Police in Swaziland say a
murder suspect committed suicide by taking poison after they shot him in the
ankle while chasing him.
It happened in Makhungutja
after local residents claimed that police had not done enough to catch the
alleged killer Bheki Dlamini.
The Swazi
Observer reported on
Thursday (11 January 2018) that Dlamini had been on the run since 30 December
2017 following an incident where he allegedly stabbed a woman to death at
Malkerns.
The newspaper said that
residents of Malkerns protested outside the local police post, demanding that
the police take the matter seriously since the accused person was known to be
in the area. The police raided the homestead in Makhungutja at 5am on Tuesday where
the suspect was believed to be hiding.
The Observer reported the suspect saw the police vehicle approaching
and fled.
It added, ‘The police fired
warning shots trying to stop the suspect. It is alleged that the suspect didn’t
stop.
‘Police are said to have
then shot the accused in the ankle. however, it is said even after he was shot
the accused ran back to the homestead where he was hiding and hid in one of the
houses.
‘Seeing that he was
cornered the accused is alleged to have taken weevil tablets and ended his
life.
‘It is believed that the
accused had been carrying the weevil tablets with him in his backpack.’
The newspaper said that the
person who was living with the deceased said he never saw any weevil tablets.
Police Information and
Communication Officer Khulani Mamba confirmed to the Observer that a suspect who was wanted for murder committed suicide
by taking weevil tablets after he was shot in the ankle by police during a raid
at the homestead where he was hiding.
Police in Swaziland have a
long history of shooting suspects in unusual circumstances.
In August 2017 Siboniso
Brian Mdluli, aged 22, who police wanted in connection with armed robbery was
reportedly killed at point blank range in ‘cowboy style.’ His family demanded an inquiry saying Mdluli was assassinated by trigger happy
police officers for no apparent reason.
In November 2015 police shot
a man at close range after he overturned rubbish bins and then ran away from
them. The Times of Swaziland,
reported at the time that a 21-year-old man had been suspected of throwing
rubbish in the road and pelting vehicles with stones. The newspaper said, ‘he
was shot by police at close range after refusing to board their vehicle’.
A plain-clothed policeman
shot an unarmed man in the back killing him while on a
public bus in February 2014. The man had allegedly stolen some copper wire
before boarding the bus, travelling from Siteki, in eastern Swaziland to
Manzini. The Times Sunday
newspaper reported at the time the driver of the bus
Majahonke Zikalala said, ‘the man was attempting to force his way out of the
bus, the police officer shot him in the back, near the spine… the man fell on
the floor after which he was handcuffed while he bled’. He died of his injures
at the scene.
In March 2013, Swaziland police
shot a man dead in front of his 11-year-old child
as he held his hands up in an attempt to surrender to them. Thokozani
Mngometulu, aged 31, was killed as he got out of his car at his homestead in
Dlakadla, in the Shiselweni region of Swaziland. Thokozani’s family, who also
witnessed the killing, say he was shot in the pelvis at close range by a police
officer.
In June 2012, a serial rapist suspect Bhekinkhosi
Masina, popularly known as Scarface, was
shot by police as they cornered him for arrest.
Police say they only shot him in the thigh and he unexpectedly died of his
injuries. The Times of Swaziland
newspaper later revealed he had been shot six times, including in the head and
back.
In July 2012, a mentally ill man, Mduduzi Mngometulu, aged 34, was shot seven times by police and died of his injuries. He had four holes in his stomach, one in the leg and two bullet wounds on the left side of his chest.
These are not isolated incidents in Swaziland where police across the kingdom have a growing record of killing or maiming suspects before arrest. The cases have largely gone unreported outside of the kingdom itself.
In one example, police executed a suspect, Thabani Mafutha Dlamini, at Nkwalini in Hlatikulu in the presence of his colleagues and home boys in what local media called ‘cowboy style’. The Swazi Observer newspaper reported the incident in December 2011 saying, ‘Police had previously warned the mother of the dead man to “budget for funeral expenses” as they intended to remove him. He was said to be on a police “wanted list”’. Dlamini was unarmed.
