It is 10 years since the attempted ‘uprising’
by pro-democracy campaigners against the Swaziland state and absolute monarch
King Mswati III. It started on 12 April 2011, organised through the Internet
and attracted international attention.
It was inspired by the so-called Arab
Spring where people in North Africa turned against their own repressive
governments.
In Swaziland (since renamed eSwatini by King Mswati) political
parties are not allowed to contest elections, the King appoints the Prime
Minister, cabinet ministers as well as top public servants and judiciary. Those
advocating democracy are prosecuted and jailed under the Suppression of
Terrorism Act.
The Swaziland ‘uprising’ was brutally put down by
state forces. Leaders
were arrested and later jailed. The state violence was condemned across the
world.
Amnesty
International said at the time, ‘We are alarmed by the levels of state
violence in the past 24 hours and the numbers of arbitrary and secret
detentions witnessed during this period and fear that those targeted may be at
risk of torture.’
The United
States called ‘on the Government of Swaziland to respect the rights of all
its citizens to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, which are
guaranteed by the Swazi Constitution and by international human rights
instruments’.
April 12 marks
the day in 1973 when King Sobhuza II tore up the country’s constitution and
introduced a Royal Decree giving him full control over Swaziland. That Decree
is still in place.
For moment by moment coverage of the 2011 ‘uprising’ follow
this link.
Swaziland: uprising in the slip-stream of North Africa
A new, well-educated generation of Swazis have been inspired by the uprisings in North Africa, as well as compelled by their own increasingly desperate situation of mass-unemployment and poverty, to try and replace the undemocratic and corrupt absolute monarchy that is Swaziland with a democratic and fair system.
The know-how and tactics of these youths, combined with the mass mobilisation for democracy and socio-economic justice that has taken place for decades in Swaziland, that together comprised the campaign or uprising on April 12-15 [2011], appears to be a significant breakthrough. It may not have brought about immediate democratisation but it is surely “the beginning of the end,” as a poster held by a demonstrator on April 12 proclaimed.
There are at least three common factors of the Swazi uprising in April and the North African uprisings that preceded and influenced the one in Swaziland: That no one had expected them, that they happened because of a combination of financial turmoil, youth unemployment, a year-long democratic mobilisation, the use of new social online tools such as Facebook and Twitter, that meant that the demonstrators could bypass the highly censored national media, and that they depended not on one or a few leaders, but on many, meaning that the regimes could not simply shut the uprisings down by arresting a few key people.
One of the main differences between Swaziland and North Africa in building a successful protest movement is that the technology available to the masses in North Africa, that was crucial in keeping the masses informed, simply is not there in Swaziland yet. Only about 5% of the Swazi population have an Internet connection, although mobile phones with Internet connections are becoming increasingly available.
Musa Ngubeni, along with Maxwell Dlamini, was arrested in April 2011 and charged with explosives offences. The pair have been in jail, denied bail, ever since. The pair are student leaders. In this statement, the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) gives some background information on Musa Ngubeni.
Born about 28 years ago in Swaziland, Musa Emmanuel Ngubeni (simply known among his peers and Comrades as “Ngubeni”) rose to become the Chairperson of the Student Representative Council (SRC) at the University of Swaziland (UNISWA) in the 2008/2009 Academic year. Today, the students of UNISWA still hail him as one their best leaders.
Comrade Ngubeni’s life has never been a smooth one. A few years before he was elected Chairperson, he had to bear the pain of losing a brother, Mathousand Ngubeni, to the brutal hands of the Mswati regime’s police. The police had claimed that Mathousand had not cooperated in the interrogation room in an investigation. That sad moment seems to have been a major turning point for Comrade Ngubeni in as far as the radical approach to the People’s Struggle is concerned. Nevertheless, he had to keep his discipline to ensure that his being a member of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) is not exposed. Later, through public pressure, the Swaziland government instituted an inquiry into Mathousand’s death. However, the report on the inquiry has never been released to the public and the Swaziland media does not seem interested in knowing about it.
Another sad incident worth mentioning here is the brutal assault and torture of Comrade Ngubeni by the police in January 2008, in Matsapha. This was the year when UNISWA students had protested for about five months against the UNISWA administration which had been trying to implement a poorly planned semesterization programme, after the administration had misused funds meant for the semesterization programme. At the time, Comrade Mabuza Mancoba was the Students’ Chairperson. Comrade Ngubeni was brutally assaulted by the police, on the 18th of January, 2008, and, later that day, taken to the Matsapha police station, the same place where his elder brother, Mathousand, had been tortured and murdered by the police, and the torture and assault continued the whole day. The police would, as they assaulted him, tell him that he was going to meet his elder brother sooner since he had decided to follow in his footsteps by trying to “burn the country”.
Through his discipline, as groomed by PUDEMO, he never even at one point revealed where the Chairperson, Comrade Mabuza Mancoba, was when the police enquired. He never volunteered any information relating to him, even when the police pushed him for information. It was known that the police wanted to get the Chairperson so as to brutalize him as well, but through discipline, Ngubeni never at one point revealed any information relating to him, not even voluntarily so as to save his life. Instead he told them that they should kill him there and then because he had not committed any crime.
