ANC OFFICIALS, HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS JOIN CALL FOR COLANI’S RELEASE

MBABANE – ANC officials and international human rights organisations have weighed in on the arrest of SNUS President by Eswatini police.

The Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) President Colani Maseko, was initially detained on Monday and later arrested on charges pertaining to the contravention of Section 3 (1) as read with Section 4 of the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act of 1938. He was also slapped with two charges of malicious damage to property. Spokesperson of MEC Gauteng for Human Settlement Urban Planning and African National Congress (ANC) member Castro Ntobeko Ngobese joined other international human rights organisations in the call for the release of Maseko.

Freedom

Ngobese, through a statement yesterday, said South Africa should cut all diplomatic ties with Eswatini and demand freedom of political activism, introduction of democratic reforms, and unconditional release of all political prisoners and the unbanning of all political parties in the country. He further insinuated that a travel ban should be imposed on the authorities responsible for Maseko’s apprehension. Amnesty International for East and Southern Africa Director Deprose Muchena said Eswatini authorities must urgently end their crackdown on political activists and human rights defenders. “The views of these activists should be welcomed in the arena of public debate, not repressed,” stated Muchena. The organisation further said Maseko was arbitrarily detained and should be released immediately. “The arbitrary detention of Colani Maseko by the security forces under the guise of ‘questioning’ and subsequent charges of sedition and malicious damage to property amounts to intimidation and harassment,” said Muchena.

He further said it was clear that the authorities were desperate to weaken the pro-democracy movement that was pushing for political reforms in Eswatini. “Maseko must be immediately and unconditionally released and all these politically motivated charges levelled against him must be withdrawn. Otherwise, he must be promptly brought to court and guaranteed a fair trial,” said the Amnesty East and Southern Africa director. Muchena also stated that Eswatini authorities should welcome the views of these activists in the arena of public debate and not repress them. “Authorities must allow people to freely exercise their human rights without reprisals,” he said. In a media release yesterday, Southern Defenders, also known as Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, expressed their deep concern over the escalating persecution of student leaders and other human rights defenders in the region.

Concerned

“The Southern Defenders, the largest network of human rights defenders and social justice organisations in the region, are deeply concerned by the escalating persecution of student leaders and other human rights defenders in Eswatini. “The government’s heavy-handed clampdown on legitimate protest and dissent by students who are campaigning for democratic reforms by exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly,” stated the human rights defenders. They further said they condemned the State-sanctioned arrests, subsequent detention and assault of Sakhile Nxumalo, who was taken in by a group of police officers near Riverstone Mall while on his way to Manzini town.

They further said the actions of the State violated the constitutional rights of the student leaders and subverted the international human rights obligations of the Kingdom of Eswatini.
“We, therefore, call for the immediate release of all political prisoners including Maseko and the withdrawal of all charges that seek to penalise them for legitimate activism. We call upon the Government of Eswatini to bring an immediate end to the intimidation and harassment of pro-democracy activists and human rights defenders,” it was stated. Also party to the issue of Maseko was the African Defenders organisation, which stated that political activism had long been suppressed in the Kingdom of Eswatini through what they alleged as the implementation of repressive laws and the normalisation of police brutality in response to protests.

“In recent months, these factors have led to the killing and brutalisation of the people of Eswatini whose only crime is to seek a better future,” they said. Not to be left out, was the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRD), who said, Maseko was arrested in a ‘violent manner’. The network also called for the immediate release of Maseko, stating that this should be done to prevent Eswatini from being under the radar for violating human rights. When reached for comment on the matter, Deputy Government Spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said the Kingdom of Eswatini conformed to the rule of law and further enjoyed and respected the bilateral relations it shared with many of its neighbours. “At this point, no issue has been brought to government’s attention through laid down diplomatic channels, which warrants a response. We can only urge those interested in issues happening in Eswatini to respect our justice system and all legal processes therein,”  she said.

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