Three democracy leaders in
Swaziland (eSwatini) were detained by police when protesters tried to march
through the industrial town of Matsapha.
The march was halted after
it had been banned by the courts hours earlier.
It was the latest activity from
the recently-organised Political Party Assembly (PPA). Political parties are
banned in Swaziland where King Mswati III rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last
absolute monarch.
It happened on Thursday (12
December 2019) when the PPA wanted to march from factory to factory in the town
to drum up support.
Those detained were
Swaziland Democratic Party (SWADEPA) President Jan Sithole; Ngwane National
Liberation Congress (NNLC) President Sibongile Mazibuko; and Zodwa Mkhonta, Deputy
President of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO).
The leaders were arrested on the streets of Matsapha, taken to the local police station and later
released.
The Times of eSwatini said there were
also unconfirmed reports that police from the Serious Crime Unit (Lukhozi) rounded
up ordinary members of the PPA at the assembly point for the march.
Protest marches are
routinely banned in Swaziland where freedom of assembly is severely curtailed.
In July 2019 Human Rights Watch reported
restrictions
on freedom of association and assembly continued in Swaziland although the
kingdom had signed the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance
in January 2018, the government has not taken steps to ratify and implement the
charter.
Amnesty
International in a review of Swaziland for 2017 / 2018 stated, ‘The Public
Order Act and the Suppression of Terrorism Act severely limited the rights to
freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.’
It added, The Public Order Act, ‘curtailed the rights
to freedom of assembly and association, imposing far-reaching restrictions on
organizers of public gatherings. The Act also failed to provide mechanisms to
hold law enforcement officials accountable for using excessive force against
protesters or public gatherings.’
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
political parties unite in bid to end absolute king’s power
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