DRAMA AS MSUNDUZA MAN STABBED, KILLED AT FUNERAL

MBABANE – Shocker!

Mourners were left reeling from shock after a man was stabbed to death at a funeral at Mbuluzi yesterday morning. The shocking incident unfolded at around 7am, when the mourners were making their way to the burial site to lay to rest Norman ‘Panga’ Mavimbela, who was employed in the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development. Mavimbela died on Saturday, October 19, reportedly under mysterious circumstances while at one of the local drinking spots around Mbabane.Mavimbela was buried yesterday at his parental home at Mbuluzi, where the murder incident took place.The deceased was staying at his other home at Gobholo when he met his death. The man who was stabbed at Mavimbela’s funeral was identified as Mduduzi ‘Mdamara’ Vilakati (35) of Msunduza.

Stabbed

He was stabbed next to one of the B3 Funeral Services vehicles that were ferrying Mavimbela’s body to the graveyard. Vilakati had been in and out of jail, and was once accused of being the leader of a notorious gang around Msunduza. The convoy had just left the Mavimbela homestead and was waiting to be directed to the graveyard when the drama unfolded. This led to most of the mourners, including the pastor who was leading the proceedings, arriving a bit late at the graveyard. According to some of the mourners who witnessed the incident, *Samson, who stabbed Vilakati, allegedly told one of the B3 Funeral Services drivers to proceed to the graveyard as he had murdered the man who was allegedly behind his uncle’s demise.
At that time, Samson was reportedly seen carrying the knife he had used to stab Vilakati.

Apart from Vilakati, Samson stabbed another popular gang member from Msunduza, who managed to escape with a minor injury. Vilakati was also one of the popular gang members at Msunduza, allegedly known for fighting and even stabbing people around the area.Samson went to the graveyard before fleeing the scene after police swiftly responded to the incident.
Police officers arrived about 30 minutes after the incident happened and they chased and apprehended him before he got far.The police fired a warning shot in the air and he simply complied and stopped running. He was taken to police custody right away while the funeral proceedings were still ongoing.

While some mourners had no idea about what was happening, as they left the Mavimbela homestead prior to the stabbing incident, some witnessed the gruesome murder. Those who witnessed the incident explained that they were shocked when they saw that Vilakati had been stabbed in the neck. Vilakati, according to reports, was stabbed with a hunting knife, known among many as a Rambo. Those who were not at the scene, but at the graveyard, were perplexed to see armed police officers arriving at the burial site. They then got their answers upon returning to the Mavimbela homestead.

Mourners

When the mourners returned from the graveyard, the body of Vilakati was still lying on the road covered with clothes, as the police were still processing the crime scene.Mourners stared in shock as they were asked to step aside for a while to allow the police to do their work.“I am so traumatised by what I have just seen here. I have never seen such a thing, a person dying during another person’s funeral,” said one of the mourners.  Another mourner said it was so devastating that both the deceased and the suspect came all the way from Gobholo to allegedly kill each other in another area, Mbuluzi.

The mourner alleged that it was clear that the suspect premeditated the murder and that he had targeted to kill the victim at the funeral as a sign of revenge.  According to some mourners close to Mavimbela, Vilakati was alleged to have been behind the death of Mavimbela. Therefore, Samson was purportedly avenging Mavimbela’s alleged murder. It was alleged that someone might have poisoned Mavimbela as he died after complaining about severe burning in his chest and he was foaming in his mouth. It was alleged that the man who was killed yesterday morning was suspected to have been behind Mavimbela’s demise. It was also alleged that a few moments after Mavimbela’s death, his cellphone indicated that there were some cash withdrawals made from his bank accounts.

Vilakati was alleged to have been the one who withdrew the money from Mavimbela’s accounts, as he was his friend and knew all his bank accounts and details thereto. One of Mavimbela’s relatives, who elected to comment anonymously, said they were very disturbed about what happened during the funeral of their loved one.  The relative said they were pleased that the police swiftly responded when called and managed to arrest the suspect immediately. The relative said as a family they would not like to comment as to who might have killed Mavimbela, but they will allow the law to take its course.

Mavimbela’s death shook almost the entire Msunduza and Gobholo townships as he was known to be a simple man, who hardly had any issues with anyone. Mavimbela was known for his sense of humour and kindness to many. During his funeral, he was described as someone who loved life and the people around him.  Some of his tenants at Gobholo said they were also shocked as to who on earth would wish to kill ‘Panga’ out of all people. The tenants expressed their shock after learning about the incident that unfolded during his funeral.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the murder case that took place at Mbuluzi yesterday morning. She also confirmed that a suspect was subsequently arrested in relation to the murder.  During the recent visit in the dagga fields to launch ‘Operation Sikhona’, the National Commissioner of Police, Vusi Masango, indicated that over 126 murders had occurred so far this year and seven of them were related to dagga disputes.

Increased

During the first quarter of the year, the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) reported that crime has increased by 15.36 per cent.The police reported that the volume of crime for this reporting period stood at 13 871 when compared to 12 024 cases recorded in the same period last year, depicting a percentage increase of 15.36 per cent. The police reported that with regard to prioritised and serious crimes, there was an increase of 2.82 per cent. It was said last year, during the same period, there were 3 475 cases of prioritised crime as compared to 3 573 this year. Murder declined in the past three months as it was reported that 33 people died, while 42 individuals were killed in the same period last year. Another decrease was recorded in armed robberies as they declined from 51, which were recorded in 2023, to 44 in this year’s first quarter.

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