Friday, 12 August 2022

Swaziland Newsletter No. 739 – 12 August 2022

 

Swaziland Newsletter No. 739 – 12 August 2022

News from and about Swaziland, compiled by Global Aktion, Denmark (www.globalaktion.dk) in collaboration with Swazi Media Commentary (www.swazimedia.blogspot.com), and sent to all with an interest in Swaziland - free of charge.

Security threats ground some Govt operations

Times of eSwatini, 9 August 2022

SOURCE

 

MANZINI: Part of the government machinery came to a grinding halt yesterday as offices and schools did not render services.

The government machinery stopped operations following an audio clip purporting to be a threat announcement by an anonymous ‘commander’. The audio advised security forces to withdraw their services in defending the Tinkhundla System of Government, while also making a litany of threats which cannot be repeated given their nature. In the audio, the members of the State security organs were given 14 days (which elapsed last Friday), to withdraw the said services. This audio clip came at a time when the nation was still anticipating partaking in a national dialogue, which political parties have been calling for, subsequent to the political unrest experienced in June /July 2021.

This was subsequent to the stalemate between government and the Public Sector Union (PSUs) of Swaziland, wherein the latter advised civil servants to stay put in their places of abode in fear of the threats which were supposedly issued by the ‘commander’ and the former insisting that the purported threats were a ‘hoax’. Yesterday, a majority of government services were not rendered as the offices were vacated by civil servants as early as 10am. Services like the issuance of travel documents, birth and death certificates; national identity documents and paying for government services at Revenue Offices, were not available. The closure of some government ministries and departments resulted in a number of people returning home without any assistance. Some offices and departments were operating in the morning, but were closed at about 10am as there was fear of the unknown.

Locked

The offices and departments had their doors locked and padlocks hanging from the burglar proof doors. Some people in Manzini were seen waiting in anticipation that the offices would be later opened for them to access services; however, this did not happen and they ended up leaving after lunch. On the other hand, learners in most schools were ordered to return home. This was said to be as a result of some parents not allowing their children to attend lessons yesterday. Some head teachers said they had to release the learners early in spite of the  on-going examinations. They claimed that they could not proceed with the examination while other pupils were not present. The head teachers, who spoke to this publication, expressed fear that the examinations could be thrown into disarray as they did not know what would happen during the course of the week.

They said the examinations were critical as the grades accorded to learners were the ones used to secure places in the next grades for those sitting for external examinations. Also, some of the head teachers acknowledged that there were teachers who had not reported for work and their suspicions were that the threats which had been circulated regarding their safety were the cause. They also highlighted that there was uncertainty on the availability of public transport, which might have deterred the teachers and learners from attending the lessons of the day.

Meanwhile, in most bus ranks across the country, public transport was operational and available. However, despite its availability, there were minimal commuters. Despite the threats which advised the public to stay at home, textile workers in Matsapha had reported for work yesterday morning. However, they did not work the whole day like in most instances as they were released early. This publication started monitoring the situation in Matsapha at 6am and at that time, public transport vehicles operating between Manzini/Matsapha Industrial Site were available, thus the workers managed to get to work on time.

Factories

At around 8am, this publication visited some of the textile factories located in the industrial hub of the country and found that they were operating normally and at 100 per cent workforce.

However, later on, it was gathered that some factories released their workers just after the lunch-hour. A source close to the matter said the factories decided to release the workers early for their safety. In fact, he said they took the unrest threats seriously, because of what happened in June/July 2021, where workers who were going to work were caught in the crossfire.

“They feared that the threats could materialise and the workers’ lives would be at risk when going back home in the late afternoon, thus they released them early,” the source said.

It was further reported that there was also uncertainty regarding the availability of public transport, thus some of the employers in the sector decided to release the workers early while public transport vehicles were still available. Some of the employers confirmed that they released the workers before knock- off time for their safety. They said they would be monitoring the situation and they had also asked the workers to update them so that they could plan ahead.

Meanwhile, the Eswatini Textile and Apparel Traders Association (ETATA) Chairperson, Tokky Hou, confirmed earlier on the day that workers managed to report for duty in the factories yesterday. However, she could not be reached for a comment later on as her mobile phone rang unanswered for the better part of yesterday afternoon. A WhatsApp message was sent to her, but she had not responded by the time of compiling this report.

