Communist Party of Swaziland 

Update on detained members of the Communist Party of Swaziland

Thursday 9 February 2023:- Two members of the Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS), Comrade Mvuselelo Mkhabela and Comrade Bongi Mamba, appeared yesterday, Wednesday 8 February, at Nhlangano Magistrate's Court to hear if they were being charged following their abduction on Tuesday morning by Mswati's police. 

The two comrades had been heavily tortured by Mswati's police during the abduction. They later faced trumped-up charges due to their political work in the fight for democracy. 

In court, the magistrate ruled that Comrade Bongi Mamba be released and Comrade Mvuselelo Mkhabela (20) remain in custody until 23 May 2023 and stand trial. 

The CPS is working round the clock to ensure that he is admitted to bail urgently. 

The police claim that Comrade Mvuselelo led community members in protests where community members burned tyres on the road, among other trumped-up charges. 

It is a known fact that Comrade Mvuselelo is among the most active democracy organisers in the community as they continue the fight against arbitrary evictions carried out by the state through the chiefs, as well as the fight for democracy in Swaziland. The regime attempts to instil fear upon the community with this latest political arrest. 

Comrade Bongi and Mvuselelo were abducted at around 4am at Mbondvweni, Hosea on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, about 20 youth members of Nsingzini community stormed the Hluti Police station to demand their release. 

Police denied the comrades the opportunity to see the two arrested leaders. After a while, their parents came and other members of the Communist Party of Swaziland who were later allowed to see the two activists. 

''We were together with their parents when we saw them, but they were clearly not in good condition because they were assaulted'', CPS leader, Comrade Velaphi Lucky Mamba, who had gone to see the two comrades. 

This abduction comes after Mswati openly declared a war of oppression to the poor nation. The Communist Party of Swaziland calls upon the people of Swaziland to build a revolutionary front and wage a war of liberation against the Mswati autocracy. 

The CPS further appreciates the acts of solidarity that have poured out from fraternal forces both in Swaziland and internationally. 

The phone numbers of the police involved in the comrades' abduction are as follows: 

+268 7608 6531 - Zwane (CID - Criminal Investigation Department)

+268 7615 6413 - Desk officer, Sibiya

+268 7617 7273 - Station Commander, Mndebele