Swazi police ‘beat the daylights’ out of PUDEMO supporters at a banned rally on Saturday.
Police officers are also said to have kidnapped one man and taken him into the bush. Only members of the public were able to save him.
This is in addition to the report yesterday that a PUDEMO (Peoples United Democratic Movement) leader was snatched by police from the streets of Swaziland’s second city Manzini and transported 40km away to Mbabane before being dumped to make his own way home.
As I reported yesterday (6 July 2008), the PUDEMO General Secretary was forced at gunpoint to hand over her camera to police and one disabled man had his crutches taken away by police and was forced to walk without them.
Today (7 July 2008) the Swazi Observer reports that police ‘brutally dispersed’ protestors, even though those at the rally believed they had a legal right to demonstrate. PUDEMO was celebrating its 25th anniversary. PUDEMO, like all other political parties is banned in Swaziland.
The Observer reports PUDEMO Youth Wing President Wandile Dludlu saying that they were not surprised when the police brutally dispersed them from Jubilee Park in Manzini without even a court order.
The Observer reports Dludlu saying, ‘Not even a single address was made on as the police came, uttered no word and beat the daylights out of the members. What confused us the most was that they did not have a valid instrument to do that. They violated not only our rights as PUDEMO members but even those of the people in the city.’
He added that they did not even expect the prime minister to act on what happened on Saturday because he did not care about them, lamenting that a number of their members were brutally beaten on Saturday and the day before.
The Observer says there were unconfirmed reports that three police officers kidnapped one Makepeace Mabuza to a place believed to be Sidvokodvo where he was taken to the middle of a bush and was saved by members of the public.
Dludlu said they were also aware of that incident and knew one of the officers who was part of this, adding that they hoped that he would help identify the others.
Dludlu told the Observer, ‘We are not sure though what their intentions were but we were told that they did not allow him to look at any of them. His offence was being part of the rally. We will report the identified officer even though nothing will be done to him.’
The Observer reports that four PUDEMO members were arrested while Mphandlana Shongwe, and PUDEMO leaders were rounded up by police.
See also
SWAZI POLICE BREAK UP PUDEMO
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