Three of South Africa’s five border posts with Swaziland were completely blocked to traffic in organised protests against the kingdom’s leadership, the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) said on Wednesday.
”It’s now been confirmed that three of the border posts between South Africa and Swaziland have been blocked. The border post at Golela in KwaZulu-Natal, the main border post at Oshoek and the Matsambo post have been blocked to traffic,” SSN spokesperson Lucky Lukhele said from the Golela post.
Lukhele said the Golela post had been blocked by protesters since 5am.
”Our president Willie Madisha has confirmed that there is no traffic moving at the Matsambo border post. He is declaring the protest march a success,” said Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) spokesperson Patrick Craven.
Craven said it was unclear how many protesters had assembled at the border post, which is about an hour from Nelspruit.
Members of the SSN, Cosatu, the South African Communist Party and the Young Communist League were gathering at South Africa’s border posts with the kingdom to protest the curtailing of political freedoms there about 33 years ago.
The protests were taking place at the Mahamba and Matsambo border posts in Mpumalanga, the main border post of Oshoek near Carolina, the Golela post in KwaZulu-Natal and at Mananga.
”The protests and pickets are being held today as a commemoration of this day 33 years ago when King Sobhuza II disgraced the Swazi people by putting a state of emergency in place in the country which persists to this day.
”The state of emergency has allowed the royals to disregard the human rights and political freedoms of the people,” said Lukhele.
The country is ruled by King Mswati III under a purportedly constitutional monarchy with the king as the head of state, but the prime minister heads the government.
The country’s Cabinet is appointed by the king at the recommendation of the prime minister. All political parties are banned.
Lukhele said the group was demanding the establishment of a democratically elected national constitutional forum and the unbanning of all political parties.
It also wanted the unconditional release of all political prisoners, the return of exiles, and the removal of laws prohibiting free political action.
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs spokesperson Nkosana Sibuyi said the department would have to check whether the march permit issued by the police allowed the marchers to block the border posts.
”Should it be found that they are contravening the stipulations of the march agreement with the [SA Police Service] then the police would have to act on that as part of their responsibility as the dispensing authority of the march certificate.”
He said the department had yet to establish whether there were any disruptions in service at the border posts. – Sapa