MANZINI – A feud over Mahhala Police Post almost turned nasty as a police officer allegedly threatened to assault well-known Matsapha businessman Tom Kirk in public.
The incident, which attracted the attention of members of the public who were at Mahhala Shopping Complex intersection, took place on Monday afternoon. A source close to the matter said the businessman was inside his car, which was parked next to the police post, when he was allegedly verbally attacked by the law enforcer, who is based at Matsapha Police Station (Esigodvweni). The source said the businessman was monitoring a construction project at the site as it was being developed to a fenced parking lot for tenants of his complex.
The source, who preferred not to be named, added that the bone of contention between Kirk and the police officers was that the strategy used by the businessman to develop the site would block members of the public as well as law enforcers from accessing the police post when travelling in cars.
“The heated argument between the businessman and officer was so serious that previous incidents which involved the two of them came to the fore,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the businessman, who had publicly raised a concern about the site of the police post and mentioned that it had been placed at the place illegally, confirmed the incident yesterday in an interview. Kirk said he was developing the site because he wanted to minimise traffic congestion within the Mahhala Complex, as it was causing unnecessary accidents, especially at the intersection.
He also revealed that recently an accident took place on Thursday at the complex and the car almost crashed into the fuel pumps at the filling station. He said if the accident had been severe, it could have caused an explosion that would have burnt down the Mahhala Complex. “I have public liability in everything that happens around this complex and if I foresee some danger, I have to make all possible means to avoid it,” he mentioned.
The businessman said he would not comment much about the officer who allegedly verbally attacked him and further threatened to assault him in front of members of the public. He said the matter was now with the police and he had already instructed his lawyers to take it to the courts.
Kirk said the reason he did not want to comment much about the incident was that it was not the first time the officer in question clashed with him or his employees, something which made him believe that he had a hidden agenda against him.
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba confirmed that Kirk had opened a case on the incident at Matsapha Police Station and the police were still conducting investigations.
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