LAWYERS AGREE TO HELP PROTESTERS

MBABANE – Lawyers have pledged assistance to those who were arrested during the protest marches that took place over the past weekend.

Secretary General of the proscribed People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) Wandile Dludlu confirmed that there were lawyers who had agreed to assist those who were arrested during protest actions. Dludlu said the lawyers include Mzwandile Masuku, Thulani Maseko and another one he identified as Kunene. Dludlu was responding to questions on why his cellphone number was posted on social media. He said the number was posted so that people could contact him in case they were arrested and he would contact the lawyers and inform them about the people who had been arrested.

He said the lawyers had volunteered to help where they could. He said these were emaSwati lawyers who could see the situation outside. He said PUDEMO was in solidarity with emaSwati, hence if one was caught in a certain situation, they tried to assist where possible. He said they did not want a situation where someone was arrested and did not have a lawyer because that would allegedly cause the Tinkhundla System taking advantage of those who did not have lawyers. When contacted, one of the lawyers, Human Rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, confirmed that they had agreed to assist those who were arrested. However, Maseko neither confirmed nor denied that they would provide their service for free. When asked about the trending campaign termed #Kungahlwakwenile, Dludlu said as PUDEMO, they were not behind it or part of it. He said he only read about it on social media.

interpretation

Nonetheless, Dludlu said their interpretation was that the Tinkhundla system was unsustainable. “This was an expression of deep anger and frustration of emaSwati,” he said.  He said COVID-19 made the situation dire and the fact that government failed to provide help to the people, they had lost hope hence the anger expressions. He said government failed to listen to the people instead it instigated war against the protesters. He said there were assumptions that emaSwati were scared of war while that was not the case. He said some of the actions to be taken by the people were unknown and unpredictable because they did not need to ask for permission from anyone to express their anger. He said government should not rule by imposing fear to the people because that was an unsustainable route.  

When contacted about the campaign, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintended Phindile Vilakati said it was not their responsibility to respond to anything written on social media. She said as police, they knew their duty and would continue executing it throughout. Vilakati said for the police to respond to whatever the protesters posted on social media would cause them to go on with the protest actions. She said as the police, they would not always respond to what protesters were saying but they were only going to do their work.    

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