Police post, Build it torched, army deployed

MANZINI – Soldiers were roped in after the Manzini Bus Rank Police Post and Build-It Hardware were set alight by protesters yesterday.

This happened during a protest action by some public transport workers, who were demanding that five of their colleagues be released from custody. The protesters first pelted windowpanes of buildings along Mahleka Street before entering the Manzini Bus Rank, where some of them set alight the police post.

Also burnt was the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) flag, which was hoisted outside the police post.

As the police post was up in flames, a contingent of members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) was seen entering the bus rank. They were dressed in their usual camouflage uniform and helmets, with some covering their faces with masks.

Vacate

They walked around the bus rank and ordered people to vacate. This saw some of the protesters running towards Louw Street, which is sandwiched by the Bhunu Mall and Swaziland Building Society and EswatiniBank.

The protesters were pelting stones at buildings and as such, a truck said to be transporting mealie-meal had its windscreen shattered in the process while other people also looted its goods.

The protesters also shattered windowpanes of Sausage Saloon, Nandos, KFC, Futi’s and Websters Stationery. Also, some members of the public, who ran away from the chaos and sought refuge at the automated teller machines (ATM) lobby at Standard Bank, were not spared. The protesters had stones thrown at them before the police arrived to disperse the protesters on that side of the town. The chaos had a lull as the protesters regrouped at the no-man’s land where they usually host their meetings.

Burnt

At about 2pm, Build It Hardware near the Manzini Bus Rank was burnt. The hardware shop had its windowpanes shattered before the fire was started at the entrances of the building. Rubble and car tyres were some of the items used to start the fire at the entrance of the hardware store.

Personnel from Eswatini National Fire and Emergency Services (ENFES) were able to extinguish the fire; however, damage had been done as some items were destroyed, inclusive of the rollerdoors.

Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni confirmed the damage. She said the police had also recorded a statement of a confectionery transporting truck which had its contents emptied.

She said the truck had its crates for packing bread strewn along the road after people helped themselves to loaves of bread it was transporting. Mnguni said so far, police had one recorded arrest, which was for an individual suspected of vandalising ATMs at Standard Bank. She said there was a possibility more arrests were yet to be recorded as the law enforcers were still conducting their investigations.

Later on, most of the streets in the city were void of traffic - both human and motorists, like this Ngwane Street.

Public transport workers protesting at the Four-Way Stop, which leads to the Manzini Magistrates Court, where they also blocked the road and started a fire.