CONCERNS AS KIDS INITIATED INTO ‘NUMBERS GANGS’

EZULWINI – Gangs affiliated to the prison number sect known as ‘Inombolo 26/28’ are holding communities to ransom, initiating children into muggings, violent robberies, housebreaking and theft, vandalism and intimidation.

Ezulwini consists of the urban setting that is along the main road between Mvutjini and Lobamba, while residential communities that are in peri urban townships, but on Eswatini Nation Land, include Buka, Mvutjini, Satellite, KaBhelina, KaMkhonta, Enyonyane and others. So serious is the scourge that agitated communities have since engaged the police, appealing for decisive action to arrest the problem before it boils down to bloodbath.

Notorious

One incident that has shocked the community of Buka was when a Grade VII pupil, who is known to move around with the notorious gang, visited his school, Ezulwini Community Primary on a Saturday,  in a confused state and caused havoc. A teacher told this newspaper that the boy, wielded a knife, damaged a water tank and broke brass water taps, while everyone stood aloof in fear of being harmed. “On that day, other Grade VII pupils were at the school to catch-up on the syllabus. They watched in shock while the boy, unprovoked, damaged school property. We are fortunate that none of the pupils dared to challenge him, otherwise something else could have happened,” he said.

The teacher said the school administration met with the parents of the pupil, who said the school was free to report him to the police. “The school administration did not want to have the boy arrested because they did not know what had influenced him to behave this way, but we wanted the parents to pay for the damages. However, the boy’s parents said he had made them liable for many other damages in the community, such that they had no qualms with him being arrested,” said the teacher.

Strangely

The teacher said a few other pupils were also behaving strangely, but had obeyed a sharp rebuke by the administration. “As for this pupil, we do not know if he will write the final examinations or not because he has never been to school ever since the incident,” the teacher said. Deputy Chairperson of the School Committee Mgubho Ginindza confirmed that the school had reported the incident and said it was also reported to the Lobamba Police Station. He also said he was part of the community members who engaged the police to appeal for a resolution to the crime. “There has been a huge increase in violent crimes in the area (Buka). Shops are targeted, women and children too,” he said. Residents disclosed that a crime wave perpetrated by gangs, who are said to indulge in drug abuse, had plagued the communities around Ezulwini, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty in as far as safety and security is concerned.

A resident said the recent killing of a Pakistani businessman by stabbing in his business premises, as well as other unreported incidents, were enough for the concerned residents to bell the cat and demand an audience with the police. He told the Times reporters that there was commotion, as residents of Buka were threatening mob justice on some of the known hooligans who prowled the area. The resident said the gangs convened initiation schools in incomplete structures within the communities, where they abused dagga and then teach young boys how to commit robberies and other heinous crimes. He also revealed that it was in these camps that boys were marked with the notorious Inombolo on wrists and further oriented into the insidious lifestyle of violence, drug abuse and crime. “Currently, one of their own was arrested for stabbing a teacher during a robbery along the streets of Ezulwini. So, all the members of the ‘Inombolo’ are said to have engaged in a robbing spree to get money to pay bail for the arrested member,” the resident said.

He said the gang was eager to have the member released because he was allegedly part of either the ‘26 or 28 Inombolo’ gang. “The community knows these perpetrators because they stay with them. They should share ideas with the police on how they can be arrested. The police duty is to help the communities, and guide them on the application of the law when dealing with these culprits,” she said. “They are trying to be organised by getting intelligent information about payday of some workers at the Corner Plaza as well as The Gables shopping centre. They lie in ambush and mug them at knife-point, while some are said to even carry guns,” said the resident, who asked not to be named in fear of falling victim.

Prison

The ‘Inombolo’ was started by jailbirds, who formed gangs within the prison walls and occasionally started fights from within. It is said that once one joins a gang within prison, they are either initiated into the number 26 or 28. Members of these two numbers’ gangs are perennially sworn enemies. It is said that after being released from jail, the wars continue on the outside, resulting in members recruiting other people to affiliate to either of the gangs. “The sad part of this is that these gangs recruit pupils from schools to inculcate in them the life of a thug, at an elementary stage,” said the resident. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati urged the community to work closely with the police to have the culprits brought to book.

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