The police later told him that he had to appear in court for public violence after he had allegedly thrown a stone at a police motor bike. However, at the trial in the Manzini Magistrate’s Court, the magistrate told him to go home and forget about the charges because the police had apparently lost the docket. The magistrate did not even question anything from the police about the “lost docket”, but only told Comrade Ngubeni to go home since he was then a free man. Suddenly the police docket had disappeared.
As stated above, he was elected Chairperson of the UNISWA SRC in the 2008/2009 Academic year. His great leadership skills have not been forgotten by the students. As Chairperson he also contributed immensely to the rejuvenation of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS), working hand in hand with Comrade Mabuza Mancoba (SNUS President at the time) in this regard. His focus was not just on the immediate demands of students, but also on solving the political crisis in Swaziland.
When he finished his LLB Degree at UNISWA (May 2010), he continued with his task of growing SNUS, selflessly dedicating his time for the task. He worked closely with the President of SNUS, Comrade Maxwell Dlamini, also a political prisoner since April 12, 2011.
The Youth and Students of Swaziland salute Comrade Ngubeni and call for the unconditional release of their Comrade and friend, together with all other political prisoners, who include;
1. Comrade Bheki Dlamini (SWAYOCO President) 2. Comrade Maxwell Dlamini (SNUS President) 3. Comrade Zonke Dlamini (member of PUDEMO) 4. Comrade Amos Mbendzi (member of the ANC, SACP, and an internationalist. Also former member of the uMkhonto weSizwe) 5. Many other Comrades who are still out on bail since the year 2005.
The above information about Comrade Ngubeni is only brief, but we hope that it will assist in getting to know more about our Comrades in Mswati’s jails.
The Special Assignment documentary shown on South Africa’s SABC3 television on 1 June 2011 month is on YouTube. It features interviews with Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni, the two political activists arrested during the April 12 protests and held on remand.
The Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign, which was launched today, urges people and organisations to stand up for human rights and the rule of law in Swaziland by supporting its call to free Maxwell Dlamini.
Maxwell Dlamini, the President of the Swaziland National Union of Students, has been detained, tortured, and forced by Swaziland’s regime to sign a confession that says he was in possession of explosives during the April 12 Swazi Uprising – a movement inspired by similar uprisings in North Africa and The Middle East.
The Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign demands that Maxwell Dlamini is released unconditionally and that any and all wrongdoings committed by Swaziland’s police forces and security forces towards Maxwell Dlamini and other members of Swaziland’s democratic movement are investigated, and that any perpetrators are brought before a court of law.
Please show your support for Maxwell, as well as for human rights and justice in general, by allowing us to add your name to the list of people and organisations supporting the campaign! (see list here: people and organisations that support the campaign).
Join us in demanding that the Swazi regime free Maxwell Dlamini by:
Calling for the unconditional release of Maxwell Dlamini and his fellow-accused Musa Ngubeni, whom we regard as political prisoners, and demanding an investigation into the allegations of torture of Maxwell Dlamini by Swazi officers, with subsequent charges brought against anyone found guilty of having taken part in such actions, by copying the letter below and sending it to the Swazi regime.
You can also be part of the British National Union of students’ call for the immediate release of Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni by writing to Swaziland’s High Commission in London HERE
Copy the letter below and send it to one or all of the following people by e-mail:
I am writing to you concerning Maxwell Dlamini, President of the Swaziland National Union of Students.
On April 2011, he was reportedly tortured while held in detention by Swazi officers in order to make him sign a confession, admitting to having been in possession of explosives, and thus allegedly contravening Sections 8 and 9 of Swaziland’s Explosives Act 4 of 1961.
Maxwell Dlamini had already been pre-emptively detained on April 11, before the so-called April 12 Uprising, but released, only to be re-arrested and charged. There were reports of mass-detentions and violent conduct by police officers and security forces, during the duration of the demonstrations, from April 12 to April 15.
Members of Swaziland’s government and officials had clearly tried to intimidate people in Swaziland into not participating in the demonstrations. Swaziland’s Prime Minister, Barnabas Dlamini, had warned anyone considering doing so that his security forces would “crush the protests”, and police commissioner Isaac Magagula stated, “everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise.”
I believe that Maxwell Dlamini and his fellow-accused, Musa Ngubeni, are political prisoners and are thus unlikely to be given a fair trial.
I therefore call on you to
unconditionally release Maxwell Dlamini and all other political prisoners in Swaziland
open a prompt, impartial and comprehensive investigation into the allegations that Maxwell Dlamini was tortured and ill-treated in custody. While this investigation is ongoing, the officers accused of torture should be suspended from duty.
ensure that anyone found to have tortured and/or ill-treated Maxwell Dlamini are brought to justice in a fair trial and, if they are found guilty, that the sentences imposed are commensurate with the gravity of the crime.
I furthermore demand that the use of torture is condemned at the highest levels of government – especially as Swaziland have ratified ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture in 2004 and since there have been many previous allegations of torture committed by Swazi officials – and call on you to ensure that safeguards are put in place to prevent torture and ill-treatment in the future.
These safeguards should include ending the practice of de facto unacknowledged detention, banning the admissibility of torture confessions in court proceedings, giving access to independent public monitors to all detention facilities, and creating a truly independent complaints mechanism, so that the torturers can be charged and brought to justice.
I thank you for your consideration in this important matter. I hope you will inform the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign (freemaxwelldlamini@gmail.com) on how you intend to deal with the concerns raised in this letter.
