Times Of Swaziland: MHLANGATANE SIWASHO DEATHS: ACCUSED’S HOUSE BURNT

MHLANGATANE SIWASHO DEATHS: ACCUSED’S HOUSE BURNT
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Sabelo Ndzinisa on 09/09/2023 08:04:00


MHLANGATANE – Taking law into own hands.
It would appear emotions got the better of some Mhlangatane residents, after
they were alleged to have set on fire, a one-room house, belonging to the man
charged with the death of six people in the area. The victims died after
drinking siwasho (concoction), which was allegedly poisoned and subsequently,
the suspect who was arrested by the police the following day, has been slapped
with 25 charges after appearing before the Pigg’s Peak Magistrate Court on
Tuesday.
Allegations are that the suspect, not only poisoned the siwasho but allegedly
did same to water at the Ndwandwe homestead, where the spine-chilling incident
is said to have played out. He is believed to have poisoned the siwasho with the
main target being a woman who it is alleged, he was in a love relationship with.
Suspect
According to some family members of the deceased persons, the suspect allegedly
stayed in the one-room house situated inside the Ndwandwe compound and this is
the same structure that was set alight by unknown people, believed to be
disgruntled residents. When this publication paid a visit to the homestead, the
house in question was indeed found to have been burnt, with most of the
valuables inside reduced to ashes.
Actually, some police officers were seen taking pictures of the house and
recording statements from members of the Ndwandwe family after the incident was
reported to the law enforcers. It is worth noting that the veracity of the
allegations against the suspect, are yet to be tested in the court of law. The
family member alleged that the suspect was invited to stay in the one-room by
the husband of one of the deceased persons.
Invited
“The suspect was invited to stay at the Ndwandwe residence by the husband of
the woman who drank the siwasho and passed away. The information we have is that
he was asked by the woman’s husband to assist with some work at the compound
and as time went on, he got into a love relationship with the woman. “The
relationship got serious and we are led to believe that he (suspect) even rented
a room for the woman at Buhleni. “However, things did not go as planned as
they got into constant arguments with the woman who then decided to return to
her husband,” the family member alleged.
This, according to the family member, did not go down well with the suspect who
is alleged to have repeatedly threatened the woman. This eventually led to that
fateful day, when the family members unknowingly drank the concoction. “The
poisoning of the siwasho was well planned by the suspect, even though on the
day, the residence was full of people, who had come for preparations ahead of
the cleansing ceremony of the widow, who unfortunately drank the concoction and
passed away.
Victims
“Two people were assigned by the bishop to guard the siwasho but it would seem
the suspect took his time to the grab the opportunity of interfering with the
siwasho. The sad thing is that even innocent children who drank the siwasho were
victims at the end,” he alleged. It has been gathered that the autopsy on the
deceased was to be conducted on Thursday at the Mbabane Government Hospital to
establish the cause of their deaths.