CHURCHES WANT INQUIRY INTO KILLINGS

Churches in Swaziland want an independent inquiry into the police killing of the alleged rapist Bhekinkhosi ‘Scarface’ Masina. 

They also want the deaths of two other people, possibly at the hands of the police, to be investigated.

The Council of Swaziland Churches wants the independent inquiry to be wide ranging and involve police, politicians, the church and civil society.

The call was sparked by the police killing of Masina while he was allegedly resisting arrest. Police say they shot him in the thigh and Masina died of his injuries. Later a Swazi newspaper said its reporter had seen Masina’s body and it had a bullet wound to the head. 

The other two cases the Swaziland Churches wants investigated involve Sihle Bhembe and Vamile Gumbi. Bhembe died in a police station cell after police say he repeatedly hit his own head against a wall. Gumbi died after being interrogated at a police station. All deaths occurred over a space of three weeks.

In a statement, the council said it was concerned that the three deaths happened in the custody of the police, or just after they had been taken in for questioning, over the course of three subsequent weeks and it is imperative to ascertain the circumstances leading to the deaths. 

The council also called upon churches to resolutely defend the rights of defenceless and marginalised people in Swaziland.

It also wants the Swazi Government to introduce police training so officers can conduct their duties to international standards and with regard to the human rights of Swazi people.

See also

POLICE ‘SHOT ACCUSED RAPIST IN HEAD’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/police-shot-accused-rapist-in-head.html

POLICE KILL SUSPECT ‘IN COLD BLOOD’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/06/police-shoot-suspect-in-cold-blood.html

NEW DOUBTS OVER POLICE KILLING

http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/new-doubts-over-police-killing.html

POLICE ‘SHOT ACCUSED RAPIST IN HEAD’

The alleged rapist Swaziland Police said died after they shot him in the thigh while he was trying to flee had a bullet wound in the head, a local paper reported.

The Times of Swaziland said its reporter had inspected the corpse of Bhekinkhosi ‘Scarface’ Masina and found a bullet wound ‘on the left side of the forehead, just at the top of the left ear’. 

The Swazi police have publicly given at least two versions of Masina’s injury. They originally said Masina had been shot once in the thigh and died of his injuries. Later they changed their story and said he had also been shot below the knee.

Now the Times, Swaziland’s only independent daily newspaper, says Masina’s body had six bullet wounds, ‘one in the head, one in the lower back and four on three of his body limbs’.

A Times’ reporter accompanied Masina’s family during an inspection of the corpse at the Good Shepherd Hospital mortuary.

Police said they would not comment on the condition of the body until their pathologist had made a formal report on a post mortem.

The Times reported, ‘Scarface died on Thursday two weeks ago after seven months of failure to apprehend him for a series of alleged rape cases that happened between November 2011 and February this year.

‘According to the police, Masina was caught during a major raid by the police at a makeshift home he had built next to Mpaka. The Masina family have said the police’s refusal to let the family check his whole body before the pathologist tampered with it was evidence that they knew there was more than what met the eye.’

See also

POLICE KILL SUSPECT ‘IN COLD BLOOD’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/06/police-shoot-suspect-in-cold-blood.html

NEW DOUBTS OVER POLICE KILLING

http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/new-doubts-over-police-killing.html

NEW DOUBTS OVER POLICE KILLING

The alleged serial rapist shot ‘in cold blood’ by Swaziland police had four bullets in his body, despite police claims he was only shot once in the thigh.

Members of the family of Bhekinkhosi ‘Scarface’ Masina, who was killed by police last week after they cornered him following months of pursuit, say they saw Masina’s body prior to a post mortem yesterday (19 June 2012) and it had four bullet wounds. ‘One is on the left foot, another on the arm just next to the hand and two on the right thigh just above the knee,’ the deceased’s relative Solomon Masina told local media.

Police originally said Masina had been shot once in the thigh and died of his injuries. Later they changed their story and said he had also been shot below the knee.

Solomon Masina said police refused to allow him to inspect the back of the body before the post mortem.

He told the Times of Swaziland he wanted to look at the back of the body because he believed Masina had been also shot in the back. 

Swazi Police said its own pathologist would determine how many times Masina had been shot. He would report his findings in due course.

Earlier this week the Swaziland Solidarity Network reported that Masina had been shot in cold blood by police.

Masina is alleged to have raped at least 13 women and children over the past year.

See also

POLICE KILL SUSPECT ‘IN COLD BLOOD’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/06/police-shoot-suspect-in-cold-blood.html

POLICE KILL SUSPECT ‘IN COLD BLOOD’

Swazi police have been accused of killing a serial rapist suspect in cold blood.

The controversy surrounds the death of Bhekinkhosi Masina, who has been dubbed “Scarface” by police and media in Swaziland. He allegedlyraped more than 13 women and children women during the past year. 

Last week police cornered Masina and shot him in the thigh and he died of his injuries. Police say he was trying to escape; they used minimal force and did not want to kill him. 

The Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) said in a statement. ‘This is an outrageous lie.’

It added, ‘What happened the day Masina died is that they encircled his hideout so that he would not be able to flee. When he found out that he had been cornered, he might have attempted to flee, only to find himself face to face with more police officers.’

Masina’s family told media in Swaziland that they were suspicious of the police’s explanation because they had not been allowed to view his whole body. When they went to identify him, they were only allowed to see his face.   

SSN said, ‘What we can vouch for is that all the people who have come forth with information have confirmed that Masina’s body has bullet wounds on his back. This confirms our suspicions and his grandmother’s worries, and explains why his family was not allowed to view his whole body.

‘His aunt, Jabhile Masina, could not understand why Bhekinkhosi had dirt in his mouth when she saw his body in the morgue yet police claim he was apprehended alive. No matter how much pain he was in, there is no way he could have allowed that dirt to remain in his mouth because frankly it caused him discomfort. This only points to one possibility; Masina was dragged from the floor when it was clear that he was dead, which means that police had no intention of taking him alive. Only a dead body would not bother to spit out dirt from its mouth.’

This killing is not an isolated incident in Swaziland, where police have been involved in a number of controversial shootings, leading to suspicions that they have a ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy.

In May 2011 it was reported police shot dead a man who was tending his dagga field and then planted a bullet in his underwear.

In October 2010, a suspect was shot six times even though he was handcuffed. Police said he was trying to escape.

In March 2010, police shot a man in cold blood who was trying to surrender to them.

In January 2010, Swazi policeman shot dead a man and critically wounded another when they shot at a car that failed to stop when they instructed.

Also in January 2010, police gunned down three men in cold blood. A man police claimed was shot while running away from them was later found to have bullet wounds in the front of his body.

Swazi police have been criticised for having a ‘shoot to kill’ policy. They have also been involved in a number of heavy-handed attacks on members of the public, including shooting a nine-year-old girl during a teachers’ strike, and shooting near school children.

See also

SWAZI POLICE AND DEADLY FORCE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/02/swazi-police-and-deadly-force.html