SWADNU VICE PRESIDENT SITHEMBISO SIMELANE EXPLAINS THE CIRCUMNSTANCES OF HIS DETENTION AND ASSAULT AT THE HANDS OF THE ESWATINI STATE
On Friday 15th July 2021 a protest action was called in Manzini, eSwatini strategically coinciding with a national meeting called by the King at his residence at Lobamba. Early indications from transport returning to Lobamba from fetching the public coming back empty painted a scary picture for the King who wanted to use the meeting to demonstrate his popularity after unprecedented protests had brought the country to a standstill in previous weeks. Above all else this caused the state to move swiftly to violently suppressed the protest action.
One of the participants of the protest action and later a victim of state brutality on the day was the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) Vice President Sthembiso Kwazi Simelane. We at the Swazi Labour Insight caught up with him to talk about his experiences on that day.
1. Swazi Labour Insight (SLI): Comrade VP can you explain to us the circumstances that led to your detention or arrest on Friday 15th July in Manzini?
2. Sthembiso Kwazi Simelane (SKS): I attended the peaceful pro democracy march in Manzini and while we listened to PUDEMO President Mlungisi Makhanya addressing the gathering, police unleashed teargas and violently broke up the gathering and we all ran in different directions . As the march participants scattered, I ran to the Manzini Bus Rank where I boarded a kombi. While sitting inside the Kombi waiting for it to fill up with passengers, a group of police came and forced me out of the kombi claiming that I was the ring leader of the now dispersed march and also that it was clear from the way I was dressed that I was a trouble maker (I was wearing a red TUCOSWA hat together with a red SWADNU t-shirt) .I was then forcibly taken to the police post at the bus rank where I was repeatedly assaulted by the police.
2.SLI. Do you believe you were targeted because of your position at TUCOSWA and SWADNU or you were arrested randomly?
SKS. I am certain that I was not randomly arrested but targeted. I was made aware that I was being closely monitored when I walked into town from the Nazarene before the protest action started. There were police officers in plain clothes following me precisely because I am both a leaders of a national trade union ,a leader to TUCOSWA youth and an activist on my own right. Moreover I was wearing the regalia of both TUCOSWA AND SWADNU on the day. I had also been notified by several comrades that I was being monitored as I was walking from Nazarene.
Further, even after deploying the teargas to disperse the crowd, they could have followed anyone but they chose to run after me into the kombi I had already sat in to leave the city.
3.SLI. The pictures (Above) we have seen show your face to have been bruised, what led to you getting bruised?
SKS. Maybe to clarify I was not bruised in my face but I was heavily assaulted with police batons and I tore a deep cut (Laceration) just above my left eye that needed stitching. I bled profusely from this wound. I was also heavily assaulted all over the body but particularly in the thighs, knees, elbows and other parts of the body from which I am still recuperating. My elbow is still not fully recovered and its as a result still painful and therefor not full functional. I have deep stained bruises on my body and thighs
I also noticed that their methods are well calculated to make damage but to leave limited evidence, possibly to avoid legal challenges. As I was assaulted one officer kept shouting that I should not be assaulted on the head, the instruction was too late as I was already injured by then.
4. SLI. Do you plan t take the government to task regarding the harassment, treatment and injuries?
SKS: Yes I am in the process of laying charges against the police and the government. While I notices that all the police who assaulted me were neither wearing their force numbers nor could their faces be identified as they were wearing riot gear which covered their faces. However we are working as SWADNU to positively identify some of those involved so that the charges can be brought against them in the court of law.
5. SLI: On another note SWADNU recently issued a press release advising health workers not to go to work during the curfew days
SKS: The Curfew has affected the nurses the armed forces were assaulting indiscriminately and regardless of whether health workers had a document that was testament that they were returning from work at that time.
Another complication is that is that these days the army has been deployed to all hospitals where they have declared their readiness to shoot dead anyone they consider a threat.
SLI. Thank you comrade DP.
SKS. My pleasure
End note: On Tuesday 27th July 2021 Comrade Sithembiso was served with summons to appear before the magistrate in Manzini on charges of contravening section 15 (3) (b) of the pubic order act of 2017. We shall keep our fingers on the pulse.
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