 

Eswatini's king praises police crackdown on pro-democracy protests

By AFP, 5 August 2022

SOURCE

 

The king of Eswatini, Africa’s last absolute monarchy, on Friday praised police who brutally put down last year’s pro-democracy demonstrations in which dozens of protesters were killed.

At least 37 people were killed and hundreds injured during weeks of anti-monarchy protests that first erupted in June last year, in the worst unrest to hit the usually peaceful former British colony.

Human Rights Watch put the toll at 46.

In recent weeks, at least four police officers have been killed in what authorities believe are revenge attacks by suspected anti-government activists.

King Mswati III said: “I am very happy that even in present day, after you have been victims of attacks from terrorists, you have not stopped, but continued to uphold the oath that you took when you joined the police service.

“The high work ethic and level of acumen in your policing approaches should be maintained and continually strengthened,” the monarch said, speaking at an event to celebrate the police force in Eswatini, which was formerly known as Swaziland.

Eswatini has traditionally stifled dissent and pro-democracy movements and political parties have been banned in the southern African country since 1973.

Last year's violence in the country of 1.3 million people sandwiched between South Africa and Mozambique drew international condemnation.

 

King’s forces attack Communist Party of Swaziland members as pro-democracy protests continue

BPavan Kulkarni, Peoples Dispatch, 8 August 2022.

SOURCE

 

The Operation Support Service Unit (OSSU), a militarized police unit of King Mswati III in Swaziland, opened fire in the crowded working-class township of Matsapha and assaulted members of Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) on the evening of Friday, August 5. 

“I was held face down at gunpoint with my arms and legs bound behind for half an hour as they fired shots and chased down my comrades,” CPS central committee member Vuyiswa Maseko told Peoples Dispatch. Maseko was forced to the ground after resisting the police with his hands up in the air, along with another member Gcinizwi Lukhele.

Kwazi Dube was among the other members who had managed to dodge the police encirclement and sprint their way out. “The police chased him down, firing live bullets in this crowded area in the evening time. People waiting for their buses had to run in all directions for cover,” Maseko said.

“He fell down while running under fire. They captured him, beat him with clubs, kicked him with boots and dragged him on the ground to where we were held captive, and tied him to us.”  

The 15-20 heavily armed OSSU men allegedly also called for army backup. Soldiers promptly arrived and joined the assault. “We were then interrogated about party activities, our addresses and university details, where we headed”, and also “why we wanted to attack them?” Maseko added, explaining that the OSSU had apparently thought that they would come under attack and panicked. 

The army and police in Africa’s last absolute monarchy, where all political parties are banned, have been jittery since they killed over 70 people and arrested hundreds others mid-last year to put down the anti-monarchist rebellion.

When the unprecedented peaceful pro-democracy marches, which for the first time also spread across the villages of Swaziland, were met with force in June 2021, an uprising erupted in urban industrial areas. Matsapha, where the CPS members have a large presence and were attacked on Friday, was a hotspot. 

Angry workers used petrol bombs, stones and sticks to attack properties of the King, who owns most of the economy and runs it for his indulgences such as a fleet of Rolls Royce cars, private jets, palaces and parties, while nearly 70% of the population survives on less than a dollar a day. Ordering the army to crack down, Mswati had fled his kingdom by the month-end, returning only in mid-July 2021 when his security forces had brought the kingdom back under his control.

However, with the churning of a strong anti-monarchist sentiment, repeated protests have continued, especially by the student union and community organizations associated with the CPS. The banned party also has a strong presence in trade unions which have organized government employees for whom getting salaries is a continuous struggle as the government pleads poverty even as the King, who controls the government, siphons billions each year. 

“Democracy Now!” and “Mswati Must Fall!” – the slogans of the CPS – have become a cry at the protests by students and workers, and even at the rallies in villages and small towns in Swaziland. 

