Security forces at UNESWA rekindle Black Wednesday memories

MANZINI - MSF is of the views that the deployment of members of the State security organs at UNESWA is reminiscent of Black Wednesday of 1990 and undermines academic freedom.

The Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF), released a statement through its Co-chairperson, Thulani Maseko on Thursday condemning in the strongest terms the deployment of the soldiers, police officers and warders to the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) on several occasions from Tuesday May 17, 2022.

This day is when the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) President Colani Maseko and other students were forced to roll on the ground by soldiers, who also assaulted them. This took place UNESWA, Kwaluseni Campus during a boycott and the students’ union leader Colani was later bundled into an army truck, driven to a nearby river, where he was tortured for about two hours, before being dropped at Matsapha Police Station.

In the statement, the co-chairperson said according to their analysis, the deployment was for all intents and purposes, reminiscent and a repeat of November 14, 1990 a day remembered as Black Wednesday, where students were tortured, harassed and brutalised by the joint operation of the army and the police.

Thereafter, he said in terms of Section 191 of the Constitution of 2005, the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces is His Majesty the King, (King Mswati III) and it states that; “The primary object of the defence force is to defend and protect the sovereignty and integrity and people of the Kingdom of Swaziland (Eswatini) in accordance with the Constitution and the principles of international law regulating the use of force.”

ARMY

He said as they understand, the role of the army was to defend the country and the people fundamentally against foreign invasion. He said if they were right in this understanding, the question that requires an answer was whether the university was on Tuesday May 17, 2022 in a state of war to trigger the deployment of the army.

“We should say that as far as we are concerned the university was in no state of war. If anything the students were engaged in peaceful protests presenting legitimate demands to the university administration, exercising their fundamental human rights and freedoms to present grievances,” reads part of the statement.

He emphasised that there was neither a need nor was it necessary for the army to be deployed at the campus. Therefore, he said they view this as a declaration of war on unarmed, defenceless and vulnerable citizens.

Furthermore, the activist said they also view the deployment of the army and the police at the university as a violation of academic freedom. He said the university was a sacred place of learning, not a war zone.

In that regard, he said the university administration and government should be able to resolve disputes with students without resorting to violence. He added that, administration of the university should be able to deal with issues affecting the rights and welfare of students without resorting to the use of force. “The mere presence of the army and the police is a violation of academic freedom,” the co-chairperson said.

He added that the fact that some students were currently writing their examinations under the police and warders presence creates an unstable environment for any final test and the hostility of the forces was detrimental to their state of mind.