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Africa News afrol News
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Africa News afrol News
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afrol.com / AENS, 8 December - King Mswati II's brother and Swaziland's most hated man, Prince Maguga, was the target of the kingdom's second bombing within a week on Monday. A group of unidentified attackers petrol bombed his Siphofaneni home in eastern Swaziland, seriously injuring its caretaker, Nhlanhla Sacolo. The attack came just days after 50 desperate rural women tried to flash their naked buttocks at the highhanded Prince. The insult is considered a curse and is one of the most severe forms of disrespect in traditional Swazi culture. Police prevented the middle-aged women from actually mooning Maguga, so they instead bared themselves in front of his house. The women are part of a group of 200 villagers who were evicted from their homes in KaMkhweli and Macetjeni during a midnight raid by armed soldiers two months ago and dumped 100km away in an empty field with only the possessions they would carry. The raid, carried out on royal orders, follows the refusal of villagers to acknowledge Maguga as their paramount chief. King Mswati is in ritual seclusion in preparation for the sacred Incwala rites of kingship later this month, but palace authorities have refused to comment on the incident. Police have, however, threatened to charge the women with public indecency and have begun taking statements from some of the older women. The grassroots protest follows warnings that local nurses would refuse Maguga medical treatment, or even 'evict' him, from Swaziland hospitals if he ever sought treatment. Police spokesman Inspector Ross Maseko also confirmed on Thursday that investigators were still attempting to trace the gang of unidentified men who torched Maguga's Siphofaneni home on Monday morning. Investigators initially detained three local youths, believed to be members of Swaziland's banned political parties or underground pro-democracy movement, for questioning. The youths were, however, released without being charged on Wednesday while police investigate the possibility that the attack might be linked to an earlier fire bombing on the kingdom's National Court building in the capital Mbabane last week. Police spokeswoman Superintendent Leckinah Magagula said on Wednesday police still had no suspects, but confirmed that police were conducting spot roadblocks, helping upgrade tighter security at government offices and were instituting anti-crime sweeps in "sensitive" areas. The clampdown follows public embarrassment after police failed apprehend the gang when it attacked the court directly across the road from the Mbabane Police Station. The attack caused on minor damage, with a unspecified number of court files and other documents were destroyed in the blaze. Police believe the attack was executed by activists who helped blockade the kingdom's international borders last week. Police point out that Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) leader Solly Mapaila publicly offered to teach local activists to make petrol and other bombs at a mass meeting in the South African province of Mpumalanga three weeks before the blockade. Mapaila and other pro-democracy and labour union leaders told the crowd of roughly 2,000 Swazis that the time had arrived for an armed struggle against Mswati's monarchist government. The alliance of banned political parties and labour unions staged a two-day illegal strike and ineffective two-day border blockade in an attempt to force Mswati to enact democratic reforms, including the repeal of a 1973 royal decree banning party politics. Police arrested a series of key leaders, including president of the banned People's United Democratic Movement (Pudemo), Mario Masuku, banned all public meetings, closed the university and launched a large nationwide dragnet to restrict the movement of known political activists. Superintendent Magagula refused to comment on local media reports that police were also monitoring prominent activists, unionists and journalists. Investigators are meanwhile still attempting to arrest the bombers who fire-bombed the country's parliament in 1996, destroyed Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Khoza's Mbabane office in a 1998 car bomb, a key tribal authority and government office at Mahlanya in 1999 and a bridge which Mswati had just driven over. All the bombings followed sporadic pro-democracy strikes or protests. Swaziland's pro-democracy alliance, including various civic service unions, indicated on Friday that they intended defying a ban on meetings in Swaziland by crossing into neighbouring Mpumalanga to plan further protests.
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