Manzini – Eswatini police on Friday fired teargas and rubber bullets to break up a pro-democracy protest to mark the first anniversary of the gruesome killing of a student activist.
Thabani Nkomonye’s mutilated body was found one year ago, a death fellow students blame on police. Outrage among students sparked deadly protests against King Mswati III, the last absolute monarch in Africa.
About 2,000 protesters marched through the commercial hub Manzini, but police fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse them.
“We have no choice. Now it is clear that Mswati will not give us freedom on a silver platter,” said one protester who declined to be named.
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The protest was organised by the national students’ union. The activists eventually dispersed.
At least four were hit by rubber bullets, while one teargas cannister landed in a primary school as children were still in class, the union said.
No one has been charged over Nkomonye’s death, and a special inquiry last week cleared police of wrongdoing.
His body was left in a field, with both eyes gouged out, and three major punctures in his body. Police say he died in a car crash.
“Thabani must get justice even in his death. As youth we have responsibility to continue this struggle in his honour to liberate (the) youth of this country,” student union leader Colani Maseko said.
In Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, political parties are banned, and elections take place in a convoluted system that ensures Mswati faces no meaningful dissent.
The king lavishes his 15 wives with millions of dollars a year, while nearly 60 percent of his 1.2 million subjects live on less than $1.90 a day.
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Picture: Getty Images
Source: AFP
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