By Musa Mdluli

MBABANE:Leigh-Ann Mathys, the National Spokesperson of the Economic Freedom Fighters(EFF) has urged the South African Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs to launch an investigation or take action after the poisoning of Mlungisi Makhanya, the President of the People’s United Democratic Movement(PUDEMO).

Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo declined to comment about the matter.

In a public statement released on Wednesday, the political organization blamed King Mswati’s regime for attempting to kill the influential eSwatini main opposition leader,who is hunted and survived previous assassination attempts for demanding democracy.

Some of Eswatini political activists and human rights defenders are either in jail, exile or dead and this includes renowned human rights lawyer Thulani Rudolf Maseko.

“The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes, with disappointment, the reported sudden medical incapacity of People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) President Comrade Mlungisi Makhanya in the early hours of yesterday morning. This was due to him being poisoned and left for dead in his home, one month before the next pro-democracy protests in Eswatini, which he was set to lead.President Makhanya is currently resident in South Africa executing the revolutionary program for the democratisation of Eswatini, the only last remaining absolute monarch in Africa. As expected, the regime of the perverse King Mswati has adopted the tactics of apartheid-era white South Africa and apartheid Israel, actively undermining sovereign nations in a bid to suppress dissenting voices.The dictatorial Mswati, reminiscent of the Botha-Malan cohorts, has also chosen to use biological war against his unarmed opponents. It was typical of the white regime of apartheid to cross borders to eliminate liberation fighters in Europe and Africa through letter bombs, poison, kidnapping, and assassination”, said the EFF Spokesperson in a press statement.

The EFF then urged the South African Government to take immediate action as the alleged poisoning occurred in the South African territory.

“The South African government and the Department of International Relations must take immediate and decisive action to address the grave situation involving the poisoning of President Makhanya. It is imperative that they urgently engage with the ambassador of Eswatini to convey the outrage of the South African people over this blatant violation of our sovereignty by Eswatini’s secret intelligence services.The EFF further calls on the government to provide President Makhanya high quality medical care at the expense of the state, because it is the ordinary people of Eswatini who, during apartheid, bore the brunt of hiding away our freedom fighters when it was not fashionable to do so.

Furthermore, we urge all other progressive forces in Eswatini to unite and not retreat in the struggle to remove the undemocratic Mswati regime. The EFF wishes President Makhanya a speedy recovery and will closely monitor his progress”, reads the statement in part.