COMRADE SIPHO JELE FINALLY LAID TO REST

Following the disruption and stoppage of Cde Jele’s funeral ceremony last Sunday, PUDEMO wishes to report that the second attempt of his burial was successfully carried out in the early hours of this morning at his home area, Ncabaneni. This was done in the presence of the intimidating and hostile battalion of royal police.

True to the promise of PUDEMO, the ceremony was conducted on the terms set by us in consultation with the family and the labour movement in Swaziland . The state had expected that the ceremony would be conducted in a manner very alien to the known and accepted manner understood by the struggling masses of our country. Not going to court to seek an interdict was a political decision that was reached after serious and careful consultation to avoid giving the state the right to dictate how we should conduct the burial ceremony.

PUDEMO wishes to salute the following:

• The Jele family that stood its ground in the face of a hostile intimidation by the royal police and the local traditional authority.
• The labour and civic organizations that braved the state brutality and showed solidarity with both PUDEMO and Cde Jele in this fearful era under the Suppression of Terrorism Act. This sent a clear indication to the oppressive regime in Swaziland that the people are now prepared to challenge and defy all oppressive laws that are meant to entrench the hegemony of the royal regime in Swaziland .
• The church, under the umbrella of the Council of Swaziland Churches for fearlessly standing by the oppressed masses in their hour of need with the understanding that a physically oppressed nation cannot be spiritually free.
• The rural masses of Ncabaneni for their defiance of all the intimidation and threats to discourage them from attending Cde Jele’s funeral as he was branded a ‘political criminal.’

Now the people have grown to understand that Cde Jele and PUDEMO are not terrorists, but committed and humble people of Swaziland that wish to see their people living under democratic conditions that will fully guarantee them all their rights.

LONG LIVE THE SPIRIT OF COMRADE SIPHO JELE LONG LIVE!

Contacts

Head of Publicity

Zakhele Mabuza +268 7607 3453

Manzini