Mbabane – A 30-year-old Sidwashini resident, Manqoba Magagula, has been arrested and charged with three counts, including assault and malicious damage to property.
Magagula faced the first charge of common assault for allegedly striking Sibusiso Shongwe with open hands on 28 December 2025 at Mpolonjeni. The second count involved assaulting Nosimilo Zwane several times on the face with open hands on 17 November 2025 at the same location. The third count was malicious injury to property after he allegedly damaged a sitting room window glass valued at E300, belonging to Nkhosinathi Masoka Dlamini, by throwing stones on 18 November 2025.
Magagula pleaded guilty to the first and third counts but not guilty to the second.
In mitigation, Magagula told the court that the incident with Shongwe began when she assaulted him inside a shop. “When I asked why she was beating me, she accused me of lifting her wife, it was an act of self defence,” he explained. On the damaged window, he said, “I was trying to separate people who were fighting when a stone accidentally hit the window,” adding that he had already compensated the complainant.
He also stated that the following day, the complainant returned with a Mamba Police officer and friends and assaulted him, leaving him injured.
The magistrate noted that Magagula had been provoked and had compensated the complainant for the property damage. He was sentenced to pay a fine of E500 or serve five months in prison for the first count. He was acquitted and discharged on the second count. For the third count, he was fined E500 or five months imprisonment, to run concurrently with the first.
The magistrate also advised Magagula on the dangers of alcohol, stating that “intoxicating drinks often lead to nothing but trouble.”
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