BOY, 15, AMONG POLICE TORTURE VICTIMS

A 15-year-old boy was tortured by police in Swaziland after his mother reported him for stealing E85 (US$6). The boy said he was beaten with a metal blade and a club for five hours.

The case was just one of many reported to a United Nations review panel looking into human rights in Swaziland, where King Mswati III rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

A joint report by four organisations working to improve human rights stated, ‘In Mbabane [the Swazi capital], police tortured a 15-year-old boy after his mother had reported him for stealing E85.00. 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.

They also reported the case of Phumelela Mkhweli, a political activist who died after alleged assault by police after they arrested him. 

The report also stated, ‘In April 2011, a 66-year-old woman was confronted by three police officers regarding the wording on her t-shirt and headscarf. The police allegedly pulled off her T-shirt, throttled her, banged her head against the wall, sexually molested her, kicked her and threw her against a police truck.  

‘The US Department of State reported on many allegations of torture and ill-treatment by police; including beatings and temporary suffocation using rubber tube tied around the face, nose, and mouth, or plastic bags over the head, the report stated.  

There have been numerous reports of torture by police and military personnel in Swaziland over the past few years.

In July 2015, Swazi MP Titus Thwala reported that Swaziland soldiers beat up old ladies so badly they had to be taken to their homes in wheelbarrows. He said that elderly women were among the local residents who were regularly beaten by soldiers at informal crossing points between Swaziland and South Africa. Thwala said the soldiers made people do push ups and other exercises.

In 2011, a man was reportedly beaten with guns and tortured for three hours by soldiers who accused him of showing them disrespect. He was ordered to do press ups, frog jumps and told to run across a very busy road and was beaten with guns every time he tried to resist. His crime was that he tried to talk to a man whose vehicle was being searched by soldiers at Maphiveni.

The incident was one of many examples of soldiers being out of control in Swaziland. The Army, in effect, has a shoot-to-kill policy. In May 2011, three unarmed South African men were shot dead by Swazi soldiers when they were caught trying to smuggle four cows from Swaziland into the Republic.

In July 2011, three armed soldiers left a man for dead after he tried to help a woman they were beating up. And in a separate incident, a woman was beaten by two soldiers after she tried to stop them talking to her sister.

In January 2010 soldiers were warned that their attacks on civilians amounted to a ‘shoot to kill’ policy and this was unconstitutional. 

There have been many accounts of soldiers killing or beating up civilians, including a cold-blooded murder of two women accused of smuggling a car across the border with South Africa; a man who had five bullets pumped into his body after being beaten to a pulp; an attack on sex workers after three soldiers refused to pay them for their services; an attack by a bus load of soldiers on a security guard after he asked them to move their vehicle; and five drunk soldiers who terrorised two boys, smashing one of them to a pulp. 

See also

SWAZI ARMY’S IDEA OF PEACE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2010/04/swazi-armys-idea-of-peace.html

SWAZI STUDENT LEADER TORTURED

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/10/swazi-student-leader-tortured.html

KING’S PAPER SUPPORTS POLICE TORTURE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/kings-paper-supports-police-torture.html

 

ROUGH JUSTICE FOR SEX WORKERS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2010/01/rough-justice-for-sex-workers.html

MORE POLICE TORTURE IN SWAZILAND

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/01/more-police-torture-in-swaziland.html

SWAZI ARMY COMMANDER ‘ABOVE LAW’

The top Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force commander is operating above the law and may be a danger to the kingdom.

He disobeys legitimate court orders and acts outside the law.

If he is capable of doing these things what else might he do?

These are the concerns of the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper.

In a profile of Lieutenant General Sobantu Dlamini, Army Commander, the Times says it is ‘tragic that in the last few weeks, the emerging trend has been that the army lives in its own world, with its own rules, disciplinary procedures and general way of life’.

The newspaper continues, ‘A few weeks ago, this very newspaper reported that three junior army officers were making attempts to go back to work.

‘Mpendulo Mngomezulu, Nkosikayikhethi Nxumalo and Vusumuzi Hlatshwayo were arrested a few years ago for allegedly stealing government fuel.

‘The matter went to court because the army realised the alleged act was criminal and the police had to be involved.

‘The court cleared the trio and ordered that they return to work.

‘The Army Commander, probably after consulting his own deputies, came back with his own verdict: The three men stole the fuel and were caught red-handed. They cannot go back to work!

‘Sobantu hinted, when our reporter raised the issue of a Court Order, that such documents were not enough where the army was concerned.

‘The question is: why did the army opt for the legal civil route if it was not going to adhere to the ruling?

‘Then again, what if the court had sentenced the soldiers to, say, three years in jail each?

