Maphalaleni community cops chastised after pregnant woman assault

MBABANE – Mbabane National Court President, Chief Mgebiseni has raised concern over increasing cases of Maphalaleni community police taking the laws into their hands.

Dlamini said many a time he came across cases of Maphaleleni residents reporting how the members of the community police had assaulted their children. The court president shared his disappointment when one of the community police members, Bakhulule Nyamane (50) was arrested and charged with the assault of a pregnant woman, Nomthandazo Maziya (21), with a sjambok on the stomach, three times.

Dlamini said he was shocked that some men did not respect pregnant women. He wondered where the community police got the permission from to take the law into their hands. The accused person pleaded guilty. Maziya was then paraded by court to narrate the assault incident.

The complainant told the court that she was on her way home from a nearby shop to buy food parcels, when she came across Nyamane in the company of other community police members beating two boys alleged to have stolen chickens from some families. “Nyamane then instructed us to call Mancoba to come forth since he was also suspected to be part of the boys alleged to be terrorising elderlies and widows within the community, by eating their chickens,” she said.

The complainant stated that Mancoba’s mother asked her to tell Nyamane to come over to her home if he wanted to talk to her son. “After relaying the message, the accused person said he would beat me up for talking to him in a disrespectful manner. I was surprised on why he said that. He hit me three times, despite the fact that I am pregnant,” she said.

After the assault, the complainant said she then asked Nyamane if he knew the repercussions of hitting a pregnant woman on the stomach.

She said the member of community police told her that he did not care, even if she lost the child. “He told me that he was not responsible for my pregnancy. He further told me he was not scared of police officers, since they worked together. What pained me the most was the fact that Nyamane said he would accompany me to report the matter to the police,” she said. Maziya said it was not the first time she was assaulted by the accused person, as she was once beaten for wearing pants.

According to Maziya, Nyamane told her that he was against women wearing pants. Nyamane apologised in court for assaulting Maziya. He alleged that the complainant insulted him and he was then disciplining her.

The court president then asked him where he got permission from to assault a pregnant woman. He was also asked why so many Maphalaleni residents were complaining about the members of the community police’s attitude of taking the law into their own hands. Nyamane pleaded for mercy and said elders of the community had assigned them to curb crime and maintain order. He was later sentenced to seven months in prison or pay a E600 fine.