Times Of Swaziland: CANGO’S NDLANGAMANDLA LIKENS MPS ASSAULT TO APARTHEID

CANGO’S NDLANGAMANDLA LIKENS MPS ASSAULT TO APARTHEID
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Nhlanganiso Mkhonta on 27/09/2022 09:21:00


MANZINI – CANGO Executive Director Emmanuel Ndlangamandla says the alleged
assault on the incarcerated MPs was a kind of treatment reminiscent of the
apartheid regime and other repressive governments.
CANGO is the abbreviation for the Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental
Organisations, which has a human rights consortium under it. In a statement
issued yesterday, Ndlangamandla said his organisation was shocked and concerned
by the alleged brutalisation of the two Members of Parliament (MP), who were
allegedly invaded and assaulted in their prison cells by the warders of His
Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS). The two MPs are Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza
of Hosea and Mthandeni Dube of Ngwempisi. “This kind of treatment is
reminiscent of the apartheid regime and other repressive governments,” said
Ndlangamandla.
Recalled
The director said he recalled that a few years ago, the public was notified that
the institution was in transition from being a force to a service. He said,
therefore, this was a low point of the Correctional Services institution because
incarcerated people were human and they had rights that the State had
obligations to protect. He said as an organisation, they also noted that the
unfortunate incident occurred at a time when the United Nations (UN) was hosting
heads of State and governments, who were all claiming to be guided by the UN
Charter and values.
The executive director said the values were not in line with the HMCS
allegations of brutalisation of inmates. “This is not in line with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which consists of 30 Articles, of which
Article 5 states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane
or degrading treatment or punishment,” said Ndlangamandla.
He added that the nation was a signatory to various human rights legal
instruments internationally and continentally. He said some of these instruments
had been domesticated through the country’s 2005 Constitution. Ndlangamandla
said a disappointing factor which generated discontent among the population was
that the MPs had not been convicted of any crime. He said it was hard not to
draw conclusion that they were denied bail so as to be tortured.
Elected
He said the actions made it clear that in this country, being elected into
Parliament by the people may cost one their life because in this system, an
elected MP should not serve the voters’ interests but that of the elite. On
another note, Ndlangamandla stated that as a human rights defender, they could
not be silent in the midst of human rights violations. He said they were still
concerned that the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland-led protest on
socio-economic matters as permitted in the law, was denied. He said such a
posture by government was noted by investors globally.