Would Sobantu have come out to say, “No, actually these soldiers should not go to jail. We do not care much about rulings in the army?”

‘Sicelo Shongwe’s matter is another case in point.

‘Arrested in 2002 for attempted murder, he was cleared by the courts, which automatically meant he had to go back to work.

‘Shongwe had been arrested and charged after he borrowed a home-made gun from a resident in the northern Hhohho to shoot an alleged dagga dealer who was trying to smuggle the illegal herb into South Africa.

‘The bullet from the gun ricocheted, hitting one of the people at the scene.

‘He was cleared of the charge of attempted murder because he had no intention to harm the person who was ultimately hit by the bullet.

‘This is a 2002 incident but still, he is not at work. Army authorities do not want him back.

‘The last story appeared in the Times of Swaziland on Wednesday, two days before Christmas (2009).

It is the sad story of one Sandile Dlamini, who built a big house in Logoba, near Matsapha but could only watch while it was demolished this past week.

‘Sobantu Dlamini allegedly ordered the demolition - verbally.

‘There was neither any court nor eviction order.

‘Sandile is said to have built the house on land that belongs to the king.

‘His claims, to the effect that he got it though the customary kukhonta and has witnesses to prove it have fallen on deaf ears.

‘Sandile is taking the matter to court but if past scenarios are anything to go by, does he have any chance, whether he wins or loses?

‘How many have taken Sobantu to court and came back to claim victory?

‘Will the Army Commander abide by any ruling the court could make on the matter?

‘What if he doesn’t?

‘Will it just be another day in good old Swaziland?

‘Questions, questions but the most important one of all is: If the Army Commander will have no regard for our courts, what else is he capable of?

‘If he will verbally instruct his subordinates to go and demolish a man’s house without following a legally laid down procedure, what else could he send them to do?

‘If he is capable of giving off-the-cuff orders to his juniors and they are capable of taking those instructions without any qualms or further prodding, what else will he instruct them to do – now or in the future?

‘If the courts are useless establishments to the army, what mechanism is there to rein in the fallible-as-everybody-else commander when he breaks the law?’the Times concludes.

SWAZILAND KING FEARS ARMY COUP

King Mswati III of Swaziland must be a very worried man.

The king has asked his armed forces not to launch a coup against him.

His plea came after Madagascar armed forces overthrew President Marc Ravalomanana, after they accused him of spending public money recklessly and being undemocratic.

The parallels between Madagascar and Swaziland are close. King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, is undemocratic and spends money unwisely.

He appoints the Prime Minister, the cabinet and makes all important decisions in Swaziland. Political parties are banned and dissent is quashed.

Despite the fact that a new constitution came into force in 2005, King Mswati and his government regularly ignore its provisions.

King Mswati and his family were awarded E130 million (about 10 million US dollars) in public money in the national budget last month (February 2009), despite the fact that he has a wealth estimated at 200 million US dollars, while 70 percent of his subjects live in abject poverty, earning less than one US dollar a day.

King Mswati is world renowned for his lavish lifestyle; his taste for expensive cars and the opulence of his palaces.

The king has had difficulty in recent months in keeping his subjects in order. A Suppression of Terrorism Act unleashed last year led to four political entities being branded as ‘terrorist’ organisations. Members and supporters face up to 25 years in jail. Mario Masuku, a leading pro-democracy activist has been in jail since last November awaiting trial on terrorism charges.

Despite the best efforts of King Mswati’s security forces, the fight for democracy in Swaziland is continuing.

Now the king has told his soldiers it is their duty to protect Swaziland and not ‘to work with hot heads hell-bent on destabilising peace’.

He added, ‘I would like to caution soldiers not to contribute to instability.’

During a defence force passing out ceremony yesterday (20 March 2009), King Mswati made a reference to the situation in Madagascar, where soldiers refused to obey orders and turned against the president.

According to a report in Swaziland’s Weekend Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, the king is reported saying, ‘I warn you soldiers not to emulate such conduct. The said soldiers I’m talking about were given orders to defend the country but instead of following such orders, they invaded bushes.’

The king expressed hope that the recruits joined the army not just for employment but because of their wish to protect and defend the country.

King Mswati may be whistling in the dark here. Soldiers in Swaziland are no better treated than any other of the king’s subjects and it is not obvious to an outsider why they should feel any allegiance to him. The king and his ruling elite rely on traditional Swazi culture to see them through. Put simply, this means that ordinary people are expected to adore the king and to never question whether he is right or wrong. The king and his elite bestow special privileges to those who help him to maintain his grip on power and as long as it is in their interests to continue giving that support, they will.

But should the wind change, as it has in Madagascar, that support could swiftly evaporate and King Mswati will only have his armed forces to save him ..... or not.