COP DISARMED AS HE ARRESTS MAN

MBABANE - An armed male police officer was disarmed and injured when arresting a man who is suspected to be mentally challenged.

The incident occurred in Ezulwini on Saturday. Information gathered from eyewitnesses was that the injured police officer went to *Sidumo’s homestead with intent to restrain him after his relatives alleged that he was attacking them. Upon arrival at the homestead with his female colleague, the eyewitnesses relayed that the officer of the law confronted Sidumo, who allegedly reacted violently. They alleged that Sidumo tackled the police officer, resulting in the gun falling to the ground. The witness further said the officer of the law was injured during the scuffle with Sidumo and this resulted in the police officers calling for back-up. While they were seeking assistance, Sidumo is said to have fled with the law enforcer’s gun. He is said to have fled the scene where he tripped the police officer and ran towards the royal kraal.

Fled

“He took the gun and fled the scene, jumping over the fence and proceeded to the area’s royal kraal where he was eventually caught by members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) who are deployed there. At the time, residents of the area, some who were aware of the matter, were gathered at the royal kraal,” said one of the eyewitnesses. The residents said the members of the UEDF were joined by community members, police officers and residents before Sidumo was forced into a police van. During the scuffle, there were allegations that Sidumo fired some shots with the gun. However, when asked about this allegation, those who were present when the drama unfolded refuted the claims.

“How would one fire gun shots with a gun that had its safety pin locked? The gun was locked and there was no way one could fire shots,” explained one of the residents. Some residents of the area blamed Sidumo’s family for allegedly not alerting the police officers about their relative’s mental state. They believed that the officer of the law would have not been injured had the family alerted him about their relative’s health condition. The residents said it took some time to get Sidumo into the police van as he allegedly fought everyone. When sought for comment, Chief Police Information and Communication Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the report of a mentally challenged man who tackled a police officer and ran away with a service pistol during an arrest in Ezulwini.

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