GUARD STABBED FOR INTERVENING IN UNREST ‘TOLL GATES’

MBABANE – Seven months after intervening when ‘comrades’ wanted to vandalise cars whose owners failed to pay a ‘toll gate fee’ at Nkwalini in June 2021, a security guard was last Saturday stabbed for allegedly ‘trying to be a hero’.

Bonkhe Mnisi alleged that he was stabbed by a group of men who he had got into an altercation with during the June unrest. “As I was going to the shops, I met a group of the men I had once stopped while they were vandalising people’s cars who could not give them money during the unrest. My friend and I tried to stop them but from that day they told us they would look for us and kill us,” he said. He mentioned that from the time they had the altercation to the day he was stabbed, he had a number of instances where he had to run from them. Mnisi mentioned that on Saturday, he was stabbed five times in different parts of his body. He mentioned that as one was stabbing him, the others ensured that no one came to his rescue.

Rescue

Furthermore, Mnisi said a good Samaritan later came their direction, and the men ran away. “When they saw that someone had seen me and was coming to my rescue, they all ran and left me bleeding. Through the assistance from the man, I was able to reach my place of abode and that is what I remember,” he said. Mnisi mentioned that he gained his consciousness and recalled his neighbours assisting him to a car which ferried him to hospital. He said at the hospital, he was told that he needed blood transfusion. Mnisi was discharged yesterday.
According to him, he decided to go to his paternal home as he currently did not feel safe. “I decided to go home because I felt unsafe in the area. I have been told that they wanted to finish off their work. I also do not think I would be happy seeing someone who almost killed me walk around like nothing happened,” he said.

Mnisi further said he did not believe that he would get justice as according to him, some people who once committed crimes were still roaming, the streets. A neighbour, who requested to remain anonymous, stated that Mnisi was brought to him by a group of residents. He said seeing Mnisi in that state, he did not think he would survive. “As they brought him using a wheelbarrow, seeing it filled with blood made me conclude that he would not make it another hour. We decided to get a car to rush him to the hospital,” he said. The neighbour also mentioned that although it was not his first time seeing people stabbed in the area, it was frustrating this time around as it was someone he knew. He mentioned that although he had little faith, he hoped that the people behind the crimes would face the wrath of the law law. Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni confirmed the matter.

Arrests

Mnguni said a case of attempted murder had been opened but they had not made any arrest as yet. “We are still investigating the matter but we do have leads. We are hoping that we will soon be making arrests, bringing justice to this case,” she said. She then discouraged violence and said people who participated in violence would be arrested and brought to justice.
Nkwalini  Zone Two, which is in Mahwalala, is known for its  high rate of crime. It is among the areas which were considered dangerous during the June unrest.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: