SIX PEOPLE APPEAR IN COURTS FOR GBV CASES IN ONE DAY

MBABANE – It seems no day passes without a case of gender-based violence (GBV) being reported to the police in Eswatini.

Six people yesterday appeared at the Mbabane and Manzini Magistrates courts charged with GBV-related offences. Among the accused persons was a 42-year-old woman who is accused of assaulting her boyfriend with a stone on the forehead while at Siphocosini. *Dudu was remanded in custody until December 8, 2023, pending trial setting on January 11, 2023. In an offence which took place at Mahwalala, *Sidumo (43) appeared charged for threatening his girlfriend and further vandalising her window valued at E230.

Imprisonment

Sidumo was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment with an option to pay a fine of E1 000. In a case that allegedly took place at Mvutshini, *Musa (27) appeared charged with sexually harassing *Nomsa. It is alleged that Musa touched Nomsa’s private parts and forcefully kissed her several times.  He has since been remanded out of custody pending trial. At Msunduza in Mbabane, a 26-year-old man assaulted his sister with open hands and fists several times all over the body, causing her hurt and injuries. *Mduduzi has been sentenced to 10 months imprisonment with the option to pay a fine of E1 000. However, the court suspended the sentence for a period of 12 months, on condition he did not commit a similar offence during the period of suspension.

In Manzini, a woman has been arrested for allegedly pouring boiling water on her cousin’s girlfriend. It is alleged that the bone of contention was that the cousin spent too much time with her. The 43-year-old woman of Logoba, Matsapha, in the Manzini Region, was arrested by law enforcers from Matsapha Police Station over the weekend and was charged with assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Assaulted

The accused person made her first court appearance at Matsapha Circuit Court yesterday and according to the charge sheet, on November 25, 2023, while she was at Logoba, she allegedly assaulted her cousin’s girlfriend by pouring her with boiling water on the face, right hand, right breast and on the left shoulder. It is said that her intention was to injure her cousin’s girlfriend, thus she was charged with the aforesaid charge. It is alleged that the suspect was supposedly jealous that her cousin was spending more time with his girlfriend and as a result, she was unable to see him as often as she wanted to. The accused person was remanded in custody until December 5, 2023. Meanwhile, a 36-year-old man of the same area (Logoba) was also put behind bars after he assaulted his girlfriend with open hands on the face and further threatened to kill her with a knife. The incident is said to have taken place at Logoba on Sunday, November 26, 2023.

As a result, Sibonginkhosi Dlamini was charged for contravening Section 177(1)(a) of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act 15 of 2018. He appeared at the Matsapha Circuit Court yesterday and he was sentenced to two years imprisonment with an option to pay a fine of E2 000. The judicial officer who presided over the matter is Magistrate Lucia Lukhele. *Not real names

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: