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SWALIMO MEMBER PRAISES COP FOR SAVING HER

17/05/2022 08:46:00 Sibusiso Zwane

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MANZINI - A 23-year-old female member of SWALIMO is thankful to a police officer for saving her from his colleagues, who were brutalising and harassing her.

Nosipho Motsa of Mphosi Chiefdom, under Gilgal Constituency in the Lubombo Region, who is a member of the Mduduzi ‘Gawuzela’ Simelane-led Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO), was part of the members of the mass democratic movement who converged at the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Centre on Friday to commemorate the Thabani Nkomonye Day. The commemoration ended with a march from SNAT Centre to the Manzini Police Regional Headquarters (RHQ), however, the march was quashed by the police and they dispersed the marchers by throwing stun grenades and firing tear gas canisters and rubber bullets at them. In the process, four activists were shot.

Confronting

During the incident, a group of police officers were spotted confronting a female activist, while others were running helter-skelter. In an interview with this publication, Motsa said when the police fired tear gas canisters at them, she tried to turn back with the intention of running back to SNAT Centre, but she tripped and fell to the ground. She said when she managed to get back on her feet, she found that her colleagues had left her behind and were at a distance. This was when she decided to surrender herself to the police. “I raised my hands as a sign of surrender while I walked towards the police and pleaded with them not to kill me. I said they would rather beat me,” she alleged.

However, she alleged that the law enforcers from the Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU), who were in front, beat her with the barrels of their guns (rifles), while others attacked her with batons and beat her all over the body. The SWALIMO member said in the process, they called her all sorts of derogatory names and harassed her. “Luckily for me, one of the police officers intervened and tried to stop them from beating me. He then whisked me away from them. In fact, the officer pulled me through the Manzini Infant Practising Primary School and ordered me to run away,” the female activist said.

Colleagues

Thereafter, she said she managed to call some of her colleagues and informed them about the incident and they also told the leadership of the organisation. Motsa said even though she was limping at the time, she managed to go back home. Meanwhile, SWALIMO Deputy Secretary Gift Dlamini, who confirmed the incident, said they were aware that not all police officers were enjoying the inhumane practices by their colleagues - of brutalising people. He said as SWALIMO, they encouraged more police officers to protect human rights, including that of women and children.

As a matter of fact, he said they promised police officers who saved their member and others who were like him that in the anticipated new Eswatini, they would have a place. However, he stated that police officers who participated in the brutalisation of people would be dealt with accordingly. Thereafter, the deputy secretary general said it was within their (police) rights to defy an order that was meant to harm human life. “We urge all police officers not to think they are doing people a favour, but it was their obligation to protect life and property,” he said.
He said in their books, a life of an activist was as good as that of royalty.

Moreover, he said the challenge was in the name of the organisation, the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), which seemed like police by mandate were for royalty and the people had no police. However, he said police officers should know that they belonged to the people and should serve all the people of this country. In that regard, he said the police officer did not do their member (Motsa) a favour, but what was expected of police and that was what they encouraged. On the other hand, a source, who managed to speak to the officer after the incident, said the law enforcer told him that he protected the woman because she was down and was all by herself. He said the police officer said he ran to her and covered her with the riot shield he was carrying, to protect her from his colleagues who were beating and pelting her with stones.

Saving

Again, the source said the officer also informed him that while he was saving the female activist, some of the protesters who were inside the school allegedly pelted him with stones and he asked them what he had he done because he was trying to protect the woman and they stopped and walked away. Meanwhile, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, said as a police service, it was their mandate to protect life and property. She said even in difficult situations, they always protected life and property where possible. In that regard, she commended the officer.