MBABANE - German Robert Dlamini says it was stupid and foolish of him not to report to the police when he found guns at his home.
German is the man who allegedly housed some members of the underground forces at his place of abode, at Endlinilembi in the Manzini Region. He also distanced himself from the people who were calling for regime change, killing innocent citizen and burning structures. The accused submitted that he earned a living through driving a truck and he had never engaged in any unlawful activity resulting in the death of many people. In his replying papers, German said: “I admit that it was stupid of me not to call the police but when you are in the position I was in, sometimes it is not easy to incriminate a relative, your natural instinct is to protect him or her and that is all I did wrong.”
Prosecution
His bail application is being robustly opposed by the prosecution on the basis that he was a flight risk and that he would allegedly continue with the attacks once released on bail. In its opposing papers, the Crown described German and his co-accused as people who were dangerous and clearly not intimidated by the police. German was arrested together with a member of Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) Ncamiso Mabuyakhulu, who is his nephew. In his bail application, he accused Mabuyakhulu of being the one who brought the firearms to his homestead. The third accused person is Philani Sihlongonyane, who is a member of Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO). Together they face a total of 29 charges.
The charges they are facing include the murder of State security officers, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery and malicious injury to property. German appears in five counts of contravening the Arms and Ammunition Act and two of the murder of two traffic police officers. Some of the firearms in question are two guns that were used in the murder of the pair of traffic police officers, who were on duty near the Grand Valley in Manzini. In his replying papers, German submitted that it was not in dispute that the firearms were left by his nephew. He argued that the only evidence against him was in relation to the two charges (found in possession of firearms), which were retrieved from his home after one of his co-accused freely and voluntarily led the police to his ( German) residence. “Aside from the firearms, there is not an ounce of evidence that I participated in the murder of the two police officers,” contended German.
It was further his contention that the charges of murder levelled against him, were a frolic and an abuse of powers vested on the police and the director of public prosecutions (DPP).
According to the accused (German), the charges of murder were simply meant to frustrate his release on bail, because it was believed that he accommodated insurgents, who were unlawfully attempting to bring regime change in Eswatini. “I vehemently deny that I took the firearms and hid them in two different places. What transpired is that having been alerted about the presence of the guns in the house, I went to check and I found them wrapped in a brown masking tape and hidden under the bed. I opened the wrapping and found a gun,’’ alleged the accused. He disclosed that inside, he also found live rounds of ammunition. He said, he first thought of alerting members of the community, but decided against that as he thought they would turn against him for housing a criminal thereafter, proceed to burn his home.
Attention
The accused brought it to the attention of the court that in his community it was common for homesteads belonging to people who housed criminals to be burnt. “I then decided to bury the firearms outside my home because I did not want them in my house. At night, I took one of the firearms outside my compound and buried it there. I was preparing to take out the other one when I got disturbed. I thought of doing that the following night, unfortunately police arrived before I could do so,” alleged the accused. German said, he never thought about the police coming to his home, or had an intention to conceal anything.
He denied to have offered his home to any of his co-accused and that it had become a base for insurgents. He told the court that Mabuyakhulu was related to his wife and since he was young, he used to visit his homestead during holidays such that he was well-known in the community. He alleged that when he (Mabuyakhulu) had grown up he stopped visiting his homestead and in June 2022, he made his first visit after a long time. The accused submitted that when Mabuyakhulu arrived at his home, he was in the company of three men who were carrying alcoholic beverages. “They informed me that they were passing by my home and they thought of checking on me as it had been long time since they last saw me. They stayed for about 30 minutes and left thereafter,” alleged German.
He told the court that in November 2022, before his (Mabuyakhulu) arrest, his (German) wife told him that he had asked to come to show her his bride (makoti). He alleged that he agreed that Mabuyakhulu should come with his girlfriend and when they eventually arrived, he was not present. “The allegation that I harboured my co-accused is false and without merit, hence I reiterate that I am innocent of the charges against me since I did not know what my co-accused, specifically Mabuyakhulu, were involved in. The other co-accused, Philani Sihlongonyane is unknown to me and I only met him for the first time when he arrived with police officers at my home,” he argued. He also brought it to the attention of the court that he was not present at Nsubane when a rifle was reportedly taken from a ranger. German also denied that he was present during the shooting of two police officers at Grand Valley in Manzini.
Truthful
He submitted that, if the prosecution was being truthful with the court, it could have disclosed the evidence that suggested that two people were involved in the killing of the police officers at Grand Valley. German claimed that he was not there as the people behind the shooting of the police officers were described by witnesses and none of the descriptions matched his profile. “The firearm that was retrieved from my home was left by Mabuyakhulu and at all material times, in my presence, he admitted to same. I am positive the statement he recorded with the police clearly reflects that,” he alleged. According to German, Mabuyakhulu confirmed that the firearms belonged to him and that he left them in a room where he had been sleeping with his girlfriend.
Firearms
“If the court would require his statement, it clearly states that the firearms belong to him and that I had nothing to do with the unlawful activities. This information was shared to me by the investigators. They told me that Mabuyakhulu exonerated me from any involvement in the commission of these offences,” contended the accused. He also denied the assertion by the police that the guns were not wrapped when Mabuyakhulu left them at his (German) home. He informed the court that Mabuyakhulu’s girlfriend could confirm that the firearms were wrapped in a masking tape when her boyfriend left them. The bail application is still pending in court and appearing for the accused is Lawyer Noncedo Ndlangamandla.