ARRESTED FOR WEARING PUDEMO CAP

The following is a report that appeared on the Swaziland Solidarity Network forum about Swazi police officers who ‘pounced on a 17 year old girl on the streets of Nhlangano, a town in the south of Swaziland.

‘She was harassed and publicly humiliated in the presence the busy shopping public. Her crime was to innocently wear a cap written 'PUDEMO' [the banned People’s United Democratic Movement]. Obviously the intention was to protect herself from the scotching heat. While being led to the local police station, she was called all sorts of degrading names and told she is better off wearing Swazi traditional attire as a symbol of her loyally to the oppressive regime, like all 'good' Swazis do.

‘Obviously the police are seriously effecting the mandate that was issued last year in October by the head of state [King Mswati III] that all those seen to be behaving in an 'unSwazi' way and disturbing the peace of the regime must be strangled. The government has followed this with huge budgets for its security forces to combat all those calling for multiparty democracy in Swaziland.

‘Less and less money is allocated to health and education. The health system has literally collapsed and the levels of poverty in the country are growing by the day. But the regime sees it fit and appropriate to use resources to protect its failing hold over the people. Abusing the rights of the people in the country by the state’s security agents has become part of their job description.’