We were honoured to hear from Maxwell Dlamini, the outgoing President of the Swaziland NUS at national conference this year.
You can watch the video here.
Sadly we have to report that Maxwell, now Secretary General of the Swaziland Youth Congress was detained last week and has been charged with sedition (actions that are deemed to tend toward insurrection against the government).
Maxwell’s arrest follows a number of events over recent years in which student unionists in Swaziland have been unable to carry out their legitimate activities without fear of arrest or harassment by the Swazi government.
We are calling on students in the UK to urge the Swaziland government to listen to and act on their legitimate calls for democracy and rights for the people of Swaziland.
NUS, Action for Southern Africa and The Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign, a coalition of Swazis and international groups, are demanding that Maxwell Dlamini is released unconditionally with immediate effect.
We are also calling that any and all wrongdoings committed by Swaziland’s police forces and security forces towards Maxwell Dlamini and other members of Swaziland’s democratic movement are investigated, and that any perpetrators are brought before a court of law.
We have written to Mark Simmonds MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to ask that the UK puts pressure on the Swaziland authorities to free Maxwell.
NUS is asking students to do three things:
- Sign the change.org petition petition here
- Write to the Swazi Ambassador and your local MP below
- Send an email, a video or any message of solidarity to Maxwell via NUS to campaigns@nus.org.uk