SECURITY ORGANS MUST ACCOUNT FOR UNREST ROLE - CANGO ED

MANZINI – CANGO Executive Director (ED) Thembinkosi Dlamini says members of the State security organs who pulled the trigger on June 29, 2021 need to account for  their role during the unrest.

The Coordinating Assembly of Non-governmental Organisations (CANGO) ED said this during a candle light service, which was hosted by the Swaziland Massacre Victims and Survivors Association (SWAVISA), in memory of the June 2021 victims. The service was held at Caritas, Manzini, yesterday and the Dlamini said it did not matter whether or not the members of the State security organs were carrying out instructions from their superiors. He said all they need to do was account for their role in the unrest. June 29, 2021 is the day when the June/July 2021 civil unrest started.

During the unrest there were protest actions across the country and were carried out mostly by people who were calling for political reforms.The protest actions culminated to violence, vandalism and looting of private and public properties, including businesses, some of which were torched. In the process, dozens of emaSwati were shot death allegedly by members of the State security organs and some of those died, while others were left with permanent disabilities.

According to a report which was released by the Human Rights Commission, at least 291 people were shot in two days (June 28 and 29, 2021) and they include 19 children. The report said 48 of those who were shot died and these included two children. It also said that during its investigation, it gathered that gunshots fired inside the hospital premises were reported and that the police allegedly refused with information. The ED said following the civil unrest people who were affected directly and indirectly need to heal. In that regard, he said those who partook in shooting emaSwati should be paraded before a commission of enquiry team and account for the role they played during the civil unrest. “They need to tell the nation what they did and why,” Dlamini said.

According to the CANGO ED, the nation, mainly the immediate relatives of the victims of the civil unrest, survivors and the nation at large would heal. He said they would also be able to pick-up the pieces and move on with life as at the moment, some of them were still traumatised to an extent that they still attend psychological sessions. He said even those who were fighting for political reforms needed to heal and pick-up the pieces and march on in their quest to attain a democratic Eswatini, where they believe rule of law would abound, see equal opportunities for all and where justice would be guaranteed.

In terms of carrying out orders, the CANGO ED said members of the State security organs were entitled to conscientious objection and not to participate in extrajudicial killings and as such should be held personally liable for their actions in terms of the Nuremberg principles.
Again, he said the Guiding Principles and values of the police service – Section 10 (1); “A member of the police service shall at all times serve the community and protect all persons against illegal acts, consistent with the high degree of responsibility required by their occupation or profession.”

Protect

He added that subsection 2 says in the performance of their duties, members of the police service should respect and protect human dignity, maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons. Furthermore, he said subsection 3 says; “A member of the police service may not inflict, instigate or tolerate any act of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, nor may any member of the service invoke superior orders or exceptional circumstances as a justification for torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Theerefore, Dlamini said once the members of the State security organs were punished by either domestic or international laws, government could be compelled to discuss the victims and survivors could be compensated.

His argument was that according to testimonies of some of the victim’s relatives and survivors suggest that there was allegedly pure lawlessness in the execution of the alleged order(s) or the order(s) themselves were defective, hence the members of the State security organs purportedly acted outside the scope and powers provided for in law.

CANGO was initially set up in 1983 as an umbrella body coordinating NGOs in Eswatini who were implementing primary healthcare programmes. The mandate of CANGO is coordination, capacity building, advocacy and grants management. Most recently it renewed its registration in 2012. CANGO is a membership-based NGO operating in the Kingdom of Eswatini since 1983.

Also, CANGO is a membership-based institution that has over 100 members. CANGO’s mandate is structured into thematic areas where it facilitates coordination and advocacy through various consortia namely; Human rights, non-communicable diseases, Eswatini HIV and AIDS (ESHACO), gender, children, food security, media and SRHR to name but a few.

The candle light service was attended by representatives from Swaziland Concerned Church Leaders, Council of Swaziland Churches and Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP). There were also representatives from the mass democratic movement, who are organised under the Multi-stakeholder Forum (MSF) and Political Party Assembly (PPA).

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