Nobody who follows events in Swaziland will be the least bit surprised to hear that Mario Masuku was detained by police yesterday (11 November 2009) to stop him addressing a meeting of university students.
Masuku, the President of the banned People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) was due to be a panel member at an event to mark the 19th anniversary of Black Wednesday, a day when Swazi troops invaded the University of Swaziland (UNISWA) campus and injured hundreds of students.
Masuku, who was acquitted of charges of sedition and terrorism in September 2009, had been invited by students but the administration at UNISWA did not want him to speak.
Police stopped Masuku as he was in his way to the university and took him to the Sigodvweni police station for questioning. Masuku did not attend the meeting but his words were read out by a student leader.
Masuku later told the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, ‘During the questioning, I was told not to set my foot at the university because the institute’s administration does not approve my participation in that panel.’
Masuku said earlier he was called by police officers from the Hhohho Regional Headquarters and told not to go to the university.
Police Public Relations Officer Senior Superintendent Vusi Masuku said they had to engage prevention strategies to avoid unnecessary confrontation with university authorities. He said police advised him on the strength of a letter from the UNISWA administration.
Vusi Masuku said, ‘He had earlier been served with a letter advising him not to go to the campus. In order to avoid unnecessary confrontation with UNISWA authorities, we took him to the station for a reminder.’
The Swazi police clearly had fears that the anniversary commemoration might be an opportunity for people to come together to discuss the deteriorating human rights situation in Swaziland.
Student leaders at UNISWA said they had been grilled the night before the panel meeting by the university’s administration while police stood guard on the campus.
One student leader said the administration even called bus owners to stop them transporting students from the university’s campuses at Luyengo and Mbabane to attend the commemoration at Kwaluseni.
The UNISWA authorities have always had problems with students commemorating Black Wednesday.
Black Wednesday occurred on 14 November 14 1990, when according to the international media, ‘the Swazi government dispatched armed police and military units to the campus to disperse boycotting students. It was a crackdown of unprecedented violence in the history of the university.’
Following the crackdown, the government, under pressure from parents and political organisations, established a commission of inquiry to determine who was responsible. The hearings were held in camera and only the findings and recommendations have been released.
Since 1990, Black Wednesday has become the point of conflict between the students and university administration leading to disruption of lectures and the suspension or expulsion of several students.
For an eye-witness account of what happened on Black Wednesday read Michael Prosser, a professor from the United States who was working at the University of Swaziland at the time.
He wrote, ‘The young soldiers broke into the library and the student hostels, dragging students out, beating both men and women with their night sticks on their arms and legs, and forcing them to run a gauntlet toward the front gate while the soldiers gave them sharp blows.
‘The soldiers taunted the students: “We’ll beat the English out of you.” They were especially vicious toward the women. The soldiers had been stationed that day at the high school next door to the campus and drank lots of beer before they attacked the campus, making them even more violent than otherwise so likely.’
To read the full account, click here.
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