King Mswati tells police to take “an eye for an eye”

Telling his security forces to take “an eye for an eye,” the King delivered an aggressive speech during the ‘Police Day’ that was held at the Matsapha Police College on Friday, August 5. This was earlier in the day, before the CPS members were assaulted. The chief of police from Rwanda, which has close security relations with Swaziland, was reportedly in attendance, along with the South African police chief and police representatives from Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique.

“The town was full of police that day,” said Maseko, who was walking with Lukhele and Dube to the Matsapha traffic circle where they were to meet three other members. Together, they were to board a bus to Hhukwini, 20 kilometers from capital Mbabane, to attend the funeral of a relative of another member. 

The police in an OSSU truck stationed at the circle “saw us approaching toward them from two sides wearing red T-shirts with the party regalia and thought we were going to attack them. They immediately jumped and started attacking us,” he explained. “It was around 4:30 when they captured us, and around six when we were released.”

No charges were pressed. For an hour and a half – when the CPS members were forced face down on the ground, beaten and interrogated – they were not taken into custody, but harassed in public view. “The police know Matsapha is our stronghold. So by harassing CPS members in public, the police are trying to scare the people of the community who support us,” Maseko said.

Young communists remain undeterred

However, this episode on Friday does not seem to have deterred the young communists – all in their 20s. On Saturday, Maseko and his comrades, along with over a hundred Hhukwini community members at the funeral, held a pro-democracy demonstration: breaking into a dance and responding with a chorus of war cries to party National Organizer Simphiwe Dlamini’s rhythmic chants challenging the King’s authority.

“Every site should be a site of struggle. Funerals and any other community gatherings should be rallies of the fight for Freedom, Democracy & Socialism,” the CPS said. Addressing a gathering of community members later in the evening, Dlamini reiterated the CPS’ call for the formation of security councils and welfare councils to defy the King’s police and local chiefs. He urged pastors and the church to play an active role in the struggle for democracy.

Also present at this funeral-demonstration was Bongi Nkambule, another party member who has been forced underground since July 13 after escaping about 30 heavily armed policemen who raided his home in Msunduza, another township on the capital’s outskirts. 

Unable to capture him, the police had taken his wife into custody and beaten her for hours. Nkambule had become a target of the police after he was identified as a key organizer of the sunset rallies in his community in Msunduza. 

To signify to the communities the nearing end of the monarchist reign over Swaziland, which the King has arbitrarily renamed Eswatini, the CPS started organizing what it calls sunset rallies from March. Later that month, police abducted Nkambule and, without pressing any charges, dumped him outside the capital in an injured state after torturing him for hours regarding these rallies. 

Although small in numbers, these rallies, where community members defy the monarch by raising the flag of the banned party and call for his overthrow, appear to have unsettled Mswati. By the time Nkambule’s home was raided in July, these rallies had become a weekly protest.

“We organize rallies in different places each week. For security reasons, we don’t reveal the venue in advance,” Maseko explained. A day after the funeral, on Sunday, August 7, residents marched in the sunset rally led by CPS commissar Titus Vilakati in the Madonsa township on the outskirts of Manzini.

 

SWALIMO SG warns Swazis on King’s statement

By Nontobeko Dvuba, Swati Newsweek, 9 August 2022

SOURCE

 

MANZINI: Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) says the recent statement by Mswati III instructing the police force to intensify the shooting and killing of citizens is clearly a demonstration of poor leadership and a confirmation that he can no longer be trusted to lead the people of Swaziland.

SWALIMO secretary general Dr Siphetfo Dlamini released a statement yesterday concerning this issue.

“SWALIMO views this reckless statement as a deliberate attempt to frustrate and stall the efforts for democratic reforms in Swaziland,” Dlamini said.

“The ‘eye for an eye’ statement further confirms that he indeed ordered the soldiers to kill over 100 innocent people, injure hundreds and imprison over 600 individuals. The ‘iso ngeso’ statement further confirms that he is more concerned about himself as shown in the way he amasses personal wealth while about 70% of the people languish in poverty,” Dlamini said.

“Mswati’s declaration of war among citizens is very costly to human life and stability. It has become clear that the regime is adamant and determined to assassinate citizens considering the preceding articulation of the Police Commissioner ‘akuyiwe eshashalazini’, calling everyone to the battlefield and Prince Simelane’s articulation of ‘fire with fire’, insinuating that police must shoot to kill,” Dlamini said.

