ANOTHER ASSAULTED DAGGA THIEF FOUND DEAD

MANANGA – Yet another man has died following the dangerous high-speed pursuit of dagga robbers initiated by enraged farmers, which was later picked by the police.

Following Tuesday’s violent incident, another man was found dead in a sugar cane field yesterday. Preliminary investigations suggested that his death mirror the circumstances of the initial reported death on Tuesday, where a 34-year-old man of Kudzeni died in the aftermath of the dramatic occurrence, which played out at Nhlanguyavuka, around Mananga. The suspected dagga robber reportedly died when the police, who were called by the angry dagga farmers to assist, fired shots during the pursuit, which ended near Mananga Border Gate on Tuesday. The victim was later identified as a 34-year-old man of Kudzeni, outside Manzini.

The latest victim was identified as a 45-year-old man of Bhunya. Little is known about his final moments, except the dramatic encounter, where eight dagga thieves were pursued by enraged farmers, after they had ambushed peddlers and robbed them of a van loaded with a dagga consignment, valued at close to E1 million. Four of his accomplices had to be admitted to a nearby health facility, with serious injuries after they were heavily assaulted by an angry mob. This, after they were found hiding in the sugar cane fieldsm where they had sought refuge after abandoning their getaway cars. The suspected dagga robbers led farmers on a chase, stretching over 45 km on Tuesday, before coming to a stop after evading two attempted blockades by the enraged farmers, ending in the eventual death after police fired shots.

Capture

Initially, there were eight suspected thieves, but the farmers were later able to capture only four, who were subjected to a heavy beating by the angry mob, numbering close to 100 farmers. The victims were brutally assaulted, paraded naked and humiliated in front of over 100 people. This was disclosed by an interviewed resident of Nhlanguyavuka, who witnessed the spectacle. The pursuit attracted quite a number of motor vehicles (over 20, according to witnesses), which were driven by angry dagga farmers and peddlers, who all wanted to ‘deal decisively’ with the robbers, who were described as habitual criminals, who had robbed different community members on several occasions.

An eyewitness informed the Times of Eswatini that the robbery was initially reported at a place around Mhlangatane at around 2pm, when the suspected rogues allegedly hijacked a van, loaded with multiple bags of dagga, at gunpoint.  It all started when farmers who were conveying several bags of dagga in a van were allegedly intercepted by robbers, who fired shots in the air.

Getaway

The occupants of the van were able to escape unhurt, while the robbers, who were using three motor vehicles, as their getaway cars, drove off with the loaded van. But the victims were able to raise the alarm with local growers and community members, who ganged-up in an attempt to recover the stolen dagga consignment and the motor vehicle. According to the witness the ‘dagga peddlers’ were ambushed by the suspected robbers around Mawombe, in the Mhlangatane precinct of northern Hhohho.

Farmers who responded to the call for help were initially involved in the pursuit of the suspected robbers. The farmers were coming from around Mhlangatane and neighbouring areas. Witnesses said the robbers were eight in total and were driving in different getaway cars; a Toyota VVTI, a VW Amarok and a VW Golf GTI, which were all foreign registered. The robbers reportedly took the direction towards Mananga Border Gate, in an attempt to flee with the loot, possibly to neighbouring South Africa, where they may have had a readily available market.

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