More Swaziland police violence as they break up gatherings during coronavirus crackdown

Police in Swaziland (eSwatini) used whips, batons and teargas to break up groups of revellers who had gathered together breaking new stricter coronavirus regulations.

Police in the capital city Mbabane and the industrial town of Matsapha were reportedly patrolling streets on the lookout for people breaking the rules introduced on Friday (18 December 2020.)

They found people drinking alcohol on the streets and gathered at entertainment venues, including bars.

The eSwatini Observer reported that police broke up a crowd on the streets of Matsapha on Friday but when they returned later they found they had regrouped.

The newspaper reported, ‘Around midnight, the police came back to find the imbibers back at the same spot. Police started assaulting everyone they found drinking on the streets, accusing them of failing to heed to instructions. The drinking spree ended abruptly as everyone ran for safety with the police hot on their heels.’

Under new regulations which are in force until 6 January 2020 people are not allowed to consume liquor at a gathering, including a family gathering of more than 20 people. A gathering shall not take place after 8pm. Night vigils and cross–over events or parties are prohibited. Non-essential travelling between 11pm and 4 am is prohibited. A restaurant or food outlet operator shall not sell or serve liquor to diners after 7pm. Festive season sports tournaments are prohibited.

There have been a number of cases of Swazi police and other security forces using violence when dealing with people breaking coronavirus (COVID-19) regulations since a partial lockdown was introduced in March in response to the pandemic.

In August police reportedly fired a shot and severely kicked and punched residents at Murray Camp, outside the main commercial city Manzini. A shot was fired at a woman but missed. Witnesses said police broke up a group who were drinking alcohol outside a homestead.

In 15 April the then Swazi Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini endorsed police beating people during the lockdown. He told a press briefing, ‘If you are found to be violating these regulations, the law will definitely take its course, we won’t compromise on this. Maybe those who were assaulted were found to be on the wrong side of the law by breaking the regulations put in place by government. We would like to encourage members of the public to abide by these regulations, there shouldn’t a need for the law enforcement to force you to respect these regulations.’

A 15-year-old boy was shot and wounded by police when he played football with friends on a dusty field near Gege. The Times of eSwatini reported their game was being watched by two adults. It said the police officer allegedly fired his weapon to disperse the spectators.

In April security forces reportedly whipped a destitute woman in Eteni when she was on the streets desperately trying to get food for her three children.

Mbabane lawyer Sabelo ‘Mngo’ Mngomezulu was left with broken ribs after soldiers assaulted him, two women were whipped with sticks by police and a man was hospitalised after police beat him about the head with a baton.

An 85-year-old woman collapsed and died when security forces raided her home because they thought she was selling alcohol.

 

See also

Tougher coronavirus restrictions in Swaziland as cases increase

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/12/tougher-coronavirus-restrictions-in.html

More reports of police and army violence against civilians as Swaziland coronavirus lockdown continues https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/04/more-reports-of-police-and-army.html

 

Swaziland armed police, army intimidate people to obey coronavirus lockdown. Woman, 85, dies https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/04/swaziland-armed-police-army-intimidate.html

 

Swaziland security forces whip destitute woman searching for food during coronavirus lockdown https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/04/swaziland-security-forces-whip.html

Tougher coronavirus restrictions in Swaziland as cases increase

The Swaziland (eSwatini) Government has announced further restrictions to combat the coronavirus crisis ahead of the holiday season.

Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku said the number of positive cases was increasing across the kingdom but especially in the capital city Mbabane.

He said in a statement, ‘It has become quite clear that travelling and gatherings are the leading drivers of COVID-19 [coronavirus] in the country.’ He said new regulations would start immediately and continue until 6 January 2021.

People will not be allowed to consume liquor at a gathering, including a family gathering of more than 20 people. A gathering shall not take place after 8pm. Night vigils and cross–over events or parties are prohibited. Non-essential travelling between 11pm and 4 am is prohibited. A restaurant or food outlet operator shall not sell or serve liquor to diners after 7pm. Festive season sports tournaments are prohibited.

