Mbabane– The High Court has convicted Simanga Sigwili Vilakati and Thandokuhle Galimese Dlamini for the 2022 burning of a Times of Eswatini delivery vehicle at Nyakeni, after finding that eyewitness evidence placed the two men at the scene of the crime.
Judge N.M. Maseko found the two accused guilty of contravening the Suppression of Terrorism Act and malicious injury to property, but acquitted and discharged them on the robbery charge.
The judgment was delivered yesterday in the High Court of Eswatini in Mbabane.
The court found that the Crown had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt after relying on the evidence of the newspaper delivery driver and Nyakeni resident Ntokozo Dlamini, who both identified the accused during an identification parade held at Matsapha Police Station.
The court heard that on February 22, 2022, at around 6am, the Times of Eswatini driver was delivering newspapers in the Nyakeni area when he was allegedly confronted by the two men.
According to the evidence, one of the men pointed a firearm at the driver while the other entered the cab carrying two containers smelling of petrol.
The driver testified that the man in the cab sprinkled petrol inside and outside the vehicle before the vehicle was set alight. He then ran to a nearby bush, where he watched the incident from a distance of about 15 metres.
The court heard that the vehicle, together with newspapers, a tablet and a printer, was badly damaged in the fire.
The driver further testified that the two men later told people who had gathered at the scene that they were ‘comrades’ and that the Times of Eswatini was disturbing their activities.
The court also heard that gunshots were fired, causing members of the community to disperse.
Dlamini, who encountered the two men after the incident, told the court that they introduced themselves as comrades and not criminals. He said they told him that they had burnt the Times vehicle because the newspaper was disturbing their comrades’ activities.
The court found that both witnesses had sufficient opportunity to observe the accused and that their evidence corroborated each other.
Judge Maseko said the identification parade conducted on June 25, 2022, was conducted professionally and with integrity.
The newspaper driver identified the accused who had been inside the cab and had allegedly used petrol to set the vehicle alight, while Dlamini identified both men.
The judge noted that the driver did not identify the man who had allegedly pointed the firearm at him, but only identified the person he had spent time with inside the cab.
The court found this to be an indication that the identification parade had not been manipulated.
“The evidence of these two witnesses … is overwhelming and highly worthy of credence,” the judge said.
The accused persons had denied committing the offences and raised alibi defences.
Vilakati testified that he was at his home in Ka-Ndinda when the incident occurred, while Dlamini claimed that he was at Mavula High School, where he was working as a temporary teacher.
They also claimed that they only met each other on the day of their arrest after allegedly getting a lift from Ka-Khoza bus station.
The court rejected the alibi defences.
The judge found that the evidence presented in support of Dlamini’s alibi did not account for his whereabouts at around 6am, the time the offence was committed.
The court also considered the circumstances surrounding the accused persons’ arrest on June 22, 2022, at a police roadblock along the Mhlaleni/Mbikwakhe road.
The court heard that police officers stopped a Volkswagen sedan after allegedly noticing a rifle inside the vehicle. The two accused alighted from the vehicle, but the driver allegedly sped off.
The accused denied seeing a firearm inside the vehicle.
Judge Maseko found that the circumstances surrounding their arrest, coupled with the evidence of the two eyewitnesses and their identification during the parade, formed a chain of evidence pointing to their guilt.
The court also rejected allegations that the accused had been assaulted or tortured by the police, noting that officers who dealt with them during their arrest and detention denied the allegations.
After a trial in which the Crown called 16 witnesses, the court convicted both accused on the terrorism-related charge and malicious injury to property.
They were acquitted and discharged on the robbery charge.
Discussion about this post