LISWATI ASSAULTED, TORTURED BY SA MEN IN DAGGA DEAL, DIES

MALANTI - A 31-year-old dagga dealer of Malanti in northern Hhohho died after being heavily assaulted and tortured by South African (SA) men in the neighbouring country.

Wandile Mnisi was assaulted by the SA men at Oshoek where he had gone to collect his money after a dagga sale. The South Africans who assaulted Mnisi were said to be his customers and instead of paying him, they attacked him with iron rods and further burnt him with droplets of a burning plastic substance. His brother, Linda Mnisi, in an interview, said the deceased was first tied with a rope and this was evident from the injuries on his wrists and ankles.  

Assaulted

Linda said one of the assailants, who was known to him, called him yesterday and informed him that the deceased was assaulted because he was suspected to be the one who always set them up against people who robbed them of their dagga whenever they had come to purchase the habit forming drug in the Kingdom of Eswatini, especially from him. Linda narrated that after being assaulted, his brother was brought into the Eswatini side of the border and left for dead. He said Wandile called and informed him that he had been assaulted and he proceeded to look for him along the borderline.

According to Linda, with the assistance of another man who was with Wandile, they took him to Mbabane Government Hospital where he succumbed to the injuries hardly five minutes after arrival. In their daily press release, the Royal Eswatini Police Service reported that on Monday, a 31-year-old man of Malanti was heavily assaulted by unknown people while at Oshoek (RSA) side and was later brought back to the Eswatini side and rushed to Mbabane Government Hospital, where he died while undergoing treatment.

Incidents of people being casualties in dagga wars are not unique as the most recent incident reported by this publication was that of a South African, who was allegedly beaten to death by emaSwati on the South African side of the border. Another incident is that of a duo that was assaulted to death at Maphalaleni when they were found trimming allegedly stolen dagga inside their hut.  

In February this year, it was reported that a dagga war resulted in death after a man was beaten by two others for allegedly selling their stock. The incident happened at KaGucuka. It was gathered that the man, *Sisho, who was 30 years of age, was beaten to death by two men for allegedly taking their dagga, which was equivalent to a barrel. Sisho was reportedly meant to sell the dagga, but he did not produce the money or even the stock itself.

*Not real name

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