Swaziland police halt democracy march, ‘torture’ leader

Police in Swaziland (eSwatini) blocked a march for democracy and arrested leaders, torturing at least one of them, according to reports.

A group called The New Parliament tried to hold a march in Manzini, the kingdom’s main commercial city, but two leaders Phila Fakudze and Sibongile Mazibuko, President of the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC), were arrested and taken to Sigodvweni Police Station.

Swati Newsweek, a news website, reported, ‘Mazibuko was questioned and released after spending over five hours with the police officer who grilled her for calling for multiparty democracy.’

Swaziland News, an online newspaper, reported Fakudze was arrested on 24 December 2020 and ‘was tortured the whole night and later taken back to Manzini police station for further torturing’.

Fakudze told the Swaziland News, ‘While suffocating me, one of the police officers told me to pray and tell my God that I'm coming, he said we can kill you and then said you were trying to escape.’

Swati Newsweek reported Fakudze saying, ‘I was suffocated with a plastic bag by 12 police officers. I was tied to a bench and assaulted. I was kept in police custody for 48 hours. The police told me to pray and tell God that I am coming. They forced me to admit to being a robbery suspect. I was forced to name innocent people. However, they released me after their evidence crumbled.’

Swaziland is not a democracy and is ruled by King Mswati III as an absolute monarch. One of the aims of The New Parliament is that the king hands back power to the people.

Separately, Swati Newsweek reported Thulani Motsa, the Swaziland Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) Deputy President, was allegedly assaulted and suffocated by police. It said it had a copy of a doctor’s report detailing injuries.

Swati Newsweek quoted Motsa saying, ‘Police officers from Sigodvweni and Manzini came to my home, accompanied and confiscated my cellphone before bundling me into a police van without any warrant of arrest. When we arrived in the police station I was tightly tied by a black rope and suffocated by 10 male cops.’

Swati Newsweek reported Swazi police made a number of raids on homes of activists during the recent holiday period.

See also

Swaziland journalist ‘tortured by police after criticising absolute monarch in newspaper articles’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/03/swaziland-journalist-tortured-by-police.html

 

Swaziland police hold and ‘torture’ students after protest march on Govt ministry https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/08/swaziland-police-hold-and-torture.html

 

Reasonable grounds two Swaziland police officers killed suspect in custody, coroner reports https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/04/reasonable-grounds-two-swaziland-police.html

Swaziland riot police fire teargas, rubber bullets to break up peaceful ‘clean-up’ event

Armed riot police in Swaziland (eSwatini) used teargas and rubber bullets to break up a peaceful gathering called to ‘clean-up’ a township and arrest its leaders.

It happened at KaKhoza in Manzini on Saturday (31 October 2020).

Swati Newsweek, an online newspaper, reported an event organised by the Swaziland People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) was broken up by a battalion of heavily armed officers from the riot police known as the Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU).

Vusi Shongwe, SPLM President confirmed the incident. A number of SPLM members were arrested.

Newsweek reported police had earlier told the SPLM not to go ahead with the event. The campaign had been widely publicised online.

Shongwe told Newsweek, ‘Rubber bullets, teargas, batons were used on the KaKhoza residents and SPLM cadres while conducting the clean-up campaign.’

Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati III as an absolute monarchy. Political parties are prohibited from taking part in elections and groups advocating for change are banned under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.

The SPLM describes itself as movement campaigning for ‘a constitutional multi party democratic Swaziland in our life time’. The SPLM is one of six political groups in Swaziland that last year formed the Political Parties Assembly (PPA) to advocate for change.

There are restrictions on freedom of association and assembly in Swaziland. In a review of 2019, Human Rights Watch reported police continued to restrict gatherings even though the Police Service Act of 2018 limited their powers to prevent gatherings as it required only a ‘notice of gathering’ to be submitted to the relevant local authority, unlike the previous 1963 law that needed the police to issue a license to permit public gatherings. The Public Order Act of 2017, which imposes restrictions on the government’s power to limit freedoms of assembly and association, was also ignored.

Freedom House scored Swaziland 16 out of a possible 100 points in its Freedom in the World 2019 report. It concluded that Swaziland was ‘not free’.

See also

Swaziland democracy leaders call on absolute monarch to arrange talks for political change

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/12/swaziland-democracy-leaders-call-on.html

Swaziland police say they raided democracy activists’ homes for ‘state security’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/12/swaziland-police-say-they-raided.html

Swaziland police in mass raids on homes of democracy activists, some detained

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/12/swaziland-police-in-mass-raids-on-homes.html