PUDEMO DISOWNS MAHLANGU, SOLIDARITY FORCES

MBABANE – PUDEMO has refuted claims that Sifiso Mahlangu is a member of the movement.

This is despite that he has been leaving with the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) President, Mlungisi Makhanya, in his house for an indefinite period of time.
At a presser held at Caritas in Manzini yesterday, PUDeMo said Mahlangu, who is associated with the poisoning of Makhanya, is not affiliated with any of its branches across the country.
Wandile Dludlu, the Deputy President of PUDEMO, said Makhanya remains in a critical condition in a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa and his survival can only be attributed to God. The press conference was held to give an update on the current health status of the organisation’s president.

Financial

In a video clip that circulated on social media on Thursday, Mahlangu made allegations that gave clues to the nature of contention between him and Makhanya. He alleged that the contention was sparked by personal circumstances and prompted by apparent lack of financial accountability in the political organisation. This publication enquired from PUDEMO executive members, who included Penuel Malinga, the Secretary General (SG), Siboniso Mkhabela, the Organising Secretary, Sakhile ‘Aw’viva’ Nxumalo, the President of SWAYOCO, whether Mahlangu is a member of the movement established in the 1980s.

The Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) is the youth wing of PUDEMO. The organisation was also called upon to shed light on how Mahlangu got close to Makhanya to the point of allegedly poisoning him. In response, Dludlu said they did not know people who had personal relationships or private business with the president. The only thing they know is that, he is not a member of PUDEMO. Adding to this statement, the PUDEMO SG Malinga said as far as the relationship between Makhanya and Mahlangu is concerned, they have no register to keep record of who Makhanya is associating with at a friendship level.

“If we were talking about the president residing in a PUDEMO house, then we would have accounted for everyone residing in that house, but given that he is residing in a private house, we have no knowledge of who visits him and who his friends are,” he said. Malinga further said that PUDEMO knew its members living in exile, and Mahlangu is not one of them. This was after this publication had enquired how Mahlangu got into South Africa or whether he was in that country as an advocate for political reforms.

Cold

In his video clip, Mahlangu claimed that he was a solidarity forces member and sometimes they would sleep in the cold, shivering the whole night yet people had the guts to take potshots at him through social media without fully understanding what they were going through as members of the Swaziland International Solidarity Forces. When asked whether the solidarity forces were an army wing of PUDEMO, Dludlu was quick to point out that the entity has no knowledge of the solidarity forces either.

He highlighted that the entity has been in existence for multiple decades yet the existence of solidarity forces was only known a few years back. “What is of paramount importance right now is the health of the president who has been poisoned,” he said. Dludlu shared that Makhanya is still in hospital in a critical condition, but doctors are doing all that they can to ease the pain and ensure that he survives. PUDEMO National Organising Secretary Mkhabela said Makhanya is a strong individual who has endured challenging situations even outside of politics.

He said he strongly believes that he will rise above the current situation and come back even stronger. “Makhanya is a fighter, and the moment he opens his eyes and regains his strength, he will come back even stronger. We know him and we have served with him, he has been through a lot of challenging situations and he always conquers,” he said. Mkhabela said Tinkhundla should not celebrate just because he is currently lying in a hospital bed.

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