Times Of Swaziland: NEIGHBOURS SUSPECTS IN MAN’S MURDER, ROBBERY

NEIGHBOURS SUSPECTS IN MAN’S MURDER, ROBBERY
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Thokozani Mazibuko on 08/04/2023 08:53:00


MBABANE – While others celebrated Good Friday, a family of a 34-year-old man
were mourning, as they buried their murdered loved one.
Nkosinathi ‘Jazz’ Zulu of Engonini at Lubulini was buried yesterday after
his body was transported back to Eswatini after he was stabbed to death
allegedly by two of his neighbours, who had posed as good Samaritans. According
to one of the relatives, who preferred to remain anonymous, ‘Jazz’ as they
affectionately called him , usually left the kingdom to South Africa (SA),
Newcastle to do business and returned back on the same day.
However, the relative did not specify what type of business dealings the
deceased  was involved in and with whom.
The relative alleged that almost everyone in the community knew of
Nkosinathi’s cross-border hustle and it was for that reason they did not
suspect anything when two of his neighbours, on Wednesday two weeks ago,
requested to accompany him as he embarked on another trip. “They didn’t have
anything of their own to sell but they arrived early in the morning and
convinced him that it would be beneficial for him (Nkosinathi) to allow them to
tag along, as he was heading to Newcastle. They promised to carry his bag as my
relative lived with a slight  disability, which caused him to limp, so  he
agreed.
“The two young men advised him to also pack his knife as they claimed that
these days it was dangerous to be unarmed as they were going to use an informal
crossing. Nkosinathi left with the two young men, early in the morning last
Wednesday and that was the last day we saw him alive,” narrated the relative.
Further, the relative disclosed that as usual, Nkosinathi called home after a
few hours and informed them that he had been successful as he had sold all his
wares and that he was coming home, the same day in the evening.
“He had told us that he was going to deposit about  E36 000 in his bank
account as the two young men he had left with were no longer with him, as they
had left moments earlier after helping him sell his stuff. However, we waited
for him to arrive that night but he didn’t. We didn’t panic as sometimes it
took him two days  to return home,” the relative said.
Report
The relative  went on to state that Nkosinathi didn’t return home until they
received a phone call from his mobile phone number, last Saturday, when a female
caller  notified the family of his sudden demise. “We asked the caller to
narrate to us  exactly what happened but she didn’t say anything except that
she had been sent by one of the neighbours to relay the message. The lady caller
told us that the two young men had promised to foot the bill of the funeral.
“The caller told us that Nkosinathi had been robbed of all his money,
including his cellphone and was further stabbed to death on the left part of his
chest. “However, after the lady dropped the phone, we noticed that the same
number the caller had used belonged to the deceased. We asked ourselves as to
how was that possible as the caller had disclosed that Nkosinathi was robbed off
everything, including his cellphone,” narrated the relative.
Caller
The relative disclosed that they then headed to Newcastle the following day
(Sunday), to identify if it was indeed Nkosinathi at the mortuary the caller had
told them he had been transported to. “Upon reaching the mortuary, we indeed
confirmed the sad truth, it was his body. The mortuary attendants only gave us
his clothes and nothing else. We then reported everything to the South African
Police and further shared information on how he had left home with those two
neighbours,” added the relative.
The relative revealed that due to the call from the unknown female, which came
from the deceased’s cellphone number, they had every reason to suspect that
the people who were behind Nkosinathi’s death, were the neighbours who had
left with him. “The lady used the deceased’s phone number and we have
reliably gathered that the two young men who had begged to escort our relative
to Newcastle, actually had planned the alleged murder from the beginning, while 
in Eswatini. We hope that the police catch them soon, so that the family can
have closure,” alleged the relative.
Robberies
Murder during robberies has taken a toll in the country as most recently, a taxi
man in Mbabane was shot and later died in hospital after he tried to thwart a
robbery that was in progress in one of the shops. It is said that the deceased
tried but failed to disarm one of the robbers hence they shot him in the process
and went away with a sum of E7 000. Elder brother to the deceased, Nhloko Zulu,
has confirmed yesterday to this publication that Nkosinathi was robbed and
further stabbed to death allegedly by two men, last Wednesday.
“We have since brought his body back and we will bury him on Friday
(yesterday) but the SAPS assured us that they already have a breakthrough in the
case. I cannot say much except that my brother was a responsible man as he was
the chairperson of the youth here at Ntuthwakazi, Lubulini. The youth and the
community have been robbed of a valuable person by these killers,” he said.
South African Police investigator when contacted by this publication confirmed
the incidence and said they were currently investigating the matter of a man who
was found dead at a location in Madadeni.