Times Of Swaziland: BOMB DISPOSAL UNIT  AT SIPHO MURDER TRIAL

BOMB DISPOSAL UNIT  AT SIPHO MURDER TRIAL
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Mbongiseni Ndzimandze and Kwanele Dlamini on 23/03/2021 16:44:00


MBABANE – The security detail at the High Court was yesterday different from
the other days as police officers from the Bomb Disposal Unit were on standby.
The contingent of the police, who were also armed, came in a white panel van,
which was pulling a trailer which is used to carry equipment for detecting
explosives.  In the morning, before the arrival of murder accused Sipho Shongwe,
accomplice witness Siphiwe ‘Tata’ Ngubane and members of the public, some of
the police officers from the Bomb Disposal Unit were seen entering Court B of
the High Court which is utilised to hear the matter.
The officers conducted a clean sweep – a thorough inspection - and later left
and remained at the entrance for the duration of the matter. Ever since the
matter resumed last Wednesday, it was for the first time that police officers
from this unit were dispatched to the High Court. One of the law enforcers, when
asked what necessitated the presence of the unit, said: “I cannot disclose
that to you, but can only say that it is for security reasons. We sometimes act
on information from our Intelligence Department.”
The officer, however, emphasised that as the matter proceeds, security will be
heightened further for various reasons which border around safety and security
of all those in court. The High Court building was littered with armed police
officers, especially those from the Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU) and
those from the Rapid Response Unit of His Majesty’s Correctional Services.
Coincidentally, Shongwe’s matter was proceeding alongside that of Maxwell
Nkambule, who also is accused of having hired South African hit men to kill
public transport operator Jomo Khumalo. Like Shongwe, every time Nkambule
appears in court, he is escorted by armed officers from the Rapid Response Unit
from His Majesty’s Correctional Services.
There were over 30 armed police officers, including others who were not in
uniform.  There was also a contingent of officers from His Majesty’s
Correctional Services who consisted of those from the Rapid Response Unit. The
law enforcers were detailed in different places around the High Court while
others were inside the courtroom where Shongwe’s trial was proceeding.
Some officers from the Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU) were deployed at
the entrance of the room where Ngubane was being kept. Inside the room, he was
closely guarded by some plain-clothes police officers who were in the company of
the lead investigator in the Shongwe case, Superintendent Sikhumbuzo Fakudze.
Others who were present to observe the proceedings were Mbabane Swallows fans,
including General Manager Sandile Zwane.  Also present were those who had come
to give Shongwe moral support, including his wife Vuyiswa.