“These national authorities, supported by their master Mswati III, are clearly advocating for violence and killing of citizens.

“SWALIMO appeals to the police and other security forces to disregard this instruction that seeks to set citizens against each other and refrain from putting their lives into risk for an oppressor that has no interest in their welfare,” Dlamini said.

“SWALIMO insists that what remains as a demand from Mswati is the delivery of an all-inclusive dialogue that will in essence mean the release of the incarcerated prodemocracy MPs, Comrades Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, the exoneration of the SWALIMO President, Comrade Mduduzi Simelane from the political fabricated charges as well as the return of all political exiles,” Dlamini said.

“In that regard, SWALIMO calls upon the Mass Democratic Movement to intensify the fight for liberation and to diligently work together to ensure the survival of this great nation and attainment of freedom,” Dlamini said.

 

Swaziland National Teachers’ Union calls on members to stay home due to political tension

By Mthobisi Mkhaliphi, SABC News (South Africa), 8 August 2022

SOURCE

 

The Swaziland National Teachers’ Union (SNAT) has called on the teachers in Eswatini to stay home due to brewing political tension in the country. This is after a voice note issued by an unknown person threatening to attack King Mswati the 3rd and armed forces.

The tension takes place amid the recent attack on police officers reported in Eswatini. SNAT president Mbongwa Dlamini says their members will not return to work until their safety is guaranteed.

“They gave a specific instruction to our members, to the teachers that they should not attend work because immediately they will start fighting anyone they come across even at school. So, it was safe for us to make sure that our members are safe. Because at the moment even if you can have an accident once you call the police, they refuse to come citing that they are also afraid of being attacked.”

Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) Dr Siphetfo Dlamini has called on the Eswatini citizens to be cautious and avoid unnecessary movements.

“There’s a number of sectors or categories that have been affected by what is currently happening in Swaziland. The tensions have eventually led to quite a number of Emaswati especially those who are also working for the government, and the officials in a number of departments where services should be rendered for the people of Swaziland that have been shut down. Therefore as the Swaziland Liberation Movement, we have encouraged and requested all Emaswati to stay indoors and to ensure that their safety is a priority.”

 

Editor meets with Solidarity Forces Commander during an inspection of weapons

By Zweli Martin Dlamini, Swaziland News, 11 August 2022

SOURCE

 

MBABANE: On Wednesday, the Executive Command of the Swaziland International Solidarity Forces (SISF) invited this journalist to witness the inspection of weapons to be used during underground operations.

King Mswati, an absolute Monarch incited a civil war by refusing to engage in a political dialogue and subsequently unleashed his soldiers and police to shoot and kill dozens of civilians merely for demanding democratic reforms.

Despite efforts by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to facilitate a peaceful resolution in the eSwatini crisis, King Mswati refused to attend a SADC meeting and continued to brutalise protestors.

The King recently instructed his police officers to meet “an eye for an eye”.

“I therefore advise you that as you go about your very important duties, you go out in full alert and in readiness to respond effectively and decisively against any criminal elements and you must meet them eye for an eye,” he said.

On another note, the Commander of the Solidarity Forces said the weapons would be used in the next stages of the ongoing operations.

“These weapons would be used in the next stages of the ongoing operations. We don’t want to reveal our strategies, but we just want our people to know that the process of liberating the country from the hands of Mswati is ongoing,” said the SISF Commander, who was accompanied by other senior members commanding other units.

The Swaziland International Solidarity Forces (SISF) recently received a one hundred thousand Rand (R100,000.00) donation from a Swazi businessman, and it has been revealed that other businessmen are coming-in with monetary support to liberate Swazis.

A questionnaire was sent to Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo, however, he had not responded at the time of compiling this report.

Eswatini is in the midst of a political crisis as a result of King Mswati's deployment of his security forces to shoot and kill scores of civilians merely for demanding democratic reforms. Recently, he refused to appear before SADC, a regional body that is encouraging a peaceful resolution to the ongoing crisis.

 

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