Times of Swaziland
*Jele’s funeral stopped* *Mbongiseni Ndzimandze, Times of Swaziland, 17 May 2010*NCABANENI- Another dramatic page was added yesterday on the Sipho Jele saga after his funeral was stopped at the 11th hour.
This comes a day after an incident filled memorial service of the man who died on May 4 at Sidwashini Correctional Services after being arrested on May Day.
This time Jele’s family called off the funeral proceedings at about 4am after more than 300 police officers arrived at the tent where the vigil was held and confronted some of the 500 mourners who had come to pay their last respect to the deceased.
They then proceeded to the stage where they grabbed material bearing the names of the proscribed entities People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) and Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) off the stage. They also destroyed pictures of the deceased much to the shock of the mourners. The pictures had the inscriptions ‘Rest in Peace Comrade Sipho Jele.’
The decision to postpone the funeral was taken while preparations to go to the grave yard were being made and Crucifix Burial Society which was catering for the funeral had already mounted a tent at the graveyard waiting for the arrival of the mourners. The contingent of police officers who arrived at around 9pm first kept a distance from where the vigil was held and their cars were parked at a sports ground situated a stone’s throw away from the homestead where the funeral was being conducted.
It was around 4am when the police officers led by head of Manzini Lukhozi identified as Sonnyboy Mthembu entered the tent where the vigil was held and went straight to the coffin and grabbed a cloth with the colours of the banned entity which was placed on top of it.
Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General Muzi Mhlanga was making a speech when the police officers together with those from the Correctional Services took the stage.
The police officers then proceeded to destroy all the pictures of the deceased that were hanged all over the tent.
Several pleas by the leaders of the banned entities fell on deaf ears as the police interrupted the speeches and ordered that every materials bearing slogans of the banned entities be removed.
About 30 police officers surrounded the coffin while family members were busy discussing whether to continue with the funeral or not.
Despite an assurance from the political activists that the funeral would proceed peacefully the police refused to leave the tent.
The family members then decided to have a short meeting where it was resolved that the funeral be postponed because of the fear of the unknown.
It was after some few minutes that Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) President Barnes Dlamini told the mourners that the family decided to postpone the funeral due to the fear of the unknown.
“The day of the funeral will be announced in due course. Workers and members of PUDEMO, SWAYOCO are urged to continue supporting the family of the deceased until he is laid to rest,” he said.
He said as per the dictates of their culture a person who is dead should be given respect, but they felt that the act of the police showed that they disrespected the deceased which is why they called off the funeral.
*We were not there to harass anyone - Police *MBABANE- Police say they were at Sipho Jele’s funeral to maintain law and order.
Reacting to concerns over the police presence at the funeral, Police Public Relations Officer Senior Superintendent Vusi Masuku said their intention was not to harass or intimidate the mourners, but to ensure that the legal principle was not violated.
He said police were at the funeral like in all gatherings to maintain law and order and to ensure that safety of law abiding citizens was guaranteed.
“When an offence is committed in the police’s presence they cannot sit back on their laurels. They have to take the appropriate action,” he said.
*Offence*The police mouthpiece said it was an offence for any person to possess or display a placard or any material or pictorial belonging to an illegal entity in terms of the Suppression of Terrorism Act No 3 of 2008.
“Police seized and forfeited the flags and placards that were publicly displayed in the tent on reasonable grounds that the items are being used to commit an offence,” he said.
Masuku also highlighted that during the funeral which was held at Ncabaneni no one was arrested.
The Jele family yesterday postponed the funeral after the arrival of the police in their homestead during the vigil.
The exact date of the funeral will be announced in due course and the vigil was attended by mostly workers, members of the banned entities and various representatives from labour organisations.
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