Africa-Press – Eswatini. Residents and passersby were horrified when a local businessman and two men believed to be soldiers engaged in a gun battle in broad daylight.
It has been gathered that seven members of Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) had been pursuing a robbery suspect, when they reportedly encountered resistance from a local businessman, leading to a violent altercation. Confirmed reports revealed that a soldier involved in the incident succumbed to injuries at the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital yesterday. This incident occurred yesterday at Logoba around 3pm. According to witnesses, the seven men were travelling in a foreign-registered Toyota GD6.
Investigation
Upon arriving at the scene, this publication witnessed a bustling Logoba business centre, with onlookers and passersby gathering to observe the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) conducting an investigation on the crime scene. The area was littered with both residents and passersby. There was a pool of blood where the shoot-out took place. Various eyewitnesses’ accounts of the incident have since emerged. According to one of the witnesses, she observed two armed men in casual clothing detaining and escorting a suspected robber. She claimed that the armed men were reportedly mistreating the robbery suspect, a scene that attracted the attention of locals in the area. “As the men led the suspected robber towards a building, where a truck was parked, he (robbery suspect) began to shout for help, prompting a local businessman to intervene. This, however, led to a heated exchange of words between the businessman and the armed men, ultimately escalating into exchange of gunfire.” The witness said she was deeply shaken by the events and sought refuge inside a nearby shop, as the shooting continued. It was then that she reportedly witnessed one man collapsing to the ground, bleeding profusely. Her account further revealed that the man who had collapsed was, in fact, one of the two armed individuals, allegedly a member of the UEDF.
Vehicle
She recounted seeing a foreign-registered vehicle quickly pulling up beside the fallen man’s body; collecting it and driving away. Another version from the witnesses was that some people tried to rob the businessman about a month ago. It was claimed that they followed him to his house and tried to take his daily collections, but the robbers’ efforts fell through as he fired several shots and shot one of the suspects. Subsequent to that, it was said the businessman has been living in fear as accomplices of the shot robber were reportedly threatening to retaliate, following their friend’s shooting. It was said yesterday, when the businessman exited one of the shops in close proximity to his business, he saw a number of people he did not know inside his business establishment. A witness said minutes later, he saw two of the men exiting his business establishment, while forcefully pulling one customer with them. As that was happening, the witness claimed that the businessman tried to enquire on what was happening and why was the customer being dragged. The witness claimed that the customer was shouting ‘malume naba laba bayangikidnapper’, loosely translated to mean ‘these people are kidnapping me’. It was said while that was happening, one of the people who are reportedly members of the UEDF, shouted that they should not be responding to the questions posed by the businessman, but must shoot him.
Gun
The witness claimed that at that instance, one of the men, said to be a soldier, pulled out a gun and aimed at the busineman’s chest; however, the gun jammed. It was purported that the businessman ducked for cover. As he took cover behind a truck, the witness claimed that more shots were fired by the ‘soldiers’ and the businessman fired back. The witness claimed that through the hail of bullets which were exchanged by the purported soldiers and the businessman, the latter ended up being shot in his stomach. The witness said what had shocked them the most was that even if one of the soldiers had been robbed, he did not report it to the police, but decided to take the law into his hands, along with his colleagues. The witness wondered if soldiers were allowed to take the law into their own hands, despite that there were police officers and he also wondered if the vehicle and guns used by the alleged soldiers did not belong to the State.
Noteworthy is that members of the UEDF are mandated to guard borderlines of the country and key points, which include safeguarding natural resources of the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Meanwhile, an alternate version of the incident was provided by another Logoba resident, who claimed that the businessman was approached by the two armed men suspected to be soldiers, leading to a verbal confrontation. This heated exchange subsequently led to the exchange of gunfire between both parties, resulting in injuries to both the soldier and the businessman.
Enquiry
UEDF Public Affairs Officer 2nd Lieutenant Tengetile Khumalo, said nothing had been officially reported to her office. However, following the enquiry by this publication, she will investigate the matter. Also, Deputy Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent Nosipho Mnguni, confirmed that one man died following a shoot-out at Logoba. She said two people were currently admitted to the hospital and they were inclusive of the businessman. Mnguni said police were still investigating the matter and no arrests had been effected as at 6pm yesterday. She said the police had gathered that there were seven people who were travelling in a double-cab bakkie and had arrived at Logoba before being involved in the shooting with the businessman.
For More News And Analysis About Eswatini Follow Africa-Press
