GUNMEN ATTACK COPS STATION, MP’S HOME

MATSAPHA - Police officers, who were on duty at Matsapha Police Station on Thursday at 10pm, ran helter-skelter as a hail of bullets were fired at their workstation.

The incident left two cars, which were parked in front of the police station, damaged  by the hail of bullets. The police station  is located at Sigodvweni – at the edge of Matsapha Industrial Site. One of the cars belonged to the police service, while the other is  a private vehicle owned by  one of the police officers. Some of the bullets, which were fired by a group of about eight unknown men, landed inside the police station’s service centre, but no one was injured. It was also gathered that judging from the bullet shells, which were found at the scene, the gunmen were armed with different types of guns, ranging from pistols to assault rifles.

According to a source close to the matter, the group of unknown gunmen emerged from the cluster of one-room flats (titimela), which are located a stone throw away from the police station. He said they stationed themselves behind the one-room flats, which are located across the road, adjacent to the police station. Without warning, the source said the gunmen fired a hail of bullets at the police station, which was occupied by an undisclosed number of unsuspecting members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS).

Automatic

Judging from the sounds of the gunfire, the source said it was believed that some of the unknown gunmen were armed with Automatic R4 assault rifles or AK47 and as such, the law enforcers, who were taken by surprise inside the police station ran for safety. He said some of them bent down as they ran for cover, with their hands covering their heads to avoid being hit by the  hail of  bullets. He said most of them ran and sought refuge in some of the offices, which are a bit far from the service centre, which appeared to be the main target as a majority of the bullets were fired there. He said these offices included that of the criminal investigation department (CID), which was occupied by a handful of officers.

After firing an unconfirmed number of gunshots at the police station, the source said the gunmen, who were on foot, ran away towards KaHlobile and Mathangeni direction. He said while running along the Matsapha Police Academy/Ndlunganye Public Road, one of the senior officers at Matsapha Police Station, who was driving towards the police station, came across them, but he allegedly did not suspect anything. He said the senior police officer only realised that the young men he came across, running along the road, had just attacked the police station, when he found law enforcers trying to regroup at their work station.  “They tried to follow them, but could not locate them,” the source said.

Panic

On another note, some of the people who stay in Matsapha Police Camp and surrounding arears, said the moment they heard the gunshots, they hit the panic button. They said they could not tell where exactly the gunshots were fired. Others said they assumed that armed robbers were attacking Pick n Pay Supermarket at Mashayitafula as it was operating 24 hours and as such they feared that the police at Matsapha Police Station, which is located a stone throw away from the supermarket, would attend to the matter. “I assure you, no one from the surrounding homes or houses peeped through the window. We all remain quite at the corners of our houses,” said one of the people who reside closer to the police station.

Meanwhile, Deputy Police Information and Communications officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni confirmed that Matsapha Police Station was attacked by a group of unknown people on Thursday at around 10pm. She said  two vehicles were shot; one belonging to a police officer, while the other one is a government car, under police service. She said at the service centre nothing was damaged despite the fact that most of the gunshots were fired there.
On another note, the deputy police mouthpiece said the police tried to hunt the gunmen down after the incident, but in vain. She said investigations were ongoing and no arrests had been made yet.

When she was asked if the police service would consider beefing up security at police stations, Mnguni said security issues were not for public consumption. However, following the continuous attacks on members of the State security organs, mainly police officers, the police service has been given E15 million to buy equipment. The money was released to the REPS in the second quarter of this financial year (July 1 – September 30, 2022). This is according to the REPS Second Quarter Report. It says the institution has already obtained authority to commit the funds from the Ministry of Finance. As such, the REPS reported that procurement logistics have commenced. They reported that during the second quarter some state security equipment like police protective equipment (PPE) had been delivered.

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