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NO TRANSPORT TOMORROW FROM 9AM TO 2PM - SWATCAWU

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MANZINI – Commuters will have to make alternative means of transport tomorrow between 9am and 2pm as public transport workers will not be working.

This is because the workers want to deliver a petition to the police. The petition delivery, according to Secretary General of the Swaziland Transport Communication and Allied Workers Union (SWATCAWU), Sticks Nkambule, will be to voice out their grievances against police brutality. In a letter addressed to the Manzini Municipal Council, Nkambule said there shall be a procession from the Manzini Bus Rank to the Manzini Police Regional Headquarters to deliver the petition by the members of his organisation.

Welfare

Worth noting is that SWATCAWU was leading the public transport workers in their quest to raise welfare issues in an industrial action that grounded the country for almost two weeks.
In the letter directed to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Manzini Municipal Council, Lungile Dlamini, the secretary general said the public transport workers’ procession would use Meintjies, Mahleka, Martin, Ngwane, Nkoseluhlaza, Sandlane, Mancishane and Louw streets. It is worth noting that these aforementioned streets link the central business district (CBD) of Manzini.

Petition

When explaining the need for the petition delivery, Nkambule claimed that the conduct of the police on Friday caused disruptions to transport operations, endangered public property, customers and SWATCAWU members, who were going about their daily duties. On Friday, students under the banner of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) commemorated University of Eswatini (UNESWA) Law Student, Thabani Nkomonye, at the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Centre. Nkomonye died under questionable circumstances resulting in students under the banner of SNUS marching to demand answers regarding his demise. The qualm was that Nkomonye’s body was discovered six days after an accident, wherein members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) had claimed to have searched and not found the body.  

On the fateful day, Nkomonye was driving a Mazda Demio, which was towed to the Matsapha Police Station despite Nkomonye having been reported missing. Subsequent to the pressure that was exerted by students, as they alleged their fellow had died due to police brutality, government appointed a coroner to lead an inquest into his (Nkomonye’s) demise. During the deceased student’s commemoration, about 1 000 attendees sought to march and deliver a petition to the Manzini RHQ; however, they clashed with the police as stun grenades were thrown at them. After they exploded, the marchers ran helter-skelter with a majority of them bolting back to SNAT Centre, while others responded by pelting the police with stones.

Thereafter, several tear gas canisters were fired towards the marchers. Some of the canisters fell in the crowd while some fell in front of them. At times, stones which were thrown by the marchers came from the direction of SNAT Centre and Manzini Infant Practising Primary School. The police, who continued to fire tear gas and at times rubber bullets at the marchers, fired it into SNAT Centre and one towards the primary school. As the tear gas canisters emitted the fumes, the protesters inside SNAT Centre were seen climbing the wall fence and jumped over it as they retreated.

Affected

On the same note, the tear gas fumes affected some of the pupils from Manzini Infant Practising Primary School. Some of the affected and traumatised pupils came towards the gate crying and they asked some of the police officers and journalists to call their parents to come and fetch them. Others asked the police to inform their parents about the incident so they could call bomalume (transport workers who chauffeur pupils) to hurry and pick them. It was gathered by our sister publication – Eswatini News – that four marchers were shot in the skirmish. Meanwhile, Nkambule further said: “The brute and excessive force unleashed on students and other members of the general public by armed forces cannot go unnoticed, especially noting how highhanded behaviour is occasionally meted on members in their line of duty. This procession shall deliver these grievances, among others, to the police.” He said the police brutality was gaining momentum instead of regressing. Nkambule said these incidents were affecting their members and customers.

On the other hand, during a mass meeting by the Political Party Assembly (PPA), Sibusiso Dlamini announced to the gathering that public transport workers would be delivering a petition to the police. He called upon every concerned parent to attend the petition delivery as he said their children were affected by the police brutality. Sibusiso said primary school pupils were exposed to tear gas fumes and were also in the crossfire on Friday. President of the Eswatini Kombi and Buses Allied Workers Union (EKABAWU), Mxolisi Fakudze, said they would be certain today if their members would partake in the petition delivery.  Meanwhile, the CEO of the Municipal Council of Manzini, in recent months, rejected a proposed march in town by the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA).

She said: “The national commissioner (NATCOM) of police has the mandate to prohibit the gathering or march if he has reasons to believe that the march will endanger the maintenance of public order and public safety.”

Meeting

The CEO said during the aforesaid meeting, the NATCOM’s representatives were not consenting to the march of 500 people, due to the issue that the country was experiencing issues of national security arising from the riots which started in June 2021. Dlamini said the NATCOM’s representatives were of the view that they could not guarantee the safety of the citizens and property if the march was going to be allowed to proceed. She said the prohibition of the event was proportionate to the harm to national security, public order, public health or the rights and freedoms of others that was sought to be avoided as discussed in their meeting with ATUSWA.

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