QUARRY SITE OWNER GETS DEATH THREATS

MBABANE - His life is now in danger.

This is the story of businessman Mandla Mkhaliphi, who has been hogging the headlines recently following reports that his farm is now guarded by soldiers. The soldiers were deployed at Portion 3, Farm 982, a private property owned by Mkhaliphi at Sicunusa, which has quarry that the businessman was mining prior to the army being deployed there. Many commentators had questioned why the army had to be deployed to guard a private farm, stating that this could result in other private businesses feeling threatened, should they be found to be on the wrong side of the law. It should be stated though that in the case of Mkhaliphi, he had not been found to have done any wrong, though government, through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, had alleged that he was illegally mining the quarry. No charges have been preferred against him. He has not been reported to the police either for any wrongdoing.

Deployment

The deployment of the army at the private farm happened a month ago, with government claiming that it was done to stop illegal mining which is, however, disputed by the businessman.
This publication has gathered that the businessman has reported death threats to the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS). Interviewed last week, Mkhaliphi claimed that he had been receiving the death threats ever since the matter made its way into the public domain, in particular the mainstream media. He said following the threats, he no longer wanted to discuss the matter, especially with the media. The businessman claimed that he had been receiving strange calls from a private number warning him to ‘desist from what he had started’. “I engage with the police now and again because I have been receiving death threats. After the issue was publicised, I started receiving the strange calls. A person was calling me saying ‘Lentfo loyentako, ubocaphela ingakwesuli,’ he said.

He said in the past few days, the police had been constantly checking up on him to determine if he was safe. He explained that the police were not with him 24 hours a day but would randomly check on him as he had officially reported the threat to his life. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed that the death threats were reported by the businessman. “Yes, there is a report like that and an enquiry has been opened. The case was opened at Mankayane Police Station but it was officers from the Gege Police Station who went to take action on the case,” Vilakati said.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: