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TEACHERS, TUCOSWA LEADERS ‘INVADE’ COURT, DEMAND JUSTICE

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MBABANE –  “Justice delayed is justice denied”.

This was the slogan repeated by teachers outside the Mbabane Magistrates Court yesterday. Over 100 teachers, who were joined by TUCOSWA executive members,  were in court to give moral support to their fellow comrades, Mbongwa Dlamini and Mxolisi Ngcamphalala, who were arrested after a big stone was left on the road leading to the Cabinet offices during the public sector unions march in February 2016. TUCOSWA is an acronym for the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland. According to the charge sheet, the duo is accused of rolling the big stone onto the road while marching to deliver the petition at a Cabinet offices. The teachers, who were shielded by police officers outside the court premises, voiced out their frustration over the dragging case. They said the reason behind the delay was because the police were trying to establish a case against their comrades.

“The fact that we all participated in the march means that what happens to our comrades must also happen to us. If anyone of us thinks that only the two have been arrested, he is fooling himself because we all participated in the march. An injury to one is an injury to all,” said the teachers. Noted was that what the teachers said was also written on their placards. Muzi Mhlanga, who was representing TUCOSWA, informed the teachers that unions no longer had the right to exercise their right to strike if they were not seeing eye-to-eye with their employers. Upon arrival at the courtroom, the teachers began to sing a song titled ‘mamawe’. Police tried to admonish them but they continued to sing in low voices.
However, the teachers were silent when they heard the banging of the door by Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati who was presiding over the matter.

Vilakati informed the teachers that he had desired to proceed with the matter in a bigger court; however, he couldn’t find any.  He therefore told the teachers who were standing that procedurally, the court could not proceed with some people standing. As a result, the educators preferred sitting on the floor instead of leaving the courtroom. Among those seated on the floor was SNAT Secretary General Zwelithini Mndzebele.

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