The University of Swaziland
(UNISWA) has been closed once again after students and police clashed on Thursday (7
September 2017).
Students had boycotted
classes in protest against unpaid book allowances, high prices and low quality
of food in the university refectories, lack of decent accommodation and unpaid
scholarships.
UNISWA, which is the main
university in the kingdom has King Mswati III as its Chancellor. He is also
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Students in Swaziland have engaged
in protests for many years in an attempt to improve the standard of their
education.
The Times of Swaziland,
the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, reported that students had
informed the university’s administration of the intended boycott and asked that
police not be called to the university, ‘because their presence usually
resulted in a chaotic encounter between the two’.
The Times reported, ‘about 20 uniformed but unarmed police officers
were deployed to the institution, something which did not go down well with
students who then gathered stones around the campus in preparation for a fight.
‘It was gathered that
because the first troop of police officers was harmless, the class boycott went
ahead as planned but later on, the students saw heavily armed officers from the
Operational Support Service Unit (OSSU) parking their armoured trucks and Casspirs
inside the campus premises.’
This resulted in a confrontation between police and students, the newspaper reported. Police used batons and students stones, it added.
This resulted in a confrontation between police and students, the newspaper reported. Police used batons and students stones, it added.
This is not the first time police
have entered UNISWA. In May 2017 police patrolled the Luyengo campus at
examination time because students protested against alleged victimisation by a
lecturer.
In February 2017 police fired
warning gunshots as students protested about late payment of their allowances. It
happened after UNISWA students tried to march with a petition to the Ministry
of Labour and Social Security, following a meeting on the Kwaluseni campus.
In February 2016, Swazi
security forces attacked students at the UNISWA Kwaluseni
campus by driving an armoured troop carrier at speed into a crowd, injuring one
so badly her back was broken. Students had been protesting and boycotting
classes to protest about delays in registration.
The assault was one of many violent attacks on university
students by police and security forces dating back a number of years.
In November 2013, police
raided dormitories and dragged
students from their rooms. Later
they beat up the students at local police stations. Students had wanted the
start of examinations postponed. Armed police stood
guard outside examination halls
as the UNISWA Administration attempted to hold the exams.
In August 2012, two students were
shot in the head at close range with rubber bullets,
during a dispute about the number of scholarships awarded by the government. Reports from the Centre for Human Rights and
Development, Swaziland said several other students were injured by police
batons and kicks.
In February 2012, police fired teargas at students
from Swaziland College of Technology (SCOT) who boycotted
classes after the Swazi Government did not pay them their allowances.
In November 2011, armed
police attacked students at the recently-opened private
Limkokwing University. The Swazi Observer
said Limkokwing students reported that police ‘attacked them unprovoked as they
were not armed’.
The newspaper added, ‘During a visit to the
institution about 10 armed officers were found standing guard by the gate’. The
Observer said police fired as they
tried to disperse the students.
In January 2010, Swaziland Police reportedly
fired bullets at protesting university students,
injuring two of them. They denied it and said they ‘only’ fired teargas.
Students from UNISWA had attempted to march through the kingdom’s capital,
Mbabane, to call for an increase in their allowances.
See also
STUDENTS UNDER SIEGE BY ARMED POLICE
STUDENTS FLEE ROOMS AS POLICE ATTACK
BOYCOTTING STUDENTS CLOSE UNIVERSITY
POLICE SHOOT TWO STUDENTS IN HEAD
ARMED POLICE STOP STUDENTS PROTEST
SWAZILAND STUDENT UNREST SPREADS
STUDENTS
UNDER FIRE FROM POLICE
SWAZI STUDENTS BEATEN TO PULP
SWAZILAND
POLICE ‘SHOOT STUDENTS’
No comments:
Post a Comment