ASPIRING SOLDIER WINS, BUT DISQUALIFIED FOR OLD INJURY

MBABANE – An aspiring soldier, who obtained first position in the 3.2km race at Siphocosini Inkhundla last Thursday, was disqualified because she would not be able to handle a firearm due to an injury she sustained during a robbery.

Ngcebo Mathabela (28) outclassed her competitors and returned to the starting point 13 minutes before she was joined by the second best. However, she was disqualified due to the extent of her hand injury. Her disqualification came after the army officers discovered that she had a scar on her hand.

Shock

The disqualification came as a shock to residents of the area, who had expected her to qualify for recruitment. In an interview, Mathabela, who was in a relaxed mood, confirmed her disqualification. She said the army officials informed her that she was disqualified because of her hand injury. “I was told that I could not hold a fire arm due to the extent of my injury. With assistance from the area’s authorities, I tried to reason with the army officials, however, they responded by stating that they were there to carry out orders from their superiors. They also told me that there was nothing they could say at the moment,” she said.

Other community members present at the recruitment exercise shared that they had requested that Mathabela be recruited and be assigned other duties. Mathabela stated that she sustained the injury when defending herself from a robber who hacked her with a bush knife inside a shop where she was employed. “I was hacked in the hand when blocking the bush knife which was aimed in my head. As a result, I sustained a minor injury on the forehead.

relatives

Her relatives stated that they were also hoping that she would be recruited as a she was a talented athlete. “She is able, as she still competes and wins in athletics competitions. We believe there is something she can do apart from using a gun as army duties are vast. This thing has cost her life,” said a relative. A community police member in the area, Themba Dlamini, lamented that the crime they were trying to prevent had jeopardised the future of an innocent resident. Worth noting was that Sigangeni made headlines when residents allegedly forced two men believed to be members of Emaphara gang to ingest weevil tablets after accusing them of a series of crimes, including cattle rustling. One of the men died, while the other one had to be hospitalised.

Information gathered was that Mathabela lost some of her fingers during the attack. It was also gathered that some of her fingers were currently kept in a refrigerator as part of exhibits.
The suspect, who is also a resident and a neighbour to Mathabela, is currently serving time at the Matsapha Maximum Prison for another crime he committed before he injured her.
It was gathered that he committed the offence while out on bail for the other offence.

Doctors

In an interview, UEDF Public Affairs Officer 2nd Lieutenant Tengetile Khumalo said in a scenario where one sustained injuries which limited certain abilities yet they  wanted to be recruited into the army, only doctors were authorised to determine, through assessing a person’s medical report, if they were fit for duty or not. “I cannot decide by mere observation that a person is fit, but a doctor can state whether one is fit or not. We only want someone who is healthy physically and above all has a sound mind,” she added. Sipho Gumedze, a Human Rights Lawyer, said it was difficult to state whether Mathabela experienced any form of discrimination when she was disqualified at Siphocosini during the ongoing army recruitment process.

He said if what the UEDF said was true that she would be unable to hold a firearm, then that could not be categorised as discrimination, but if it was because of the scar they saw on her hand, then that  could be regarded as discrimination. When Gumedze was further asked as to whether it was not a doctor’s responsibility to certify a person’s health condition other than by mere looking, he said a doctor can decided on that, but if the two tendons from the elbow to the wrist were damaged, then that would mean she cannot hold a firearm with a folded hand.“However, if that was not the case, then it was unfair for Mathabela to be disqualified,” he said.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: