Communist Party of Swaziland congratulates workers of
Swaziland on militant actions against sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute
monarch
The year 2018 has already witnessed a number of
militant protest actions by the workers of Swaziland against sub-Saharan
Africa’s last absolute monarch, raising a number of demands but all related to
the undemocratic nature of the tinkhundla system. The latest protest actions
have been led by the Swaziland National Association of Teachers and the
Swaziland Democratic Nurses’ Union.
On Friday 24 August 2018 Mswati’s police fired live
bullets at school teachers who had been protesting peacefully in the city of
Manzini in Swaziland, calling for a cost of living adjustment. One worker was
shot on the arm.
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| William Dlamini, a teacher, was shot by the royal police of Swaziland with a live bullet as the police crushed a peaceful march led by the Swaziland National Association of teachers |
More workers would have been shot had it not been for the heroic
efforts of one of the teachers, Maxwell Musa Myeni, who wrestled one of the gun
wielding policemen and halted the police’s murderous efforts.
 |
| Maxwell Musa Myeni, a teacher, heroically restrains a gun wielding policeman who was intent on mowing down peacefully protesting teachers of Swaziland on Friday 24 August 2018 |
Myeni was then
abducted by the notorious Lukhozi arm of the police force on Sunday 26 August
2018. It took the militant actions of workers and other human
rights activists who crammed the Manzini Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday 28
August 2018 for Mswati’s regime to release Myeni on bail. They dared the regime
to release Myeni or else be prepared to arrest all of them (see video below).
The teachers' peaceful
action on Friday followed a night vigil on Thursday and a meeting on Friday
morning. It is important to acknowledge the resolute actions of the teachers as
Mswati had banned all activities in Swaziland falling on 24 and 25 August in a
bid to force the people to partake in his sham elections that will elect a
puppet parliament.
 |
| Swaziland teachers taking part in a night vigil on Thursday 23 August 2018 |
Yesterday, Wednesday 29
August 2018, workers led by the Swaziland Democratic Nurses’ Union took to the
streets to demand quality health care for the people of Swaziland and a cost of
living adjustment. People are dying like flies in Swaziland because public
clinics and hospitals have run out of vital drugs and equipment, including HIV
testing kits, with the government pleading poverty. This is a direct result of
the undemocratic nature of the tinkhundla system.
 |
| On 29 August 2018 nurses led by the Swaziland Democratic Nurses' Union filled the streets of Mbabane, demanding cost of living adjustment and quality health care for the people |
These latest protest actions
follow on the heels of other actions led by TUCOSWA in April and June 2018. On
29 June 2018 police assaulted workers who were protesting peacefully on the
streets of Mbabane, and further denied wounded workers the right to access much
needed medical care.
As the Mswati regime uses
the weak state of the economy as an excuse for all its wrongs, it is important
to remember that earlier this year it splashed over E1 billion (then about
US$75 million) to celebrate Mswati’s 50th birthday. Mswati bought a second private jet for himself worth
about E500 million (then about US$40.3 million), a wrist watch worth E21
million (then about US$1.6 million), and spent more hundreds of millions stolen
from the nation on gifts for his extremely large family and friends.
Mswati’s propaganda newspaper, the Swazi Observer,
recently commented that Mswati’s government will spend “not less than E15
million” (US$1.1 million) to construct a lavish retirement home for the prime minister.
The Communist Party of
Swaziland is firmly on the side of the workers of Swaziland and supports their
militant struggles against the brutal Mswati regime. We also support the
resolution for a seven days strike action by nurses to start next week Wednesday,
5 September 2018, as well as the two weeks protest action called by TUCOSWA,
scheduled for September just before the secondary elections. We will continue
to play our vanguard role in these worker struggles.
It is encouraging that a
great majority of Swazis have realised the undemocratic character of the
ongoing tinkhundla elections; that the resultant tinkhundla parliament will be
nothing but a puppet parliament for sub-Saharan African’s last absolute monarch
Mswati to implement his unilateral decisions, to continue looting public
resources and impoverish the nation even further.
The Mswati regime must be
overthrown by the people. The Communist Party of Swaziland invites the workers
of Swaziland and all human rights activists to our country-wide Freedom
Discussion Forums to commence soon. These forums will deliberate on the
practical ways to overthrow the hated royal regime.
Issued by the Communist Party of Swaziland
Contact:
Kenneth Kunene
General Secretary
+27 72 594 3971
Or
Njabulo Dlamini
International Organiser
Mobile: +2687 603 9844
Email: cpswa.org@gmail.com
Facebook: Communist Party Of
Swaziland – CPS
Twitter: @CPSwaziland
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