Times Of Swaziland: KILLED COP HIT BY 3 BULLETS, COLLEAGUE DESCRIBED AS HERO

KILLED COP HIT BY 3 BULLETS, COLLEAGUE DESCRIBED AS HERO
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Sibusiso Zwane and Joseph Zulu  on 27/06/2022 08:26:00


MANZINI – The deceased cop may have been hit by three bullets, but her
colleague has been referred to as a hero.
This is what was said about Philani Mntungwa, the male police officer who was
driving the police van during the deadly shooting incident which took place in
Manzini, where unknown gunmen opened fire and killed the female law enforcer,
Zinhle Mavuso, who was occupying the passenger seat. It is said that Mntungwa,
who is recovering in hospital, was shot by the unknown gunmen while trying to
take a gun from the deceased, with the aim of fighting back.
This is according to some sources who are close to Mntungwa. The incident took
place near the Manzini Club traffic circle on Saturday at around 3am. Mavuso
died on the spot, while Mntungwa was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
Burst
According to the sources, while the duo were driving towards the city of
Manzini, in the early hours of that fateful day, they saw two men walking  near
the wall fence of the Manzini Club and heard a loud bang. The source disclosed
that the officers first thought that maybe one of the car tyres had burst and as
such they slowed down.
Thereafter, the source said the officers saw the two men shooting at them at
close range. As previously reported by our sister publication, The Times Sunday,
the gunmen fired several gun shots at the car before vanishing.
“The survivor tried to take the gun from Mavuso with the aim of fighting back,
but in the process, he was also shot at least twice in the chest. What he did
shows that he is a brave officer,” they said. Mavuso, according to the
sources, was hit by about three bullets in the chest and one of them was lodged
next to her heart and they supposed that it was the one that resulted in her
death. Meanwhile, they said it was not clear if the two bullets which hit the
survivor in the chest, were still in his body or not, because he was in a
critical condition when he was rushed to hospital.
They said according to information that was shared by those who visited him in
hospital yesterday, he was recuperating well.
Meanwhile, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent
Phindile Vilakati said they would not unpack what happened during the incident
while the matter was still under investigation.
Gunmen
Worth noting is that this is the second member of the State security organs to
be shot dead by unknown gunmen, who are suspected to be linked to the ongoing
political tension in the country. This is because last month, a soldier was shot
dead by unknown people while at a home cell prayer at his home at Mahlabatsini
in Matsapha. He was shot in front of his children and church members.
Again, there are a number of incidents where unknown armed people shot at a
police vehicle. One incident happened at KaHlobile in Matsapha, while another
one took place at KaKhoza in Manzini. Another one took place at Malkerns in the
Manzini Region and last month, two traffic officers starred death in their face
when unknown gunmen opened fire on a police caravan at the cooling station for
trucks, along the MR3 Highway, just before Malagwane Hill.