MBABANE:King Mswati’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane says it might not be possible for the People’s United Democratic Movement(PUDEMO) to take the Monarch to the International Criminal Court(ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity.
Mswati,an absolute Monarch stands accused of unleashing his soldiers and the police to shoot and kill dozens of civilians merely for demanding democratic reforms.
Responding to a questionnaire from this Swaziland News after the PUDEMO Elective Congress passed a resolution to report the King to the ICC,Simelane said they choose to watch how PUDEMO and that court would conclude that the Monarch must be called aside for crimes he did not commit.
“We elect not to commit for now and watch how PUDEMO and that court will come to conclude the King could be called aside to answer firstly for crimes he did not ideally, logically and legally not commit as explained many a time before by our office.Secondly we still believe it would be difficult for the International Criminal Court to wield the King onto the appearance in question if Eswatini is not within its jurisdiction and remains a none-member.Lastly we shall wait until evidence and exhibits linking the King to the crimes in question are shared,”said the King’s Spokesperson.
PUDEMO further resolved to approach the United Nations(UN),the Southern African Development Community(SADC) and the African Union(AU) among other organizations and urge these bodies to suspend eSwatini.
“PUDEMO will,as a leading political formation at the helm of the Swazi Struggle, approach the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a criminal charge of Crimes against Humanity against King Mswati III.PUDEMO will lead a delegation to meet the African Union (AU),the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and all International Bodies including the United Nations (UN) for those institutions to suspend the membership of eSwatini from those bodies as it has violated all the founding UN and AU human rights statutes to which it is a signatory,”read the resolutions in part.
King Mswati.