Another ‘scarface’ on the loose

A Times of Swaziland employee views some of the exhibits with Zanele Dlamini.

NGCULWINI – About 100 residents combed the area’s forests in a manhunt for ‘Scarface’ number two at Ngculwini yesterday.
The manhunt was reminiscent of the one conducted when the late Bhekinkhosi ‘Scarface’ Masina terrorised residents in the Lubombo region. The manhunt comes after an eight-year-old girl went missing.

The residents have drawn the similarity to that of Masina who was shot while fleeing from the police. Residents yesterday turned out in numbers as they searched the forests for the unknown man who has brought fear in the community.
The man is believed to have kidnapped Babongiwe Vilakati on Friday.

Residents discovered pots, clothing items and foodstuff believed to belong to the suspect who is roaming the area.
It is believed that the missing girl was kidnapped while washing at Mhlamati River. It is alleged that drag marks were spotted on the ground from where she had last been seen. It has been alleged that marks were also seen in some spots within the forest where the minor is believed to have been dragged.

The residents have been gripped by fear and are now afraid of fetching water from the Bhalekane River that supports almost half of the community with drinking water.
During the search, a person believed to be the suspect was spotted and a chase ensued as he ran and hid in the forest.
About 100 young and elderly residents joined the police yesterday morning in search of the minor. They were, late in the afternoon, joined by pupils from schools within the area.

One of the residents, Mcolisi ‘Forest’ Thusi claimed to have met a suspicious looking man yesterday morning inside the forest.
He said he was returning from a Mordant Farm at around 7am when he heard a sound of someone digging and went to inspect. He said he saw a strange man covering a hole and upon seeing that there was company, the stranger bolted.

“I became suspicious when I found him in the forest when a child has gone missing. I discovered that he had been covering a hole and I tried following him, however, he increased pace when he noticed me behind him. I raised an alarm and he dashed off and vanished into the forest,” he said.
Thusi said upon digging up the hole, they discovered a bag of maize, pots and cooked maize.
As the residents combed the forest, they made other discoveries, such as towels, shoes, underwear a knife and other clothing items that had been buried in a similar fashion.

The whole community sprung into action when an alarm was raised that a person was seen running towards the river and it was believed that it was the suspect. The residents shouted for their neighbours to make sure that he doesn’t escape. Residents on the other side of the river claimed to have seen the man running towards Bhalekane River.

The search started at about 4:30pm up until 6pm, but they could not find anything.
“We are now living in fear as it is not known when he will decide to pounce again. The big problem here is that he hides along the Bhalekane River where we fetch water from,” Nanile Groening from the area said, adding: “I will not go to fetch water again, at least until the man is found and arrested,”

Another resident who preferred to be identified as Make Mdluli, said she would have to ask a neighbour to accompany her whenever she leaves her homestead. Another woman said, “We will have to accompany each other even when we are going to shebeens,”

Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Superintendent Wendy Hleta said the police would not stop investigations until an arrest or discovery has been made. On the issue that the residents had joined a search of a man they claimed was the suspect, Hleta said a lot of developments take place during investigations, but the police would continue to investigate.

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