Lawyers in
Swaziland (eSwatini) want the Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini and senior
ministers arrested for breaking the coronavirus lockdown in the kingdom.
On
Wednesday 3 June 2020 the PM and others visted the Mhlambanyatsi Inkhundla for a COVID-19 sensitisation exercise and about
150 people attended. As part of the present lockdown gatherings of more than 20
people are illegal.
The Law Society of
Swaziland Secretary General Thulani Maseko called on the National Commissioner
of Police to be impartial and arrest the organisers of the event.
He said the law applied
equally to everybody.
‘If the regulation states
that a gathering of more than 20 people is prohibited it means just that. There
are no exceptions. Whosoever was involved in organising that gathering should
be dealt with accordingly. You cannot make a law for others and a different one
for yourself,’ he told the eSwatini
Observer.
The PM agreed that that
more than 20 people gathered and said he was exempted from the regulation
because the gathering was to teach people how to cope during the lockdown.
Maseko said the assertion
that they were not arrested because of the purpose of the gathering could not
be used as an excuse for breaking the law.
‘Everybody has a reason for
breaking the law, if we accept that as an excuse, then no one can be arrested
as every person can state his own reason,’ he said.
Separately, Law Society
Acting President Lucky Howe said the regulation had no exception and the police
should hold those who violated the regulation accountable.
Howe said failure to do so
would breed anarchy as it is becoming a norm that people at the top were not
held accountable.
‘The law should take its
course in the similar fashion that they had been doing when it was ordinary
people. Government should lead by example. We have had judges shooting people
and magistrates hitting their wives now those at the top have violated the law
and they have not been held accountable,’ he said.
Howe said it was not for the
police to justify the gathering or the violation of the law, that should be
left for the judicial officers.
He said that the regulation
did not give exceptions. The regulation reads in part, ‘In order to contain the
spread of COVID-19, a gathering of more than 20 people is prohibited.’
The regulations permit
enforcement officers which may be public health officers, immigration officers,
members of the police service, defence force and correctional service to
order the persons at the gathering to disperse immediately.
If they refuse, the
enforcement officer may take appropriate action which may, subject to the
Criminal Procedure Act, include arrest and detention.
In April police arrested
four pastors for contravening the same regulation and they were sentenced to 12
months imprisonment with and option fine of E2,000 which they paid.
Section 33 of the
regulations states that a person who contravenes a provision of the regulations
commits an offense and on conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding E25,000
(US$1,500) or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years.
See also
Swaziland
PM, ministers break own regulation on crowds at coronavirus awareness event
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/06/swaziland-pm-ministers-break-own.html
No comments:
Post a Comment