Empangeni cop dies after brutal assault
EMPANGENI police constable, Mbuso Mzimela, who was found lying unconscious on the roadside in eSikhaleni on Sunday afternoon, has died.
It is believed that Mzimela (35) was assaulted by unknown suspects. He was found by a security guard who was returning home from work.
Mbuso was rushed to eSikhaleni Clinic for medical attention and later transferred to Netcare The Bay Hospital, where he died shortly after his arrival on Monday morning.
The deceased’s elder brother, Mbongiseni Mzimela claims that Mbuso was picked up from the Empangeni police barracks, where he was residing, by one of their brothers.
‘He was off duty that day. They went to eSikhaleni township as our brother has a house there. We don’t know how they became separated.
‘All we have heard from the police is that Mbuso was found lying unconscious on the roadside, by a security guard who was returning home from work.
‘We are under the impression that he suffered internal injuries because, according to the information we received from the police, there were no visible injuries.
‘Police told us there were no visible injuries on his body, but there were some marks which indicated he had been assaulted and strangled. This information gives us the suspicion that he suffered internal bleeding,’ Mzimela said.
Mzimela said, as family, they have a lot of questions which need to be answered. ‘We are hopeful that police investigations will provide us with answers. His cell phone was found in his pocket. We don’t know who was responsible for the attack, or what the reason behind the attack was,’ he said. King Cetshwayo Cluster Police spokesperson, Captain Mbongeni Mdlalose said a case of murder was registered at eSikhaleni for further investigation.
‘At this stage, the police investigation is still under way and no arrest has yet been made. We are waiting for the postmortem results, to determine the cause of death,’ Mdlalose said.