Masuku said, ‘In response to the increased number of cases around Mbabane, Government will embark on a COVID-19 door to door screening and testing exercise around the Mbabane city and residential areas. This intensified case finding will be carried out in the next two weeks as part of efforts to break the transmission in identified hotspots.’

The number of deaths from coronavirus in Swaziland is increasing. As of 20 December 2020 there had been 7,427 people testing positive and 140 deaths, according to official Swazi Ministry of Health figures.

The Swazi Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini died after testing positive for coronavirus in 12 December.

 

See also

Swaziland PM who died of coronavirus was diabetic, his father reveals

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/12/swaziland-pm-who-died-of-coronavirus.html

Only one in ten people in Swaziland will get coronavirus vaccine in coming year https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/12/only-one-in-ten-people-in-swaziland.html

Man dies in Swaziland police custody, family alleges suffocation

A man died after allegedly being suffocated while being questioned by police in Swaziland (eSwatini) over a theft charge.

Mandla Maziya was a security guard for Southern Star, a company contracted to transport sugar at Thabankulu. He was questioned by police after a tonne of sugar went missing.

He died in police custody after being interrogated.

His brother Nhlanhla Maziya told the Swaziland News, an online newspaper, the Swazi police would not reveal the circumstances of the death until a post mortem had been carried out.

He said another man who was also arrested by police at the time said they had been suffocated.

A police spokesman confirmed a death had taken place.

There have been numerous allegations of police torture in Swaziland in recent years. In February 2020 the Times of eSwatini reported a 20-year-old man from Moyeni received hospital treatment for ‘bruises on his back, minor wounds on his waist and swollen arms’ after being taken to Siteki police station and thrown into a fire.

The Times listed another four cases of ‘similar incidences’ including a 27-year-old man from Siteki who accused police of beating him until he wet himself.

In a separate case a 50-year-old woman from Magwanyana reported she wet herself as police thrashed her all over her body with batons.

Magistrates in Swaziland have a number of times criticised police for beating up suspects. In January 2019, Magistrate Sindisile Zwane at Mbabane said she had noticed a number of suspects came before her in court with bruises and swollen faces and other parts of their bodies.

In March 2018 Principal Magistrate at Manzini David Khumalo told police they must not beat suspects after a man appeared in court with injuries all over his body. 

In June 2016 a United Nations review panel looking into human rights in Swaziland was told in a joint report by four organisations, ‘In Mbabane [the Swazi capital], police tortured a 15-year-old boy after his mother had reported him for stealing E85.00 (US$6). The boy alleges that he was beaten with a slasher (metal blade tool for cutting grass) and knobkerrie [club] for five hours. While enduring the pain, he alleges that he was made to count the strokes aloud for the police to hear. Instead of being charged, the boy was physically assaulted and made to sit in a chair for thirty minutes before he was sent back home.’

The report was submitted to the United Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of Swaziland by the Swaziland Multi-Media Community Network, Swaziland Concerned Church Leaders, Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations and Constituent Assembly – Swaziland.

 

See also

Medical report says Swaziland police ‘suffocated’ fraud suspect with plastic bag, kicked him

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/07/medical-report-says-swaziland-police.html

Swaziland police ‘beat teenager to death to make him confess to crime he did not commit’ https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/10/swaziland-police-beat-teenager-to-death.html

Swazi police ‘force boy, 6, to strip and illegally thrash his naked buttocks’ https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/06/swazi-police-force-boy-6-to-strip-and.html
 

Police beat man close to death

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/police-beat-man-close-to-death.html

One in three people in Swaziland in urgent need of food, Deputy PM reports

One in three people in Swaziland (eSwatini) are in immediate need of food, the kingdom’s Deputy Prime Minister has revealed.

Themba Masuku said 366,260 people had been identified by the eSwatini Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis. The population of Swaziland is about 1.1 million people.

