Assault case hangs over Mswati’s head

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IN HOT WATER: Nkangala ANCYL Chairman and District MMC faces assault charges over a lost lover. PICTURE: Supplied

A case of assaulting another youth his age is hanging over the head of the controversial leader of the ANCYL in the Nkangala region.

Nkangala ANCYL regional chairman Mduduzi ‘Mswati’ Nkosi has been in and out of court for an assault case that occurred during a dramatic and bitter fight to win back a lost lover.

The 24-year-old woman involved in the squabble between the firebrand leader of the youth league in the region and another youth, 29-year-old Orapeleng Mangoenyane, cannot revealed by 013NEWS to protect her from victimisation.

This week prosecutors at the Vosman Magistrates Court in eMalahleni decided not to call the matter in court to allow Mangoenyane to change gear and try find the other men who assisted Mswati when they allegedly assaulted him on 30 January 2016.

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In a lengthy interview with Mangoenyane on Thursday evening, the 013NEWS reporter learnt that the case is coming back to the Vosman Magistrates Court after a settlement between Mswati’s lawyers and Mangoenyane could not materialise at the court on Thursday morning.

“The thing is, I was given an option of continuing with the case with him Mswati but I know he was not alone when he was assaulted me. They were six, seven or eight and I want all of them to face the charge,” explained Mangoenyane.

“I heard that they are his friends and now we institute the investigation to look for them and find them and I point them and they will be brought to court,” he said.

“I told the prosecutor I won’t agree that only Mdu (Mswati) should face the charge alone. Where are the others? I can’t continue a case with Mdu alone, I want all of them and I’ll make means to find all of them because I don’t know them but I’ll try all my best to find all of them and one or two of them I can identify,” he said.

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It is alleged that on the Saturday of 30 January 2016, a group led by Mswati attacked Mangoenyane in his Ford Bantam bakkie while he was accompanying the 24-year-old woman who allegedly is Mswati’s ex-girlfriend.

Mangoenyane said his car was circled in by Mdu’s Mercedes Benz ML and the other two cars driven by Mswati’s friends “who were about six, seven or eight” an allegedly hit him with a stick after they had taken out the key from the ignition.

He claims he collapsed because they hit him with sticks in the head and that this information is contained in a medical certificate he obtained at a doctor’s visit in eMalahleni Down Town soon after the incident and a case of assault was laid with the Vosman cops.

He said this week outside the Vosman Magistrates Court, Mswati’s lawyer tried to call the two of them as Mswati was willing to apologise and “I said, yes, as far as he is willing to apologise but where are the others he was with when they were beating me and there was nothing making sense between that mediation because Mdu himself is not acknowledging what he did,” he said.

The matter has now been postponed for Mangoenyane to find those who were allegedly assisting Mdu during the assault.

Mswati who is also member of the mayoral council (MMC) at the Nkangala District Municipality said he was not willing to comment as this matter was still in court.

But Mangoenyane’s supporters had vowed they would raise funds for Mangoenyane to get a “strong lawyer like that of Mdu” because they were suspicious there were attempts by the powerful Nkangala leader “to corrupt officials” to drop the case.

One of his supporters, Sinazo Tshingana, said: “We are not surrendering until justice is served. We will now give Orapeleng the full support he needs as the South African Development Organisation in order to get the others who assaulted him to court, for the matter to continue”.

(edited by ZK)

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