The Mswati regime’s iron fist never stops as the administration of the University of Swaziland arbitrarily suspended seven students from the Luyengo Agricultural campus last week. The administration did not even offer the students an opportunity to make representations before a properly constituted disciplinary committee. The students had engaged in protest on the days leading to the suspensions, demanding scholarship for all students, among other demands.
We view this as nothing but an act of repression conducted by the tinkhundla regime. The university is wholly owned and controlled by the government, which in turn belongs to Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. As such, the university is mandated to carry out any such duties as commanded by Mswati. Specifically, the new Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Justice Mandla Thwala, obviously needed to prove to his bosses that he will implement their oppressive rules just like his predecessors.
This year the Mswati regime has been desperate to force the tinkhundla elections upon the people; shooting workers with live bullets, arresting workers for protesting, issuing threats of violence and arrest against teachers, violently crushing workers’ protest actions, and also banning events in a bid to force the people to participate in the undemocratic tinkhundla elections. Tinkhundla elections create a puppet parliament for the rubberstamping of Mswati’s decisions. The university administration, therefore, also had the duty imposed upon it by Mswati to ensure that students are kept on a tight leash and never protest for the whole year. This is the true context under which the students have been summarily suspended, and thus dealing a heavy blow to their right to education.
The Communist Party of Swaziland condemns these attacks on students by the Mswati regime. We firmly stand with the students as all their acts were reasonable and justifiable.
In February this year the University of Swaziland’s administration summarily suspended 25 students, including members of the Student Representative Council, for demanding scholarship for all and calling for the university administration to respect students’ right to freedom of assembly, among other demands.
The regime is trying all sorts of tricks to present itself as a legitimate government. The reality which Mswati must face, however, is that the people of Swaziland have widely rejected his sham elections. People who had registered for the elections later burnt their election cards in protest against the tinkhundla system, despite threats of arrest from Mswati’s electoral commission, whilst many of those who went to the polls deliberately spoiled the ballots in protest. Thousands more people simply did not show, rejecting the elections.
The Communist Party of Swaziland calls upon students and the youth to continue to take an active part in the democracy actions undergoing in Swaziland. Later this October the Party will hold its 2018-2019 Red October Campaign Rally. Workers, peasants, students, youth, women, faith based organisations and all the oppressed people of Swaziland in their individual and collective capacity are called upon to be part of this activity.
The regime is clearly taking its last breath! This is the time to put more effort in overthrowing the regime and laying the ground for a democratic republic!
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 or info@cpswa.org
Facebook: Communist Party Of Swaziland – CPS
Twitter: @CPSwaziland
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