He said they needed food assistance between now and March 2021.

Swaziland has been in a hunger crisis for many years and things are not getting better. Separately, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported it had assisted 108,205 people in November 2020. This was about the same number it helped in the previous month.

In one of its activities WFP provides social safety nets for 55,000 orphans and vulnerable children under five years of age at 1,700 Neighbourhood Care Points (NCPs) in the kingdom. They access food and basic social services. In its monthly report WFP said the the number of children accessing food at NCPs was higher than the number of children registered by more than half.

Hunger is sweeping across Swaziland. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) in a report published in August 2020 said about 366,000 people faced ‘high acute food insecurity’ in the coming months.

 

See also

No let up on hunger in Swaziland – World Food Programme

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/12/no-let-up-on-hunger-in-swaziland-world.html

Swaziland PM who died of coronavirus was diabetic, his father reveals

Ambrose Dlamini, the Prime Minister of Swaziland (eSwatini) who has died of coronavirus aged 52, was a diabetic his father has revealed.

Walter Mphatfwa Dlamini told the Times of eSwatini he had not been told his son had health complications after he tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). He said his son’s condition had deteriorated and he died of complications from the virus on Sunday (13 December 2020).

Walter Dlamini is himself diabetic.

The Prime Minister was airlifted to South Africa for treatment after he tested positive but the Swazi Government downplayed the seriousness of his condition. Walter Dlamini said it was the government’s decision to send his son to South Africa. Swaziland’s health care system is in meltdown and the decision had been criticised as special treatment. Walter Dlamini told the Times, ‘We do not know why they decided on that, but we supported the idea as a family, knowing that our child belonged to the State.’

He added nobody from government had contacted him about his son’s death.

Ambrose Dlamini had been Prime Minister of Swaziland since 2018. He was not elected but personally appointed by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III. Dlamini had never stood for elective office in his life.

The King has announced there will be a state funeral for Dlamini at a date to be announced. A seven-person committee has been formed to oversee arrangements.

 

See also

Swaziland Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini dies after testing positive for coronavirus

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/12/swaziland-prime-minister-ambrose.html

Anger as Swaziland PM gets special medical treatment for coronavirus https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/12/anger-as-swaziland-pm-gets-special.html

Swaziland Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini dies after testing positive for coronavirus

 Ambrose Dlamini, Prime Minister of Swaziland (eSwatini), has died after testing positive for  coronavirus.

The death was confirmed by the Swazi Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku, in a statement on Sunday (13 December 2020). He did not reveal the cause of death. He said the Prime Minister had died ‘under medical care’ in a hospital in South Africa.

Dlamini, 52, announced he had tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) on 16 November. At the time, he said he was asymptomatic and was feeling well. The Swazi Government had consistently played down the seriousness of Dlamini’s health but he was airlifted to South Africa for treatment.

Dlamini was appointed Prime Minister of Swaziland in 2018 by absolute monarch King Mswati III. Dlamini had never stood for public office. Even though the King rules by decree Dlamini’s appointment violated the kingdom’s Constitution because he was not a member of the Swazi Senate.

Dlamini had no political experience but he had close business ties with the King. Before his appointment Dlamini was best known as the chief executive officer (CEO) of MTN Swaziland, the mobile phone service provider. The King receives millions of dollars a year in dividends from MTN.  He was given 10 percent of MTN Swaziland when he granted it the licence to operate as the only mobile phone service provider in his kingdom.

Swaziland Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini who has died after testing positive for coronavirus

 

See also

Anger as Swaziland PM gets special medical treatment for coronavirus

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/12/anger-as-swaziland-pm-gets-special.html

 

Swaziland King appoints new Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini in violation of Constitution https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/10/swaziland-king-appoints-new-prime.html

 

Swaziland King chooses new PM with no political experience, but together they have close business ties https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/10/swaziland-king-chooses-new-pm-with-no.html