Skip to main content

Thabani Nkomonye death,a sad reminder of impunity of absolute rule

The state and police in Eswatini and sometimes the military have managed to mantain silence in the country even as  the discontent against absolute rule grows by each passing day .

The gruesome death of Thabani Nkomonye in the passed week and the outrage that has ensured has been a clear indication that the discontent may finally be spilling over. In the coming week from the 17th May  a series of marches and protests ,from UNESWA Students to the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF,) are planned around the Manzini region targeting the police stations in Manzini City and Matsapha.

The #JusticeforThabani hashtag is amongst the top trending topics on social network on Friday and Saturday 15th May.

The death or the killing of Thabani leaves a lot of questions however there is very little uncertainty that the police either through gross negligence or or directly had a hand in the death of Thabani. The online publication the Swaziland News has already reported that the police murdered Thabani. What leaves a lot of unanswered questions is how his body was left in the veld when his vehicle was towed away and kept at Matsapha police station.  The Eswatini News(Times on Saturday)  on Saturday 15th May reported that his body had a broken skull and his vehicle has bullet holes. 

All suspicious findings that only needs trained eyes to reveal the whole truth. Things such as whether the bullet hole or bullets if they are found are from a police firearm can quickly assist the family find the answers. 

On a positive note, the pressure on social media has already prompted the government to act. The Acting Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice have separately released statements to try and allay fears and to inform the country that they are working on a independent enquiry into the death of Thabani.   

Even with the foregoing  positives it is worth noting that the police in Eswatini are record holders for the almost non existent system of  accounting required from them  every time they are caught up in incidences where someone dies in their hands.  The cases are too many to mention but recent cases like that of Antonio Zavale, A mentally challenged man near Ka Hlatsi in Shiselweni and ofcourse the tragic killing of Sipho Jele in 2010 are all a constant reminder how brutal the police can be in Eswatini with no requirement for public accounting. 

In many cases even when enquiries were set up their findings just covered up the real truth and provided shield for the government to present itself to have done doing something. 

As the Thabani matter unfolds there is a need to be vigilant that the state does not engage in its usual coverups divergence of attention strategies.

Kuthula nelutsandvo akwandze!!

   

Fundizwi Sikhondze

The SLI Coordinator.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NAPSAWU HAS SUSPENDED THREE NATIONAL OFFICE BEARERS

Written by Staff Reporter The National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) National General Council (NGC) ,on Thursday 15 th February 2024, suspended three of its National Office Bearers (NOBs), two of whom are believed to be principal officers. Principal Officers number up to three in trade unions and are the President, General Secretary and the Treasurer. The suspension of two of them may therefore demonstrate the seriousness of the matter just barely six months since the current NOBS took office in August 2023. The suspension of the trio is reported to have come after it had been discovered that they were one way or another involved in alleged misappropriation of undisclosed NAPSAWU funds believed to  amounting to more than one hundred thousand and seventy thousands (more than E170 000) emalangeni. The funds according to reliable sources are believed to have been approved funds for union activities but were later discovered to have been diverted into pers...
Post a Comment
Read more

The history of Swaziland Labour Law

1.    THE HISTRORY OF SWAZI LABOUR LAW – BY NATHI GUMEDE It is difficult to proceed with issues of individual and collective Swazi Labour law without outlining the key events in the history of the Swazi Labour Movement. Though by no means comprehensive and very accurate, here are some events that have shaped Swazi Labour Law. 1937 – Wages Determining Proclamation 1947 – Trade Union Dispute Proclamation No 31 of 1942 1960 – F.C. Catchpole Commission on Labour Relations Socialization reports absence of trade unions 1962 – Pulp and Timber Worker’s Union established with Pan-Africanist influence as the first trade union; the union called the first strike the same year 1963 - Second Strike of the Pulp and Timber Worker’s Union spread into a National Strike (66,000 man hours). The National strike led to the formation of the Swaziland Democratic party and the Swaziland Progressive Party. The strike was thwarted by the First Battalion of Gordon Highlands from Ken...
Post a Comment
Read more

OPINION: PRIME MINISTER RUSSELL DLAMINI VS AUDITOR GENERAL TIMOTHY MATSEBULA

  Eswatini Prime Minister Russell Dlamini (L) and Auditor General Timothy Matsebula (R) during their meeting in the cabinet offices in March 2024. (Picture courtesy of Eswatini government social media platform) Written by Fundizwi Sikhondze Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini on Thursday 6th June 2024 may have single-handedly plunged his government into its first major political crisis.  While fielding questions from the country's editors the Prime Minister was asked a question by  The Nation Magazine's Bheki Makhubu about  the audit reports from the Auditor General (AG) regarding his tenure as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA). The audits had allegedly flagged unaccounted for expenditure of E180M worth of funds and lately there a report which questioned expenditure of E30M from the NDMA.     Prime Minister's reply left his audience of journalist and cabinet ministers gasping as perhaps none were ready for i...
Post a Comment
Read more