Swazi National teacher arrested for robbery - in Mobeni!

Last week we had a bit of a security scare in Mobeni. Three men pretending to be maintenance employees of the public housing board (Mobeni is considered public housing) gained entry to the owner of Ruchi's Wholesalers' flat. The men proceeded to threaten the owner's wife and she handed over E26,000 ($3,700). At that one of the men started to strangle the owner's wife. Fortunately her housekeeper screamed, alerting the neighbors, and forcing the men to flee. Unfortunately for the perpetrators, an army soldier walking through the neighborhood caught the strangler, and held him until several Indian men (the victim was India) swarmed around the suspect. They proceeded to take off their belts and beat the crap out of the guy. Eventually the police arrived and later were able to force the strangler to reveal the names of his conspirators. Part of the scandal is that this robbery and attempted murder took place in broad daylight in a busy housing complex, and also one of the perpetrators is a highschool teacher. The police did not recover any of the stolen funds, but one of the suspects was able to post bail of E10,000. I love it, the police cannot recover the funds, but these guys got the E10k to post bail from somewhere...

I was at work when this happened, but it freaked me out a little bit. I know that the woman was targeted because her family owns a large business across the street, but still they were going to strangle her to death. One moment you are there, and the next you aren't, just because you let in the wrong maintenance guys. I'm definitely beefing up the security at my house in Memphis when I get back.

Anyway, read the article at length online here, or read the attached text below.

Swazi National teacher arrested for robbery

By MUSA NHLEKO on November 16,2010

MANZINI – A Swazi National High School teacher has been arrested for allegedly robbing the wife of a businessman E26 000.

Eric Matse of St Philips area, who is a Technical Drawing teacher, is not new to controversy. He was recently taken to court by a colleague over a matter involving the sale of a car.

His arrest comes after that of Mbuso Mbhamali (27) of Sibayeni who was caught by a mob including members of the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force after allegedly committing the crime at Mobeni flats last Tuesday.

This was after they had allegedly disguised themselves as technicians from the Swaziland National Housing Board (SNHB) who had come to fix something in the house of Deptiben Patel the wife of Ruchi Wholesalers owner.

The wholesale is situated not very far from Mobeni flats where the alleged robbery took place.

Once they were inside the flat, the men strangled Patel and ordered her to surrender her cellphone before she was ordered to give them money.

She went to the place they keep money and gave them E26 000 in cash and they left.

As they left the flat, she raised alarm and Mbhamali was caught.

The Sigodvweni Criminal Investigations Department police were called and he was taken in and during police investigations, Matse’s name came up which saw him being arrested on Wednesday.

He was rounded up in the afternoon while he was at a friend’s place at Kwaluseni and was kept in custody untill last Friday.

On Friday they both appeared at the Manzini Magistrates Court before Magistrate Sindi Zwane on a charge of robbery.

Matse was represented by Lawyer Nhlanhla Ginindza who applied that his client be admitted to bail which the Public Prosecutor Agrippa Bhembe did not object to.

Magistrate Zwane admitted both suspects to E10 000 bail each and only Matse managed to pay.

Swazi National High School Principal Alec Simelane said Matse never missed school last week.

"I am surprised by what you are saying, what do you mean he was arrested and kept in custody when he was at school the whole of last week?" asked Simelane yesterday.

Federal Express in Swaziland!

I just got my first Fedex here in Swaziland, and it couldn't have come at a worse time. I am already quite homesick for Memphis (haven't lived there for almost a decade), and then I get this little reminder of home. They drive different trucks, but the uniforms are the same, and the package got here ahead of time despite a sketchy address (Name of town + Restaurant Name). The delivery guy seemed very underwhelmed, and did not understand the significance of my hometown being Memphis. Come on shouldn't that be the first part of the FedEx training video? Anyway, I won't be in Memphis until January, but Memphis has already come to me!

Featured on Gone Rural Blog

I just launched the Gone Rural blog, and there is a classy article featuring moi. The photo that they use is that of me at the US England Game in Rustenberg, South Africa. The atmosphere was amazing - the Americans were dressed in revolutionary war garb and rocked don't tread on me flags. The Brits were quite friendly, for the most part, and seemed relieved to have tied finished the game with a tie. Then again, the side that they brought to the World Cup was definitely more skilled than Team USA, so in a way I'm sure that it was disappointing. Anyway, see the blog post below.

Our new intern with his home-town hero, Elvis, at the World Cup.

Tristan Hayes joined Gone Rural at the beginning of September as our new marketing intern. According to Tristan, "The warmth of the atmosphere at GR is incomparable to any other place that I have worked. My "office" overlooks the fields of Malkerns and is situated in the same space as Gone Rural's product development area. I am so lucky to be able to watch the organization's products develop every day."

Tristan came with experience in handcrafts from his previous position as coordinator of Pure Swazi. There he organized training workshops sponsored by the UNDP and Standard Bank and also helped manage the www.pureswazi.com website. Before working at Pure Swazi, Tristan performed market research while working as an antitrust analyst at Nathan Associates, Inc. in Washington, D.C. "Gone Rural is a special place, and I'm excited to help both the firm and the artisans grow!"

Featured in the Swazi Observer

I organized a training for Swazi handcraft firms on how to attend a trade fair, and this is the resulting news coverage featured in The Swazi Observer on September 10th, 2010 page 19.

Text of the Article:

Pure Swazi Coordinator Tristan Hayes has described the attendance of three Swazi artisans at the international trade show at SARCDA as a success.Hayes said the artisans; Litsemba Mtiya Threads, Noma Ceramics and Zoggs were selected at a workshop in July for their performances in a mock trade show competition. SARCDA is the biggest international trade exhibition show for gifts and interior decoration in South Africa, Joannesburg, Gallagher. "Collectively, the artisans generated over E30,000 of orders from customers located around the world." The customers are from South Africa, Namibia, Canada, and Germany. The artisans' products will have a double impact as they will not only be found on store shelves, but will also spread awareness of the high-quality of Swazi design.

"Through the feedback received from potential buyers, and the exposure to other designers' products at the show, these three businesses will now be able to go back to their workshops and develop even more creative products," he noted.

Successful

Hayes said the artisans returned on August 24th from a successful week in Johannesburg after attending SARCDA, The coordinator said the trip was made possible through the sponsorship of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) gender program in collaboration with Pure Swazi and TechnoServe. "They sponsored the three female owned Swazi handcraft businesses to attend this important trade fair. The objective of the artisans going to SARCDA was to connect them with new customers, improving their knowledge of international markets. Also, it helped them grow the market for Swazi Handcrafts," he said.

Turnover

Adding, Hayes said although the three businesses had already been quite successful in Swaziland, their annual turnover had not yet reached the point where they could fund a stand at this trade show on their own. "The UNDP gender program funded by the European Union, in association with TechnoServe, stepped in and provided funding for the stand space, training, transit and a weeks' accommodation. "Pure Swazi on the other side collaborated with the initiative by training the designers for the show and showcasing their products in their space at SARCDA.

"With the sales they have accrued from attending SARCDA this year, it is hoped that these handcraft businesses will be able to fund their own presence at the trade fair in the coming year," the coordinator continued. "We could have never run these programs without them. Already, Zoggs has stated that they will increase the hours of their part time employees to fill these new orders; generating additional well paid employment for women in Tambuti," he concluded.