MARRIED MECHANIC SHOOTS MAN (35) DEAD OVER WOMAN

MBABANE - The sound of three gunshots in the early hours of yesterday left questions that have now been answered for the community of Gobholo in Mbabane.

These are the gunshots that claimed the life of 35-year-old Sifiso Mtshali, who was gunned down at around 1am yesterday, following a quarrel purportedly over a woman with another man who also resides in the same neighbourhood. Sifiso succumbed to wounds to the chest where he was shot allegedly by the man at close range. The two were out enjoying alcoholic drinks at a popular hangout spot at Msunduza on Sunday with their respective friends. According to the younger brother to the deceased, Gerry Mtshali, who saw him take his last breath, the two had a longstanding quarrel and it was ignited when they bumped into each other while having alcoholic beverages.

Relationship

The quarrel was allegedly over a woman residing at Nkoyoyo, who the two were reportedly in a sexual relationship with, as narrated by Daniel Mtshali, the deceased’s uncle, when interviewed by this publication yesterday. Daniel revealed that when he carried out his own investigation into the matter following the death of his nephew, he found out that Sifiso and the shooter were in a love triangle. Worth mentioning is that the assailant is married and was reportedly staying with his wife at Gobholo before his arrest. The deceased leaves behind two children and a pregnant girlfriend. According to Daniel, he was informed by one of Sifiso’s half brothers, who hanged out with him often, about the alleged love-triangle.

The deceased’s uncle stated that at 1am yesterday, they were woken up by the sound of three gunshots at least 200 metres away from the homestead, not knowing that a family member had lost his life. When narrating the ordeal, Daniel said the deceased and the accused who is a motor mechanic  exchanged heated words while at the drinking spot before engaging in a brief exchange of blows, having both found out that they were involved with the same woman, before their friends broke the fight.

The accused reportedly ran away towards Gobholo, leaving the deceased behind who continued to have drinks with his friends. However, when the deceased was returning home after the drinking spree while driving a vehicle belonging to his brother, he was blocked by the accused, who was driving another vehicle, making it difficult for the deceased to pass. “We were informed that the accused waylaid him along the road which Sifiso uses when driving home and when he saw his car approaching, he blocked the road.

Blocking

“The deceased went to the rear window and knocked on it, with the intention of finding out why the accused was blocking the road. This is when the accused is said to have drawn a gun, fired three shots straight to the chest of Sifiso, before driving off,” he narrated. These sentiments were shared by Gerry, who was with his brother the whole time before he met his death.
He said Sifiso’s only sin was knocking on his window of the mechanic’s car in a bid to ask him why he blocked the road. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the shooting. “When he came back from the hospital, he found that the people who hacked him were waiting for his return and their number had multiplied. It is then that he rushed to get the gun which he used to shoot the deceased,” she said. Vilakati also shared that the accused is currently in police custody after he surrendered himself after the incident.

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