A rights organisation in
Swaziland has called on King Mswati III to cancel the Reed Dance due to take
place on Sunday (30 August 2015) and Monday out of respect for the dozens of
girls and young women who were reportedly killed in a truck accident on the way to the celebration.
The Swaziland Solidarity
Network (SNN), which is banned in the kingdom where King Mswati rules as
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, made the call in a statement
after it was reported at least 38 people were killed in a crash along the Mbabane
to Manzini highway.
The girls and young women
were among 90,000 ‘maidens’ who were travelling to take part in the annual Reed
Dance at which women and girls described as ‘virgins’ dance half-naked in front
of the King.
The SSN said 38 people
had been killed and 20 seriously injured in the accident on Friday. The dead
and injured had reportedly been travelling on the open back of a truck.
In a statement the SSN
said, ‘The least that the Royal Family can do at this moment is to cancel this
year’s Reed Dance and admit its responsibility in this horrific accident by
helping these families bury their children.’
The SSN said ‘inside sources’ had reported that media in Swaziland which
is heavily censored had been ‘barred from reporting extensively on this
accident’.
It said, ‘What saddens our network is
the fact that the loss of life was avoidable. To begin with, carrying people in
trucks is against traffic laws. Moreover, the drivers of these trucks clearly
did not have any concern for the human lives they were carrying: They were
clearly negligent.
‘This is not the first incident where young girls have been injured on
royal assignments; our network once reported how a truck accident was concealed
by the Royal Family by falsely claiming that unknown people had thrown rocks at
a truck full of young girls.
‘We hope that the families of the deceased girls will hold the Royal Family
accountable for the deaths of their children.’
International media
reported on Saturday (29 August 2015) that 38 people had died but social media in
Swaziland was awash with speculation that the figure might be much higher.
There was a general feeling that the regime of King Mswati could not be trusted
to tell the truth on the number of deaths as this would reflect badly on the
King.
Late on Saturday, Eyewitness
News in South Africa reported the death toll had risen to 65.
See also
SWAZI
REED DANCE: ILLEGAL WHIPPINGS
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