INDVUNA ACCUSED OF STEALING CHIEF’S CORPSE

SIGOMBENI – When he died, foul play was suspected. Hardly two weeks after his daughter was appointed his successor, albeit on an acting basis, his corpse is suspected to have been stolen.

Police were roped in on Friday after it was suspected that the body of the late Sigombeni leader, Chief Lomngeletjane Zwelithini Dlamini, had been stolen at the sacred Mdzimba Mountain. Mdzimba Mountain is where Swazi kings and senior royal family members are interred.
They are not buried in the ground but their bodies are hidden within the mountain’s caves. The Times SUNDAY had it that an Indvuna (headman) of the area, Amos Madzinane, who has reportedly been demoted from the position he has held for over 30 years, was fingered as the number one suspect. The police are said to have arrived in the area later Friday afternoon and took Madzinane to the umphakatsi (royal household) where he was told that he had been reported for having stolen the late chief’s corpse.

Madzinane, who was interviewed at his home yesterday, confirmed having been questioned by the police over the late chief’s corpse.
“I was coming from Manzini where I had taken a letter to Prince Gcokoma when I came across the police who took me to the umphakatsi. They never told me anything except that I was needed at the umphakatsi. When we got there we found some of the late chief’s brothers who together with the police asked me when I last visited the chief’s grave. I told them it had been a long time and even then I wasn’t alone but with other community members with whom we had gone to clear rubble. They then told me that the chief’s body had been removed from its grave and I was the suspect but I told them I knew nothing of that sort,” Madzinane explained.
The indvuna said for one to go to the mountain on his own was a scary task because the area was scary and haunting, which was what he told the police.

He said they then all drove to the Mdzimba Mountain to verify the accusations and upon getting there, they found the place untouched.
He stated that before going to the chief’s grave, he asked that they be accompanied by one man he identified as Makhata, who lives at the foot of the mountain and whose responsibility is to safeguard the mountain.
“The police then took pictures of the cave where the late chief’s body rests. I then requested that the cave should be opened so that we could ascertain if the corpse was still there or not. Indeed, the cave was opened and the chief’s body was found there intact and untouched. There were no signs that it had been tampered with,” Madzinane said.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: