(From Swazi Media Commentary 16 November 2009 www.swazimedia.blogspot.com)
I’ve written recently about the new Swaziland police commissioner Isaac
Magagula
and his desire to ensure that his ‘clients’ (that’s ordinary people to
you and me) get a good and courteous service from his officers. .
Sorry, but I don’t believe it. The Swazi police are really just agents of
King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
He and his police FORCE – and no amount of soap soaping about ‘clients’ and
‘service’ will alter the fact they are a state force – have not changed one
bit.
The Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations (SCCCO) knows
this too. In a media release SCCCO says it welcomes Magagula’s wish to
tackle crime. But what about the rule of law and human rights? Not a
word, not a breath.
Here’s the SCCCO statement in full.
Press Statement Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations.
For Immediate Release – 13 November 2009
Swaziland Calls on Police Commissioner to Respect Human Rights.
The
Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations welcomes the
appointment of Isaac Magagula as the new Commissioner of Police. We
wish him good health and good judgement in his difficult and onerous
task of leading the Royal Swazi Police Force in the 21st Century. We
note with concern the rising tide of crime in the country and hope that
he and his officers spare no effort in preventing crime and, detecting
and prosecuting criminals. We support the police in all of their efforts to
keep our families, communities and the country safe and free from harm.
However, we note with the greatest of concern what Commissioner Magagula has
not said since his appointment. Not once has he mentioned the police’s role of
upholding the law and the rule of law. He has also neglected to mention the
RSP’s attitude to the constitution and the Bill of Rights. He
has never once made a commitment to respecting the human rights laid
out in the constitution and the international treaties that his
political masters have signed and ratified.
This lack of concern for our
rights has been made clearly obvious in this week that has seen the
unlawful interference by the police with worker’s rights to demonstrate at the
Manzini Bus Rank and of course of Mario Masuku’s right to address a student
body on Wednesday.
The
Coalition’s civic education facilitators and other members also
continue to be on the receiving end of police harassment when they are
exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights.
We call on the Commissioner to make a clear statement about the RSP’s
stance on respect for human, civil and political rights. We
further call for a meeting with him so that these ongoing problems with
his officers’ in the field can be resolved in a professional and
courteous manner.
Finally we extend the offer that
we made to his predecessor Senator [Edgar] Hillary that we would like
to work with international colleagues to help to arrange training for
his officers in policing under a bill of rights.
Link
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2009/11/swazi-police-chief-silent-on-rights.html
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