Mbabane – Xolani Mngometulu, 28, of Elangeni, appeared in court after assaulting his girlfriend, Nomfundo Duma, and her alleged companion on 18 January 2026.
Mngometulu faced two charges. The first, under Section 77(1)(a) of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act of 2018, related to the unlawful assault of Duma, whom he hit several times with open hands. The second count, assault common, involved Mhlaba Dlamini, whom Mngometulu punched three times in the face, causing a cut below his left eye.
He told the court that his girlfriend had called him saying one of the children was sick. Upon arriving, he discovered the children had been left alone in the room and took them to his home for safety. Later that night, between 9pm and 10pm, he confronted Duma walking with another man. “They showed me disrespect,” Mngometulu said, explaining this led to the assaults.
In mitigation, he apologised to the court and called his actions a mistake, adding he lives with a five-year-old child and pleaded for leniency.
The magistrate said that although Mngometulu was provoked, assaulting the complainants was wrong and noted it was improper for the children to be left alone at night. His guilty plea showed remorse.
Mngometulu was fined E1,000 for each charge, with one year imprisonment as an alternative for non-payment. The sentence for the first count was wholly suspended for one year on condition that he does not commit a similar offence. The magistrate also advised Duma that having more than one boyfriend simultaneously “often leads to trouble and should be avoided.”
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