"We shall refuse to let Ayanda's story to
be buried in the dustbin of history"
Issued:
Wednesday 4 May 2016.
We still remember what happened on the 22 of February 2016 as if it was yesterday, when Ayanda Mkhabela a young brilliant woman with a bright future was deliberately injured by the Royal Swaziland Police within the university premises. The police's presence was ironically claimed to be a common measure to protect life and property within the institution whilst it was clearly established that their sole mission was to massacre students so to set an example of what those who fight for their rights in the country should be ready to experience. This was followed by barring students' leaders from visiting Ayanda while she was in Swaziland's health facilities and we have no single doubt that it was part of the mission of asserting the horrible experience that the state is capable of inducing to human rights activists in their different sectors.
The formula is clear and well thought: brutally deal with the individual and cut all his/her sources of support. She/he must not hear anything from those who support her/him and it should be only those who condemn her/him who shall be availed to offer sham sympathy. This was the same case with the likes of Thulani Maseko, Bheki Makhubu, Maxwell Dlamini, Mario Masuku and others during their gloomy days in incarceration. All their supporters and sincere sympathizers from across the world were given hard times to see them.
In the case of Ayanda, students and the public at large remain in the dark on what is going on with her. Students' leaders have not been getting any updates on how she is coping while the university management played mother dovey to her and of course in collaboration with the state police. They took her away to a remote facility in South Africa, strategically so to ensure that nobody of the common class ever think of seeing her.
However, we have been unequivocal on that students and the world at large deserve to know what is going on with Ayanda, more particularly the concerns that the clever woman cannot divulge to sham sympathizers who are hell bent at doing damage control of something irreparable. We have continuously raised the matter without despair to all the structures of the university and at long last, exactly after 2 full month of the incident, the Student Representative Council has been accorded the chance to meet Ayanda for the first time. I am currently in Port Elizabeth where Ayanda is and I have met her today and I will be seeing her tomorrow morning as well. We cannot celebrate this minor victory over the state mission but we are glad that our fight has not been in vain as finally students and the world will get to know the bare feelings of our sister. The visit is not a friendly one but one whose purpose is to inform all those who are concerned about the being of our sister.
We would like to thank everyone who remains supportive to Ayanda and the Mkhabela family and furthermore, we urge them to carry on with the spirit.
We shall ensure justice for Ayanda and all UNISWA students.
By Brian Sangweni
UNISWA SRC President
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