Swaziland works to stop abusive treatment of disabled people

From The Times of Swaziland:

MBABANE, Swaziland -– The Federation of Organisations of Disabled Persons in Swaziland (FODSWA) is concerned about continuing reports of abusive treatment against people with disabilities.

The President of FODSWA, Makhosini Makhubu, has written a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister, Themba Masuku, appealing for intervention through legislative means.

Masuku said the delays in having a policy to protect the rights of disabled people had led to the continued abuse and undermining of people with disabilities in the country.

Makhubu’s letter was influenced by a series of articles on the stand-off between Zombodze Emuva Indvuna Yenkhundla, Bheki Ngwenya, and Member of Parliament Johannes Ndlangamandla that had been published in the media in recent weeks.

"We have been monitoring the case and we are still awaiting your response in this matter because we feel disabled people need the necessary protection for them to lead decent lives. They must be treated like other able-bodied citizens of the country," he said.

Makhubu said in the letter that they supported Ngwenya in having his appeal addressed by the relevant authorities and that FODSWA was greatly disturbed by the alleged conduct of the MP.

"Ndlangamandla’s insults to Ngwenya for performing his duties were uncalled-for," said Makhubu.

Ngwenya, on August 5, 2010, wrote a letter of appeal for redress following what he termed the ‘injustice’ inflicted on him by the MP.

He said the MP accused him of bringing former MP Titus Thwala to the constituency on July 13, 2010.

"I herewith appeal for a redress of the injustice inflicted on me by Zombodze Emuva MP Johannes Ndlangamandla insulted me about my disability accused me for bringing former MP Titus Thwala to the Inkhundla workshop. In actual fact, Thwala came as a facilitator for the Federation of Swazi Business Community (FESBC)," he said.

He said he felt dejected when Ndlangamandla called him ‘a cabbage’.

"He also threatened to beat and shoot me and said I would not be able to get off my wheelchair to defend myself. The MP hurled insults at me while I was doing my work as Indvuna of the Inkhundla.

"I hope and pray that my appeal be considered to sensitise able-bodied people of MP Ndlangamandla’s calibre to respect the rights of people with disabilities," said Ngwenya.

Efforts to get comment from the MP proved futile, as he refused to entertain questions from the Swazi News.

Two text messages were sent to him but he had not responded by the time of going to press.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Themba Masuku, has appealed for patience from people living with disabilities.

Masuku said his office was committed to addressing the needs of disabled people .

This comes after the Federation of Organisations of Disabled Person’s in Swaziland (FODSWA) appealed to the DPM’s office to speed up and domesticate the UN Convention on People with Disability.

"There is a lot of ground that has to be covered before a policy can be formulated. Other than the drafting, more information must be sourced so that it can influence the final document. There are a lot of stages that the policy must be taken to. All one can do is appeal for patience," he said.

Masuku acknowledged that their office was tasked with looking after a number of marginalised groups.

"Just a few weeks ago, we were able to get a Gender Mainstreaming Policy approved by Cabinet and we are still working on a number of other policies with the aim of improving their lives.

"Their policy is in the pipeline, so they must give us time to do a thorough job that will be of satisfaction to every person living with any form of disability," said Masuku.