Striking trade unionists in
Swaziland (eSwatini) say police are using social media to track them down
before taking them in for questioning.
Schoolteachers have been
especially targeted, according to union sources.
This is not the first time
police have used surveillance and spying against trade unionists.
It happened after a
three-day legal strike by public servants who want a 7.8 percent cost-of-living
(CoLA) salary increase. The government which was not elected but appointed by
absolute monarch King Mswati III says it is broke and has offered nothing.
Some teachers were summoned
to the Manzini police station after they were traced on social media platforms.
Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) President Mbongwa Dlamini and
Secretary General Sikelela Dlamini accompanied some of them.
The Times of eSwatini reported that
police knew details of the teachers, including their nicknames and what subjects
they taught. Teachers said they used social media groups to discuss topics including
their welfare, the CoLA issue and the strike action.
One teacher told the Times
‘I believe they just pick individuals who post or comment about the strike and
CoLA issues.’
The newspaper quoted one
teacher saying police said, ‘they were inviting us to the police station for
our involvement in the clash between the law enforcers and marchers during the
recent civil servants’ public sensitisation march’ on 2 October 2019.
Meanwhile, the Times also
reported that the Ministry of Education and Training had instructed
regional educational offices to supply it with details on SNAT leaders in their
areas. The information is to include the names of branch leaders and members of
the national executive council.
Police in Swaziland have a long history of surveillance
and spying. In September 2018 teachers discovered
a police spy at their union conference and threw him out. His name and
photograph and a picture of the car he was using was published
on social media.
A week before the conference police
shot and wounded a schoolteacher when they fired into a group of
teachers during a protest over pay.
In July 2018 it was reported that police were video
recording and keeping data of protest marches by political parties and labour
federations. They then used the information to deprive people of college
scholarships, jobs in the army, police, and correctional services or promotions
in government departments, the online
newspaper Swaziland News reported.
The newspaper said the Police Intelligence Unit had
been captured filming a protest march organised by the Trade Congress Union of
Swaziland (TUCOSWA) in June 2018.
In September 2017 police
in Swaziland disguised themselves as news reporters at a march
of public servants in Mbabane. The Sunday
Observer in Swaziland at the time called it ‘spying’ and said it had
happened before at other public demonstrations, ‘They [police] are always plain
clothed and carry traditional journalistic tools including cameras and
notebooks,’ the newspaper reported.
The march was legal. A police spokesman said they were
not spying because the march took place in a public place.
In August 2017 it was reported that police infiltrated
a Pensioners’ Association meeting to make notes on proceedings.
In July 2013 it was reported that police in Swaziland were spying on the kingdom’s members of parliament. One officer disguised in plain clothes was thrown out of a workshop for MPs and one MP reported his phone had been bugged. Ntondozi MP Peter Ngwenya told the House of Assembly at the time that MPs lived in fear because there was constant police presence, in particular from officers in the Intelligence Unit.
In July 2013 it was reported that police in Swaziland were spying on the kingdom’s members of parliament. One officer disguised in plain clothes was thrown out of a workshop for MPs and one MP reported his phone had been bugged. Ntondozi MP Peter Ngwenya told the House of Assembly at the time that MPs lived in fear because there was constant police presence, in particular from officers in the Intelligence Unit.
In May 2013 the Media Institute of Southern Africa reported
that police spies had infiltrated journalism newsrooms in
Swaziland, which had led to a heightened climate of fear.
It is legal in certain circumstances to tap phones in
Swaziland. The Suppression of Terrorism Act gives police the right to listen in
on people’s conversations if they have the permission of the Attorney General.
See also
Swaziland
police shoot union leader in back as peaceful workers’ protest turns into a
‘battlefield’
Swaziland
police fire rubber bullets and teargas injuring 15 during national strike
State
police spy on Swazi MPs
Police spies infiltrate media
http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/police-spies-infiltrate-media.html
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