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NKONKA MURDER ACCUSED: POLICE FAILED TO ACT

09/02/2023 14:05:00 Kwanele Dlamini

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MBABANE – The men who have been arrested for the murder of four suspects at Nkonka, say they decided to apprehend them (suspects) as Lavumisa police allegedly had difficulty in arresting them.

One of the eight accused persons, Ntsetselelo Tiger Nxumalo (32), who is a nurse at Matsanjeni Health Centre, told the court that their intention as a community was to take the suspects to the police after apprehending them. The killed suspects were Fanele Shabangu, Mfanawenkhosi Mhlanga, Sikhanyiso Mngometulu and Bonginkosi Sdudla Shiba. They were killed by a mob on January 19, 2023 at Nkonka under Matsanjeni in the Shiselweni Region. They were suspected of terrorising community members and businesspeople in the area and were believed to be involved in robberies, some brazen, in the area.

The other accused persons are Mfundo Comfort Casseria (26), Mlungisi Bongani Ndlovu (33), Mlungisi Lunga Nxumalo (38), Sandile Hemmar Nxumalo (34), Senzo Trevor Gravel Vilakati (35) of Gege under Chief Velamuva, Joseph Fondololo Mabuza (64) and a pupil. Mabuza was granted bail fixed at E50 000 on Tuesday. He paid E3 000 in cash. In their application for bail filed at the High Court, the nurse, Ntsetselelo, who runs a shebeen at Gonqo, Matsanjeni where he resides, said incidents of criminality were typically isolated and the area was a safe place. He said from November last year, things changed as businesses were broken into and criminals helped themselves to cash and groceries in various shops.

Shaken

“As a community, we were all shaken by this as it was unusual. The situation deteriorated further with the thieves targeting the residencies where businesspeople stay. “The Asians who run grocery businesses were targeted at their residencies, robbed and violently attacked. Even small businesses, such as those who sell chickens, were not spared,” the nurse submitted.
The situation, according to Ntsetselelo, took a turn for the worse as criminals invaded people’s homes during the night and robbed them of their valuables, such as cellphones and cash.
“I must mention that several reports were made to the police in Lavumisa since in most cases when attacking people, the suspects did not even cover their faces. I run a shebeen in my area and I have been attacked on two occasions by the suspects and they also attacked and robbed my patrons in the process. “On both occasions, they had not covered their faces and I could easily see that it was Fanele Shabangu, Jeremy Mhlanga, Gazi Mngometulu and Bonginkosi Shiba. I knew them since they also lived within the greater Matsanjeni area,” Ntsetselelo said.

He further told the court that he reported the matter to the police and mentioned the names of the suspects. However, Ntsetselelo alleged that the police did not arrest the suspects. “The situation was further exacerbated by the fact that the crimes were accompanied by severe violence and people had been stabbed or hacked by the criminals when they were robbed. The situation was so tense that on a daily basis, there were reports of people being robbed and injured by the robbers. The second applicant (Casseira) was also hacked by the robbers when they were robbing my place,” submitted Ntsetselelo. The nurse informed the court that on January 27, 2023, thugs invaded a compound rented by local textile workers and went from door to door robbing and injuring several of them.

Terrified

“The residents were very terrified by the situation which we had never encountered and also the fact that the criminals were known and several reports had been made to the police but in vain.” As a result, according to the nurse, the community convened a meeting on January 29, 2023 at the local sports ground to discuss the serious challenges they were facing and how to address them. Ntsetselelo said about 400 community members, including businesspeople and community elders, attended the meeting. The nurse submitted that he chaired the meeting and was vocal about the situation in the area, ‘which is probably the reason I have been arrested in this matter’. He informed the court that the meeting started at 4pm and all the speakers lamented the situation and the entire community was gripped by fear. The accused said a resolution was made that a search party should go out to look for the suspects, since they were all known in the area.

He told the court that six motor vehicles went out during the search and after some time, Shiba, Fanele and Jeremy were caught. When questioned about the whereabouts of their accomplices, according to Ntsetselelo, they were arrogant and not forthcoming with the required information. “The community members were infuriated by the conduct of the suspects and when they started assaulting them, they fought back and mayhem ensued, with many community members assaulting the suspects. “It was already dark and I could not tell who was assaulting the suspects and so many people were actually involved in the assault. The assault was so severe I decided to leave the place and I later heard that the suspects had passed away as a result of being mobbed,” said the nurse. The accused persons, who are represented by Melusi Simelane of Piliso, Simelane & Partners, said they were innocent of the charges of murder as well as arson and kidnapping.

Cleansing

Meanwhile, Senzo Trevor Vilakati, who is employed as an Adherence Officer based at Nhlangano Health Centre in the TB Ward, filed his bail application separately. He told the court that he was at Matsanjeni to consult a ZCC member, who was assisting with cleansing him of some bad omen. He said he was supposed to visit his girlfriend afterwards. To kill time, he decided to attend the community meeting at the sports ground and to meet with his girlfriend later. He said he was never part of those who killed the suspects. Vilakati is represented by Raymond Mwelase of B.S. Dlamini and Associates. Judge Ticheme Dlamini removed both applications from the roll as neither the accused persons nor their representatives were present in court yesterday.