In a separate case in February 2011, a Swazi policeman shot Mbongeni Masuku, described in media as a Form IV pupil, in the head in what was later described as ‘an execution-style killing’. The killing happened outside a bar in Matsapha, an industrial town in Swaziland. Masuku’s uncle Sigayoyo Maphanga said Mbongeni had been dragged out of his car by police. He told the Swazi Observer, a policeman whom he named, ‘shot my nephew at the back of the left ear and he fell on the ground with blood oozing from his mouth and ears. We were all shocked and angered by such brutality from police officers.’
In July 2012, a mentally ill man, Mduduzi Mngometulu, aged 34, was shot seven times by police and died of his injuries. He had four holes in his stomach, one in the leg and two bullet wounds on the left side of his chest.
These are not isolated incidents in Swaziland where police across the kingdom have a growing record of killing or maiming suspects before arrest. The cases have largely gone unreported outside of the kingdom itself.
In one example, police executed a suspect, Thabani Mafutha Dlamini, at Nkwalini in Hlatikulu in the presence of his colleagues and home boys in what local media called ‘cowboy style’. The Swazi Observer newspaper reported the incident in December 2011 saying, ‘Police had previously warned the mother of the dead man to “budget for funeral expenses” as they intended to remove him. He was said to be on a police “wanted list”’. Dlamini was unarmed.
In a separate case in February 2011, a Swazi policeman shot Mbongeni Masuku, described in media as a Form IV pupil, in the head in what was later described as ‘an execution-style killing’. The killing happened outside a bar in Matsapha, an industrial town in Swaziland. Masuku’s uncle Sigayoyo Maphanga said Mbongeni had been dragged out of his car by police. He told the Swazi Observer, a policeman whom he named, ‘shot my nephew at the back of the left ear and he fell on the ground with blood oozing from his mouth and ears. We were all shocked and angered by such brutality from police officers.’
In May 2011, Mathende Matfonsi was
shot dead by police while he was attending a field of dagga
(marijuana) inside the remote forests of Lomahasha near the border with
Mozambique. His family accused the police of ‘cold-blooded murder’. Matfonsi
was shot dead at Ebhandeni, the same area where Nkosinathi Khathwane had
previously been shot dead by soldiers at night.
In March 2010, police shot a man as he was trying to surrender to them. This time the victim, Mncedisi Mamba, did not die. His mother Thoko Gamedze said Mamba had his hands up and was surrendering to police, but they shot him anyway.
It is not only crime suspects who get shot at. In June 2013, police fired live bullets and teargas as children protested against alleged corruption at Mhubhe High School in Ngculwini Police were called after school pupils boycotted classes.
See also
In March 2010, police shot a man as he was trying to surrender to them. This time the victim, Mncedisi Mamba, did not die. His mother Thoko Gamedze said Mamba had his hands up and was surrendering to police, but they shot him anyway.
It is not only crime suspects who get shot at. In June 2013, police fired live bullets and teargas as children protested against alleged corruption at Mhubhe High School in Ngculwini Police were called after school pupils boycotted classes.
See also
POLICE
KILLING FAMILY DEMAND ANSWERS
‘POLICE EXECUTE MAN COWBOY STYLE’
POLICE
SHOOT SURRENDERING MAN
SWAZI
POLICE ‘MURDER’ SUSPECT
POLICE
‘EXECUTE’ SUSPECT IN STREET
SWAZI
POLICE SHOOT-TO-KILL AGIN
POLICE
SHOOT AND KILL MENTALLY ILL MAN
POLICE
‘SHOT ACCUSED RAPIST IN HEAD’
POLICE
SHOOT-TO-KILL ON BUS
POLICE
KILL SURRENDERING MAN
SWAZI
POLICE SHOOT-TO-KILL
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