Times Of Swaziland: MOB ASSAULTS, KILLS 2 SUSPECTED THIEVES

MOB ASSAULTS, KILLS 2 SUSPECTED THIEVES
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Melisa Msweli on 29/07/2022 09:56:00


HLUTHI – Mob justice!
Two people died after being attacked by a mob. This was after one of them had
broken into a house and tried to rob a man of his money. The incident happened
at Lombhiwako, an area around Nsingizini Chiefdom under Hosea Constituency, in
the Shiselweni Region. A source privy to the incident informed this publication
that, one of the people who died was a known thief in the area.  It was reported
that a male and female died due to the injuries sustained during the assault.
The source said in the early hours of Wednesday, at around 1am, the man,
together with five others, went to rob a Ndlovu man, who was sleeping in his
house. According to the source, the man gained entry into Ndlovu’s house while
the others remained outside. Ndlovu was asleep and the man tried to suffocate
him.
Alarm
This publication was informed that Ndlovu raised the alarm and his brother, who
was in another room, rushed to investigate what was happening.
The source said when Ndlovu’s brother, who was armed with a bush knife, saw
his brother being suffocated, he hacked the intruder and raised the alarm, which
attracted the attention of their neighbours. The neighbours are said to have
responded and found the two brothers trying to fight the intruder and joined
them.  A mob of about 150 people, said the source, attacked the intruder and
questioned him about the firearms which he allegedly owned. He was further
ordered to reveal the names of the people he worked with.
The intruder, added the source, was taken to his house by the mob, where they
found groceries and other items suspected to be stolen from some homesteads and
shops in the area. The items included packets of sugar, soap and other household
goods, as well as kitchen utensils that were missing from the different
homesteads. No firearms were found but two men, believed to be in cohorts with
the intruder, were found in his house and were believed to be from Jozini in the
Republic of South Africa.
“We even found cooked meat of a freshly slaughtered goat,” narrated the
source. The mob is said to have taken the intruder, who was still alive then,
together with the two South African nationals, back to the Ndlovu homestead
where he had broken into a house. Three others from a different area; including
a woman, were brought together and assaulted, according to the source.  The mob
is said to have taken turns in assaulting them and questioning them about their
stolen items and the six would mention whether or not they knew the items in
question.
According to the source, over five homesteads and three shops had been broken
into. One of the South African national was identified by a certain woman he
allegedly robbed at gunpoint, who told her that even if she looked at him, she
would not be able to identify him.  The six alleged robbers, mentioned the
source, further pointed out over 10 homesteads where they reportedly stole
livestock to smuggle into South Africa.  The interrogation is said to have gone
on until daylight and by 10am, police had still not arrived and the mob, which
had almost doubled, continued to assault the suspect.  The police eventually
arrived before 11am and took the six alleged robbers to hospital. “They were
all soaked in blood. Four of them were critical,” narrated the source.  The
source said the ringleader, who broke into Ndlovu’s house and tried to
suffocate him, died upon arrival at the hospital. The other three were
transferred to Hlatikhulu Government Hospital.
A family member confirmed that the female died at Hlatikhulu Government Hospital
and the remaining two were in a critical condition. However, unconfirmed reports
suggested that three people died in total and the others were still in hospital.
“We went to check on them today (yesterday), I can confirm he passed away,”
said the family member. It was gathered that the other two were in police
custody. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendant
Phindile Vilakati confirmed the incident. Vilakati, when asked if there were any
members of the mob who had been arrested, said no case had been opened by anyone
yet.