Times Of Swaziland: PUDEMO’S MLUNGISI POISONING: WHY I DID IT - ‘YOUNG BOY’ PUDEMO’S MLUNGISI POISONING: WHY I DID IT - ‘YOUNG BOY’ ================================================================================ Timothy Simelane on 27/09/2024 08:41:00 MBABANE – The man associated with the poisoning of PUDEMO President Mlungisi Makhanya, says he was compelled by personal and financial reasons to take the hard decision. In a video that circulated on social media yesterday, Sifiso Innocent Mahlangu made startling allegations, giving clues that the contention between him and Makhanya was based on personal circumstances and prompted by apparent lack of financial accountability in the political organisation. He also summarised the situation as a ‘lion mauling its owner’ (libhubesi lidla umnikati walo). He registered discontentment with emaSwati who pretend to be having the best interest of the nation, yet their intention is personal enrichment. “They go to rich countries and ask for money to advance the course of the struggle for change, but after getting the money, nothing goes towards that purpose. Recording He said he witnessed this after former Warder Bheka Magagula made a live recording on the scarcity of finances in the camp. Mahlangu alleged that money was paid for the liberation cause, in different instalments, one of which amounted to E3 million and another E1.5 million. He said he had no idea how the money was utilised. “We were not offered even money to buy clothes or send home for children’s pampers. This is also the reason that commander (Thabo Kunene) decided to go solo, until he fell in the arms of the enemy.” Though Mahlangu praised Makhanya for his connections to people and political parties of South Africa, he registered several concerns, which will not be repeated pending his recovery to respond. Narrating the events leading to the house attempted murder, he said he had not wished for such to happen. “There were personal issues directly linked to me, and I am not in position to divulge them to you, for now. But these are the issues that made me take the decision to hold hands with Makhanya, so that we can die together. Whereabouts “Kungente ngabona kutsi asibambane ngetandla mine na Makhanya, sikhahlele libhakede,” he said. However, Mahlangu’s whereabouts remain unknown, while Makhanya is under intense treatment by medical doctors after ingesting the poison. Mahlangu said what pains him all the more is that when something goes wrong, the underground forces are the ones who take the fall. He promised to shed more light on these issues in due course. He warned those who had insulted him on facebook, saying they must be careful, lest the worst may befall them. “Lingadvuma likwehlele manje,” he said, meaning something terrible could befall them. Mahlangu said some people were prone to taking potshots at him, without understanding the pain that he has gone through. “They do not understand that we sometimes sleep in the cold, shivering the whole night. This is like a lion turning to maul its owner. If the lion is no longer fed to the point of satisfaction, it will devour the owner. These are just life lessons that we endure (mafutsa endlela).” He noted that the video clip he was sharing was inconclusive, pending whatever is published in the media. He then promised to shed more light in future. Mahlangu recorded himself in a room, whose location is unknown. Meanwhile, another voice recording emerged of a person who claimed to have spoken to Mahlangu after the ordeal. In the clip, the narrator says Mahlangu told him that he fed rice, wors meat and canned beans to the president and waited two hours for him to digest it before leaving. The voice recording also makes claims of how Mahlangu visited Eswatini prior to the poisoning incident and returned to Gauteng with phones. However, the clip is highly contentious in that the names of the people in conversation are not stated. Meanwhile, South African Communist Party Secretary General Solly Mapaila gave the South African Police Service 72 hours to arrest the person who attempted to murder the PUDEMO president. He was addressing the Southern African Democratic Teachers’ Union’s 10th National Congress in Pretoria.