I HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE - RAPE ACCUSED PRINCE

MANZINI – “I have nothing to hide.” These were the words of the prince who has been accused of allegedly raping a university student.
The name of the prince is known to this publication but will be deliberately withheld as he has not been formally charged.

In an interview, the prince said the law should take its course as he had nothing to hide.
He said he was not in hiding but available to answer to anything when the time came. He ruled out any assumptions made regarding the matter and him being royalty. Some of the assumptions made through social media were that the case might be treated ‘special’ because the prince was from the royal family.

Availed

The prince said he believed police would deal with the matter accordingly and he would avail himself if he was needed.
He said he would have wanted to narrate his side of the story but he could not because the matter was still under police investigation. He emphasised that he was available to assist in the matter where he could and was not in hiding.

The prince said this at a time when certain activists are screaming ‘enough is enough!’
This was the buzz phrase as a group of concerned members of the public, including gender activists and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), went to demand answers from the police on why the prince and his friend, who are allegedly implicated in the UNESWA student rape case, were still not arrested.

The main concern of the individuals and NGOs was that the incident allegedly took place in the early hours of September 8, 2018 in one of the guest houses in the outskirts of Manzini and a rape case was reported on the same day but no arrest had been made yet.

About 20 people went to Manzini Police Station, where the case was opened against the prince and his friend and demanded to see the Station Commander, Raphael Maseko.

The NGOs included the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) and Women and the Law and they met after signing and sharing on their social media pages an online petition to the office national commissioner of police.

Maseko was available to meet them but only five were allowed into his office because of space constraints.
According to the five members, they asked the station commander how far the police had gone with the investigations into the case in question and what was delaying the arrest of the prince and his friend.

“We told him that our concern was that it’s been a while since the matter was reported but the suspects were roaming around freely and possibly doing other things,” they said.

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