Wonder Hlongwa
Alleged KwaZulu-Natal warlord Sifiso Nkabinde claims he has not been eating properly in prison for days as he fears he is being poisoned. Prison authorities deny his allegations.
In a telephone interview with the Mail & Guardian from the Westville prison in Durban, Nkabinde says he is scared and is consulting doctors. He says he has been ill since he was arrested last month.
?Once I eat, I vomit something yellow or green. And I still have a running stomach. I?m very weak. If I drink yoghurt or Amasi, it comes back,? he said
He says he cannot even eat food brought by his United Democratic Movement colleague Sifiso Bhengu. His cell is a ?small dispensary? because of all the medication he has to take.
According to sources in the National Intelligence Agency, security force members engineering the Richmond violence could possibly want to reach Nkabinde in prison in an attempt to assassinate him before his trial starts. Nkabinde has been charged with 18 murders.
KwaZulu-Natal correctional services representative Philemon Ntuli says though he thinks poisoning is impossible because all prisoners are fed from one pot, they are going to strengthen security in the kitchen.
He says the only way a prisoner could be poisoned is if it is put into his individual dish by another prisoner, especially a cell mate. But Nkabinde is being held in a single cell.
Ntuli says Nkabinde is not prohibited from receiving food from his visitors.
South African Police Service special investigator Bushie Engelbrecht, who arrested Nkabinde, says he doesn?t believe the allegations because there are very few people who have access to Nkabinde?s cell.
* Meanwhile five bodies were discovered in Richmond on Thursday morning. This brings the number of people killed in one week to 13.
?Three middle-aged men, a female and a three-year-old child were killed on Thursday. The motive for the attack is not known,? said police representative Henry Budhram.