COP ACCUSED OF VANDALISING CARS, FURNITURE AT BABY MAMA’S HOME

MANZINI – A police officer allegedly went berserk on the first day of the year and jumped on top of cars, vandalising furniture in the process at Ezulwini Sunset Township.

The police officer, who is said to have vandalised the property of his ‘baby mama’ and that of his child’s grandmother, is known to this publication but will not be named for now, as he is yet to be paraded before a court of law. The law enforcer is said to have been in a questionable state of sobriety. According to sources, the incident happened on January 1, 2023, at Sunset Township, wherein the police officer said to be stationed at Lobamba, used an Opel Corsa hatchback as a trampoline.

Smashed

The law enforcer is alleged to have also smashed the sedan’s windscreen and its passenger windows. Shattered glass was found next to the vehicle. While in the same state of mind, the police officer is alleged to have also broken the headlights switch of a Suzuki Vitara. Apart from vandalising the vehicles, the officer,  according to sources, is purported to have also emptied food from the refrigerator and threw it onto the floor, while also turning the furniture upside down.

Broken

It was said that in the process, a flat screen television set and its glass stand were broken. Also, the law enforcer is alleged to have thrown stones at windowpanes of the house before emptying cupboards and breaking kitchen utensils. The sources claimed that police officers were contacted to calm him down. However, he continued to assault the 26-year-old mother of his child. It was purported that the law enforcer further pushed and shoved the grandmother of his child, who is aged 45. The sources bemoaned the gender-based violence (GBV), saying law enforcers were the custodians of the law in the country and should protect the citizenry.

Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni confirmed that a case was registered with the police. She said they were investigating the case.
It is worth noting that the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, in its Second Quarter Report for the 2022/23 Financial Year reported that the National Surveillance System on Violence recorded a total of 15 498 incidences of violence for the year 2021. On the other hand, the police, in a similar report, said in terms of serious crimes that were proving to be a serious cause for concern, sexual and GBV cases were listed among many.

Charged

Also, there have been instances where police officers have been cited as perpetrators. In one instance in 2020, a police officer was charged with two counts of murder, after he allegedly killed his spouse and her male companion, who was a civil servant under the Ministry of Agriculture. The pair was shot dead at Madonsa, Extension 6 with a gun belonging to the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS). Malangeni Julius Dlamini (47), of Nyakeni under Chief Malunge II, was in the first count accused of unlawfully and intentionally killing Sipho Zungu (51) by shooting him with a pistol once in the head, which resulted in his death. In the second count, Dlamini was charged for allegedly killing his wife, Dumile Kunene (48), who was also a police officer under the royal guard and based in Matsapha. Dlamini allegedly fired the pistol twice at Kunene.

Also, in 2018, a nurse, Dolly Mlangeni, was found unresponsive in her rented flat situated at New Town, one of the residential areas of Hlatikhulu. Her body was found wrapped in a towel along the passage. Her police officer boyfriend, Constable Sibusiso Shongwe, was subsequently arrested for the murder, as he was reportedly the last person to have entered and exited her house, according to neighbours.  

Outrageous

The Communications and Advocacy Officer for Swatini Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA), Sakhile Dlamini, said it was the most outrageous thing to hear of a law enforcement officer perpetrating violence. Dlamini said this was wrong on so many levels and quite alarming. She said their greatest cause for concern was that this was the very behaviour that deterred survivors of violence from freely and confidently reporting the cases. “Such characters are what is referred to as ‘rotten potatoes’ and the national commissioner (NATCOM) of police needs to display zero tolerance towards GBV within the police by ensuring that such people are dealt with properly and in accordance with the law,” Dlamini said.

Clinical Psychologist Nomfundo Simelane said the act depicted the depth of the challenges with mental health. Simelane said there was no psychological diagnosis for such acts and they could never be predicted. She said mental health was essential and the family affected by this should undergo psychological assessment to assess the impact of what they had witnessed.

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