By Musa Mdluli

MBABANE:Alungile Kamtshe, the President of the South African Students Congress(SASCO) has called upon the South African Government under President Cyril Ramaphosa, to intervene amid human rights violations and/or abduction and killing of political activists in eSwatini by the King Mswati’s Tinkhundla regime.

This comes after the State police led by Superintendent Thabo Hlophe allegedly abducted Mthobisi Ntjangase, the Secretary General of the Swaziland Youth Congress(SWAYOCO), a Youth League of eSwatini’s main and largest political party, the People’s United Democratic Movement(PUDEMO).

It has been reported that, while torturing the political activist, Superintendent Thabo Hlophe demanded that, the SWAYOCO Secretary General must reveal where the “guns to be used by the activists against the State”, were hidden.

The police claimed to have received intelligence information suggesting that, the PUDEMO Youth leaders smuggled guns into eSwatini after their recent Elective Congress, Police Spokesperson Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati declined to comment.

On another note, Ntjangase was abducted on Monday evening together with other PUDEMO Youth League members Zanedi Tfwala and Tanele Tfwala, they were subsequently released on Tuesday morning after being tortured and heavily assaulted.

“SASCO calls on the South African government to immediately intervene in the current situation, in order to mediate for the release of all political prisoners in Mswati’s prisons. Publicly support PUDEMO’s agenda, in order to empower the People of Swaziland towards democracy”, reads a press statement in part, released by SASCO.

But the abduction of the young political activists comes after the PUDEMO Youth League successfully held its Elective Congress in the neighboring South Africa last weekend, citizens with different political views, calling for democracy are arrested and, not allowed to hold meeting in eSwatini.

Eswatini is ruled by King Mswati as an absolute Monarch, political parties are banned while human rights defenders are arrested, tortured or even killed for demanding democracy.