Times Of Swaziland: ‘HOW I ESCAPED HANGMAN’

‘HOW I ESCAPED HANGMAN’
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Sithembile Hlatshwayo on 10/10/2022 08:45:00


BHUNYA – As the world commemorates the 19th World Day Against the Death
Penalty today, a former death row prisoner has relived how he ‘escaped’ the
hangman.
Andreas Msibi, popularly known as ‘Njandini’, who is now a reverend,
narrated the events that led to him being removed from the death row. Njandini
is a name that is used by gang members to describe one of their own whom they
regard as a hardcore criminal. The now 82-year-old Msibi stated that he was
sentenced to death in 1973. Reverend Msibi was among 22 death row prisoners at
the time awaiting to be executed at the Matsapha Correctional Services,
including three women. He said it was on April 1, 1977, when they were to be
taken for execution during the night. “I was fast asleep when a group of
officers arrived in my cell, roughly awaking and telling me to take my blankets
and come out of the cell.”
He said when they arrived outside, they found vehicles belonging to the Royal
Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS).
Msibi said the officers had surrounded the building to ensure that the prisoners
did not escape. He said the officers who held his hand left him and he sat down
on the blankets and watched. “I heard cries from the prisoners whom we were
with as they were loaded into the vehicles, handcuffed.” Msibi said the
officers loaded the vans and when they were fully loaded, another van was
brought in until all the prisoners were taken away, except for him. He said he
saw the vehicles driving out of the prison and wondered when he would be loaded.
After the last vehicle had left, the commissioner who was called Sigweva, came
to him and informed him that he had been pardoned by the King, who was Sobhuza
II at that time. “I was told that I would not be hanged but instead serve a
life sentence.”
Msibi said the moment the commissioner communicated the message to him, he had a
voice telling him to preach more while inside prison and that the time he would
serve was very limited. On April 17, 1986, he was released from jail after
serving 13 years. Msibi said God’s Word was fulfilled and he was meant to
watch the death row prisoners being taken for execution as the Lord wanted to
show him that He had saved him. He said when everything happened, he thought it
was not real but a vision.
Meanwhile, he said God had communicated the pardon when he had a vision
instructing him to read the book of Isaiah 45 and assuring him that whatever he
would read there, he would experience. According to Msibi, he was arrested
following an armed robbery, where he was with two other men. Msibi said he was
employed as a security guard at Bhunya at the time.
He added that during the robbery, they were fighting to get a cash box which
they later discovered had coins amounting to around E300. Msibi added that he
was carrying a gun and pulled the trigger and killed a man during the robbery.
Msibi said after a few months of the robbery, they were finally arrested in
1972.
Judge
He further mentioned that they stayed in jail the entire year until they were
sentenced the following year in 1973, where the judge issued a ruling of
execution. Msibi said during his jail time, he was a very heartless and stubborn
person. During the same year, Msibi said he filed an appeal, where the judges
felt he deserved the punishment. He said before the appeal, he had a vision
where he was visited by an unknown man inside the cell, while he was asleep. The
reverend stated that he went for the appeal as a born again person. In January
1974, he said while asleep, he had a vision where he saw the door of his cell
open and a man whose face he could not see told him that from now onwards, he
should pray and never quit. Msibi said before he was saved, he was someone who
regarded Christianity as a stupid thing and whenever they came to preach inside
the cell, he would request the police to give him a cigarette to smoke.
Responding to his visitor inside the cell, Msibi said he told him that he could
not pray, but the man repeated the command three times. However, on the third
instance, he told the man that ever since he was born, he had never prayed. This
is when the visitor took one step backward and raised his right hand and like
the biblical Saul, and he was struck by a bolt of lightning and fell down and
felt his spirit leave. “The man then came towards me walking very fast and
raised a finger and touched my lips before disappearing.” Msibi said he was
shaken by the man’s action and woke up from the dream. While awake, he said
his body shook terribly from his feet to the head. “I tried requesting the
officers to give me a cigarette and they did likewise but I failed to smoke it
as I continued shaking and it fell down.”
According to Msibi, this was when the pastors had come to preach in the prison
cells. He said the police got worried by his condition as he continued shaking
for close to an hour. The reverend said it was the last time he smoked a
cigarette. Msibi said, he then started hearing the voice of the man speak from
within him to do what he had been told. He said the following day, after
breakfast, he again heard the voice speak to him to borrow a Bible from the
people he called stupid and read it. These, he said, were the pastors who
preached at the prison cells. Msibi said he fought trying to disregard the voice
and finally gave in. “I looked through the cell and requested an officer to
lend me a Bible and he did so.” Msibi said when the officer gave him the
Bible, they actually laughed and did not believe it, even thought that he had
lost his mind.
Bible
He said one of the inmates shouted and asked if he was really borrowing the
Bible and he confirmed it. Msibi said for the first time in his life, he opened
randomly in the book of John, chapter 11, where the story of Lazarus was told
when he was raised from the tomb by Christ. He said God was talking to him that
he would no longer hang or die. On the same day, he said the voice persisted
that he was supposed to preach to his fellow prisoners and again, he tried to
ignore. Msibi said the voice strengthened and when the preaching time
approached, he peeped through his cell and told the inmates that he would be
leading the service. “They gave me the Bible, but I cannot recall which verse
I read but from that moment, I started preaching and never looked back.”
Msibi said he then wanted to be in control and wanted to preach at all times not
giving other prisoners a chance. He said one of the prisoners who was very old
asked him if he was once a Christian and backslided, which he responded to the
negative. Msibi said while relating his story, the officers and other prisoners
then got to understand his behaviour. He also noted that ever since he accepted
Christ, everything changed in his life, even the burden of the death sentence
was removed. Msibi now leads KaLuhleko Evangelical Church.