Protest turns chaotic
the about 20 public transport workers, who were in attendance, expressed their dissatisfaction. They asked each other where the accused persons would get that money from since they were working in the public transport industry and their salaries were less than E6 000. Their noise forced the court to stop operations until all of them had left the courtroom.
Thereafter, they went to Manzini Bus Rank, near Mozambique Hotel, where their colleagues were singing and dancing to political songs, while waiting for feedback about the matter. After informing them that the court had fixed the accused persons bail at E6 000 each, the protesting public transport workers agreed that they should march to the magistrates court to voice out their discontent.
However, as they embarked on the protest march, some of them remained behind and they were pelted with stones, while being ordered to join the march, which they duly did. When they reached the Four-Way Stop, which has a road that leads to the magistrates court, they toyitoyed and started burning some of the plastic barriers used by Stefanutti Stocks Construction and Engineering Company to block some of the roads, which it is refurbishing.
Transport
They said the vehicle which would transport their incarcerated colleagues to the police station or remand centre, would not be allowed to pass there. As they toyitoyed, they pelted onlookers with stones, asking them what they were looking at and warned them against taking pictures or videos of their protest.
Meanwhile, police officers under the para-military wing of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) – Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU) – arrived at around 11am near the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF).
This is where some of the public transport workers had gathered, at the FourWay Stop of Mahleka and Martins Streets, wherein the latter leads to the Manzini Magistrates Court where the case of their colleagues had just been completed.
The over 300 public transport workers were singing and blocking traffic from the Manzini Magistrates Court. They also started burning some of the plastic barriers used to block Mahleka Street.
The stretch of the street from the FourWay Stop up to where it links with Ma-salesikhundleni Street is under construction and is barricaded from public usage with stones and cast-in-place concrete blocks. The public transport workers used the concrete blocks to also barricade the road.
Challenged
When the OSSU officers arrived, the public transport workers challenged them to come over where they were; but the officers, who were travelling in a Toyota Landcruiser and Toyota Hilux GD 6 double cab, delayed for about 20 minutes until they were joined by a Casspir.
Thereon, the OSSU officers alighted from the vehicles and ran towards the public transport workers while also the vehicles sped towards them. When this was happening, the public transport workers ran towards the bus rank.
The OSSU officers and police officers from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) extinguished the fire and thereafter pursued the public transport workers who were standing at the corner of Mahleka Street and Meintjies Streets. Subsequently, they cleared the rubble and stones along Louw Street before returning to the bus rank.
At this point, the bus rank was void of life as there were no commuters or public service vehicles. A few people were walking by while most shops in close proximity to the bus rank were closed for the better part of the day.