The accused further said he frequently visited South Africa for medical check-ups and on business but he did not have relatives or friends in that country.