- Tells court how warder pulled him by private parts
- Claims inmates are beaten in front of other inmates
Mbabane: Murder suspect Sipho Shongwe has on Wednesday during his court appearance told the court about ill-treatment and punishment he experienced and also how abuse and capital punishment was rampant at the Matsapha correctional facility.
It was before the commencement of the trial that Sipho Shongwe’s legal representative Advocate Laurance Hodes informed Judge Nkosinathi Maseko that the accused had something to tell the court.
It was then that Shongwe who was sorrowful explained how a prison warder allegedly pulled his private parts during the routine search at the Matsapha Maximum Prison where he was kept.
The Times of Eswatini quoted Shongwe saying “My Lord, I am here before the court for trial. I am someone who is not well. I have been very much humiliated. There is an incident that took place yesterday and unfortunately, it was not the first time. There was a routine search yesterday and there is a young man who pulled me with my private parts.”
Shongwe informed the court that while he tried to ask as to why the warder was pulling him by his private parts, the other officers threatened to assault him.
He alleged that ever since there was new management at the Matsapha Correctional Facility, some inmates were being beaten in front of other inmates.
Sipho also alleged that he was once staved for three days without food. He pointed out that he was one of the people who consumed food from outside the facility, and for three days people who had come to bring food to him were turned back.
Shongwe told the court that he was not comfortable being kept at the Matsapha Correctional Facility and he was not happy with the way he was being treated at the facility. Siphon submitted before the court that what scarred him a lot was that capital punishment was rampant under the officer in charge at the correctional facility.
