28 April 2022:- The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) condemns the arbitrary evictions of residents by the Mswati autocracy in Methula community, south of Swaziland.
On Wednesday morning (27 April 2022), Mswati’s government evicted residents and destroyed their homesteads, leaving them homeless.
The CPS commends the fighting spirit displayed by the youth of Methula community in resistance to these arbitrary evictions and criminal destruction of their homes.
In furtherance of its policy of suppression, the autocracy unleashed the police and the army on the residents who were defending their basic rights, including the right to shelter.
The police and army heavily assaulted residents as soon as they descended into the area.
Speaking to CPS Press, one resident, Siphesihle confirmed that police and soldiers came and fired rubber bullets and live ammunition while unarmed residents ran for their lives towards the nearest mountain.
“One of the youths got caught by the police who went on to assault him. He suffered a wound in the ankle and escaped from police, and suffered more injuries as police pursued him”, said Siphesihle.
Siphesihle also says that they spent much of their afternoon in the mountains, hiding until late when they then decided to navigate to safer locations.
The land question remains a serious matter in Swaziland. Mswati and his government continue to impose the policy of eviction without compensation, thus negatively affecting people’s rights to security of tenure.
Mswati rules Swaziland as an absolute monarch and has the judiciary in his iron grip. Evicted residents thus have no prospects of success in Mswati’s courts whenever they are evicted on his order.
The CPS’s “Land for Food” campaign calls for the return of the land to the people to secure their livelihoods, including their right to shelter.
In deepening conscious community activism, Communist activists continue to work the ground to build community councils to empower communities to defend themselves from the regime.
The CPS calls upon the people of Swaziland to unite in the fight for democracy. In this regard, the CPS also calls upon all democracy forces to work together to rally the people towards a decisive struggle for the total overthrow of the autocracy to make 2022 a year of change.
CPS PRESS SERVICES