Times Of Swaziland: SNUS HIJACKING OUR PROTESTS - STUDENTS

SNUS HIJACKING OUR PROTESTS - STUDENTS
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Samkelisiwe Mhlanga  on 12/05/2022 09:06:00


MBABANE – Tertiary students in the country have accused their representative
body, Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) of using them to push their
own agenda.
It has reached this publication that some students have concerns that SNUS was
no longer with them in their strife. Speaking to this publication, one of the
students, who preferred to comment anonymously, said petitions delivered by SNUS
were often not what they wanted as a student body. “SNUS is hijacking our
protests and delivering their own petitions,” she alleged. The circulating
claim is that, whenever the students resolved to protest, their leadership would
appear to support their course, but hijack the exercise and deliver their own
petitions. “We want to raise our concerns the same way we agreed during our
meetings, as opposed to them coming and shutting us down,” said another
student. The student claimed that SNUS members were obsessed with power and
media attention.
Petition
She said sometimes, SNUS members would join the students and deliver a petition
that was linked to the ongoing trial of the incarcerated Members of Parliaments
(MPs) in Mduduzi Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube. “They align our institutional
affairs with the ongoing political unrest,” she added. The student further
mentioned that the SNUS members must now be called to order. This is because
they claimed that some of them were aligned with the People’s United
Democratic Movement (PUDEMO). About a week ago, SNUS petitioned the University
of Eswatini (UNESWA) administration, after the rape incident of three students,
where they raised security concerns. SNUS also released a statement stating that
they would be leading the students to the Manzini Regional Police Headquarters,
which the other students claimed was not part of the agenda.
Disappeared
“When the police closed in with their arms and shields, the SNUS members
disappeared and cops dealt with the students,” said the source.  Another
impeccable source said SNUS was supposed to attend protests only to support, not
to change what the masses had resolved. He said if anyone changed the masses’
interests, then it would be wrong. “The SNUS members went to UNESWA, Mbabane,
where the students were on their way to the Ministry of Labour and Social
Security to deliver their petition. However, SNUS members hijacked this exercise
and delivered their petition as SNUS,” said the source. When reached for
comment, SNUS President Colani Maseko, was not immediately available. Meanwhile,
SNUS National Executive Council Legal Officer Vuyiswa Maseko said SNUS was run
by different students from different institutions in the country.
Solution
Maseko said SNUS had branches in almost all the institutions of higher learning
in the country, and whenever there were issues in a certain institution, the
SNUS branch in that institution engaged with the student representative council
(SRC) leadership of those institutions and found a solution. He explained that
it was only when the branches found it difficult to neutralise the identified
issues, that they invite the SNUS National Executive Council (NEC) leadership to
assist in handling the situation. He further said SNUS acted organisationally
and the leadership did not just budge in without having been thoroughly updated
on the issues and heard what the students demanded. “I think it can only be a
matter of misunderstanding that SNUS hijacks demonstrations and delivers its own
petitions during demonstrations. SNUS has always worked hand-in-hand with its
branches for informed action. SNUS has a good working relationship with all the
institutions in the country,” he said.