Swazi police shot a man in cold blood as he was trying to surrender to them.
Not for the first time the Swaziland police have shown their willingness to shoot and ask questions later.
This time the victim, Mncedisi Mamba, did not die (but that was more by luck than the judgement of the police).
The mother of the man, Thoko Gamedze, said Mamba had his hands up and was surrendering to police, but they shot him anyway.
She said he was not running away nor was he fighting. She said, ‘All the bullets were shot from the front, this shows that the police were just out to hurt, not to arrest him.’
She added, ‘He was not armed and he raised his hands to show that he was not fighting nor running away from the police but willing to cooperate.’
Mamba was badly injured and may lose a leg. He is now in Raleigh Fitkin Memorial under heavy police guard. Mamba was wanted by police on robbery charges.
Swazi police have been criticised recently for having an unofficial ‘shoot to kill’ policy.
They have also been involved in a number of heavy-handed attacks on members of the public, including shooting near school children.
The police have also been firing at protesting students, and textile workers who were on a legitimate strike and beating protest marchers.
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