Africa-Press – Eswatini. A Stealth Security supervisor miraculously survived a hail of bullets that were shot at him at close range.
He sustained about seven bullet wounds, on various parts of his body. The incident took place about 150 metres from the Stealth Security Supervisor, Sipho Dlamini’s flat at Madonsa in Manzini on Tuesday evening (after 7pm). According to one of the witnesses who were close by when the incident took place, they heard several gunshots, but when they looked towards the direction where the gunfire sound was coming from, they did not see anyone, which could have meant the men were fast in their act. The eyewitness said together with other residents, they ran towards the direction of where the gunshots sound was coming from and they found Dlamini groaning in pain, in a pool of blood.
Witness
When they asked him what happened, the witness said Dlamini only told them that he was dying and at that time, he was losing strength as he was failing to communicate with them.
Thereafter, she said she called her sister, who is a police officer, and notified her about the man who had been shot several times. She said her sister used her personal car to rush the man to hospital. She said visible gunshot wounds, which were bleeding profusely, were on the right side of his chest, right hand and at the back. The supervisor, who is currently admitted to local hospital, said he was from work in Manzini, going back to his rented flat when the incident took place.
Target
He said as he was walking, he saw three men coming from the opposite direction (from the direction of his place of residence) and he continued to mind his own business, as it did not cross his mind that he could be their target. Suddenly, he said they stopped in front of him and hurled insults at him. He said while he was still shocked by the conduct and trying to digest the situation, one of the men pulled a gun, which he believed to be a pistol, cocked it and shot him. “I turned back and tried to run away, but they chased after me while the armed man fired several shots at me and I eventually fell to the ground. This was after one of the bullets hit me at the back of my right shoulder plate and came out through the right part of my chest,” the survivor said. He said he did not know if the gunmen came to him after falling to the ground, but he knew that about E430, which was in his pocket, was missing, but he learnt that his cellphone and bank cards were with the police.
Later on, while he was on the ground, he said he remembered seeing a number of people around him and some cars parked on the side of the road. He said he also recalled that the person who rushed him to hospital was a woman, who said she was a police officer, but he did not know her. However, he said he believed the woman played a huge role in saving his life. When he was asked how many bullets hit him during the attack, the survivor said he did not know, because the medical practitioners were yet to take him to the theatre. However, he said judging from the areas he was bandaged, he was hit by seven bullets. “However, the police told me that they collected about 10 bullet shells at the crime scene the following morning (yesterday),” Dlamini said.
He said one or more bullets hit him on the right hand and his fourth finger had to be amputated. Again, he said both legs were shot about three times; once in the left and twice in the right. He added that apart from the bullet wound in his right shoulder plate and chest, he had others on the back and arm. When asked what he thought could be the motive behind the attack, he said it was hard to tell. This, he said was because he believed he did not have enemies, yet at the same time, he could not say it was a robbery. He argued that if it was a robbery, his attackers could have made an attempt to get hold of him and also fired some gunshots in the air to frighten him. On another note, he said the medical practitioners said he had lost too much blood and it would be risky to take him to the theatre. He said later in the day yesterday, he got an update that some people had donated blood to the Blood Bank, but they had to wait for about 24 hours before it could be released to him – after screening. He said he would know the extent of the injuries and the exact number of bullets that hit him after being taken to the theatre.
Meanwhile, Stealth Security management asked not to comment on the matter to allow the police to do their investigations, without the company’s interference. On the other hand, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed that a 34-year-old man was shot by unknown men while he was at Madonsa on Monday evening. He said the police were investigating the matter and no arrest had been made yet.
Killed
It is worth noting that on Monday night, two men, believed to be South African nationals, were killed execution-style next to Vegas City Guest House in Ezulwini. However, it was suspected that the shooting was a result of a deal gone wrong, as the men were fetched near a hotel in Mbabane by unknown men and were driven to where the incident took place. They were shot while the taxi they were travelling in was parked at the entrance of the guest house. After the shooting, the shooters used a red Polo Vivo sedan, which had local registration numbers, to flee the scene.
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