King Mswati III, Africa’s only absolute monarch. He rules a country which has endured a state of emergency since 1973, where political parties are banned and trade unions and other civil society organisations are massively restricted. 80 per cent of the population live in absolute poverty whilst the King and his friends live in luxury.
Many who dare to speak out against the regime and for democracy are arrested and some are tortured. On 12 and 13 April hundreds of trade unionists, students and activists were arrested as they attempted to protest for democracy and rights and against savage cuts the government is making to services.
Maxwell Dlamini, the President of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) has been arrested. We join together with others to condemns the very unnecessary arrest of innocent citizens.
He was arrested and detained in Swaziland ahead of protests for democracy and rights and against cuts on 12-13 April 2011. He has allegedly been tortured, has been denied bail and no date has been set for his trial.
NUS and Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) are supporting SNUS in their campaign to free Maxwell Dlamini. We believe that students should have the right to campaign for their rights without fear of arrest and harassment.
The Swazi government are keen to hide Maxwell’s detention from the rest of the world. Your solidarity will give strength to members of SNUS that they are not alone in their struggle.
Maxwell has been nominated for the 2013 Student Peace Prize for his campaign work in Swaziland. Read the Guardian article about his nomination here
Campaign Kit
ACTSA and NUS have released a campaign kit to help free Maxwell which includes a model motion which you can adapt and submit to your union council or general meeting, a model letter so you can write to the Swazi government and media to let them know about your action. We’ve also included information about Maxwell’s case and about the situation in Swaziland. You can download the campaign kit by clicking here.
We’ll be launching the action kit at Student Activism 2011 during ACTSA’s session - ‘Swaziland solidarity: supporting students in the struggle’ from 2-2.45. Come along and learn more about how you can support the campaign to free Maxwell.
If you would like any more information visit ACTSA's website or e-mail Dannie Grufferty, NUS Vice President Society and Citizenship dannie.grufferty@nus.org.uk or Kanja Sesay, NUS Black Students' Officer kanja.sesay@nus.org.uk
You can also take action now by sending an email to the Swaziland High Commissioner demanding the immediate release of Maxwell.
