Soldiers in Swaziland
ambushed a truck and riddled it with bullets, killing the occupant, because it
would not stop when requested.
This was one of a long
line of army killings which have prompted accusations that King Mswati III, the
absolute monarch in Swaziland, runs a military state.
The latest incident on
Friday (6 November 2015) happened on the border between Swaziland and South
Africa, near Mankayane.
According to the Times Sunday newspaper in Swaziland soldiers spotted a white South
African registered truck ‘being smuggled through a cut fence’ in the borderline
at Dwalile area, outside Mankayane.
The newspaper reported, ‘The
soldiers are said to have first signalled for the truck to stop but the driver
ignored their instructions, prompting them to open fire.
‘The truck did not stop
and the army personnel alerted their colleagues from another base to be on the
lookout for a white truck that was approaching their direction.
‘Upon receiving the
message, the soldiers are said to have waited in ambush for the truck.
‘When they also failed to
force the driver to stop, the army personnel sprayed the truck with bullets,
some of which are said to have blasted his skull, splitting it open in the
process.
‘Other bullets are said
to have landed in different areas in the body, including the feet and also
leaving another gash wound in the man’s chest.
‘The man died on the
spot, possibly from the serious nature of the injuries sustained.’
In October 2015, soldiers put 16 bullets into a man
and killed him because he would not stop his car at a road check. The Swazi Observer,
a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported that the soldiers, ‘found
themselves with no option but to open fire when a Toyota Tazz bearing foreign
registration numbers was smuggled into the kingdom with the occupants failing
to stop when ordered to do so’.
It added, ‘A total of 16 bullet wounds were found on
the deceased’s body which the army riddled through at him as he tried to
escape.’
The shooting occurred at Gege. There were two
occupants in the vehicle believed to have been stolen from around Piet-Retief. The
driver was killed on the spot while his colleague who also got shot managed to
flee with several bullet wounds, according to the Observer.
This incident came less than two weeks or so after
soldiers also
gunned down another suspected car smuggler near
Mshololo not far from Zombodze Emuva.
In July 2015 it was reported by Titus Thwala a
member of the Swazi parliament that Swaziland soldiers beat
up old ladies so badly they had to be taken to their
homes in wheelbarrows. They were among the local residents who were regularly
beaten by soldiers at informal crossing points between Swaziland and South
Africa.
Soldiers have been out of control in the kingdom for
a very long time. In January 2010 they were warned by the Swaziland Human
Rights and Public Administration Commission that their attacks on civilians amounted
to a ‘shoot
to kill’ policy and this was unconstitutional.
In April 2013, the Open
Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) condemned
Swaziland police and state security forces for their
‘increasingly violent and abusive behaviour’ that is leading to the
‘militarization’ of the kingdom.
In a report to the African Commission
on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) meeting in The Gambia, OSISA said, ‘There
are also reliable reports of a general militarization of the country through
the deployment of the Swazi army, police and correctional services to clamp
down on any peaceful protest action by labour or civil society organisations
ahead of the country’s undemocratic elections.’
See also
SWAZILAND
‘BECOMING MILITARY STATE’
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/04/swaziland-becoming-military-state.html
No comments:
Post a Comment