{"id":31524,"date":"2023-08-09T07:16:12","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T07:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/?p=31524"},"modified":"2023-08-09T06:44:27","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T06:44:27","slug":"childrens-participation-in-swayoco-celebration-probed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/childrens-participation-in-swayoco-celebration-probed","title":{"rendered":"CHILDREN\u2019S PARTICIPATION IN SWAYOCO CELEBRATION PROBED"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. <\/strong><\/span>The Deputy Prime Minister\u2019s Office has instituted an investigation following the participation of children in a celebration by proscribed entity, the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), and wants the law to take its course.<\/b><\/p>\n

SWAYOCO is a youth league of the People\u2019s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO). In a press conference held at his offices, the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku, called for the political formation to make a public apology. Masuku stated that his office, particularly, was appalled at the use of children as messengers and participants by certain political formations to perpetuate their personal agenda as reported by the Times of Eswatini SUNDAY, dated August 6, 2023, on page eight. He mentioned that more troubling was the absurd justification of the leadership of the particular political formation; the abuse of children and extreme violation of their rights at this rally.<\/p>\n

Of note is that the President of SWAYOCO, Sakhile \u2018Awuviva\u2019 Nxumalo, when questioned by our sister publication on the children\u2019s participation, said they groomed young people to end up being their members. Nxumalo said they specifically groomed children starting from the age of 14 years as they believed that they would shape and guide them in their thinking. According to the DPM, the act of the political formation was also, among other reasons, why the delivery of petitions in May\/June 2021 was banned.<\/p>\n

Violence<\/b><\/p>\n

During these petition deliveries, Masuku stated that children were used to carry placards, starting violence in schools and in the process neglecting their education, which was not only their fundamental right but also an important foundation for their bright future. \u201cThe use of children in such activities is seen as contrary to the fundamental principles and right of the \u201cBest Interest of the Child\u201d which is stipulated by the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child and the CPWA 2012.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grave<\/b><\/p>\n

Masuku said his office was disheartened to see grave violations of children\u2019s rights, as stipulated by the country\u2019s Constitution (2005) and the Children\u2019s Protection and Welfare Act (CPWA) (2012) and other international treaties, which the country had ratified. He said just last month, the country was visited by a delegation from the African Union (AU) to assess the implementation of the Children\u2019s Charter. \u201cIt is disturbing that few days after the AU\u2019s Committee on children\u2019s rights visit, we are witnessing such violations of children\u2019s rights, when the committee was actually impressed by the country\u2019s progress,\u201d he said. Masuku said children should be allowed to enjoy their childhood without being drawn into matters which were above their scope of understanding, analysis and age.<\/p>\n

The DPM further mentioned that children must be protected by all and not put in harm\u2019s way, where they could be hurt through stampedes and foul language by irresponsible participants.<\/p>\n

He added that the school curriculum was designed in such a way that children would grow cognitively and later have the ability to synthesis, abstract concepts and activities which characterised political and other life agendas. Meanwhile, he said the country\u2019s Constitution (2005) and the CPWA (2012) obligated parents and duty bearers, such as schools, religious and community leaders, to ensure that children were protected from any practice which may affect their growth and development.<\/p>\n

Stipulated<\/b><\/p>\n

Furthermore, he said the CPWA stipulated that parents had a responsibility to protect the child from violence, abuse, exploitation, exposure to physical and moral hazards. Masuku added that parents had a responsibility to provide good guidance and care to ensure the development of the child. He said it was sad to note that they were not seeing this critical responsibility.<\/p>\n

In most instances, particularly on abstract issues, Masuku said children only repeated that which they had been told and this may cause serious damage if misleading.<\/p>\n

Opinion<\/b><\/p>\n

He said while the CPWA 2012 (12) gave children the right to opinion, however, it was also important to consider the age of the child and the manner in which the minor was engaged in order to protect the child\u2019s psychological development. He said: \u201cAccording to the Constitution 2005 (29) and the CPWA 2012 (20:a,b, c and d), they have responsibilities which include respecting elders, preserving national unity, and upholding positive values of the community.\u201d Masuku reminded all emaSwati that every child had the right to grow up in a safe environment, with access to education and all opportunities to secure the future. He said all those responsible for the violation and abuse against children must understand that they were destroying the future of these children and the country.<\/p>\n

Bite<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe culture of violence, disobedience and arrogance that these interest groups are instilling to these pre-adolescents learners will come back to bite our society,\u201d he added. He appealed to all emaSwati, including civil society organisations, faith-based organisations and parents, to speak in one voice and strongly condemn the recruitment and use of children by those with selfish intentions. Masuku said it was the fundamental duty of society to do everything in their power to protect children, who were the future, from any chaos that had nothing to do with nurturing them.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Eswatini<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Deputy Prime Minister\u2019s Office has instituted an investigation following the participation of children in a celebration by proscribed entity, the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), and wants the law to take its course. SWAYOCO is a youth league of the People\u2019s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO). In a press conference held at his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":31523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,10],"tags":[234,248,249],"class_list":["post-31524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-parties","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-eswatini","tag-eswatini"],"yoast_head":"\nCHILDREN\u2019S PARTICIPATION IN SWAYOCO CELEBRATION PROBED - Eswatini<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Deputy Prime Minister\u2019s Office has instituted an investigation following the participation of children in a celeb ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/childrens-participation-in-swayoco-celebration-probed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CHILDREN\u2019S PARTICIPATION IN SWAYOCO CELEBRATION PROBED\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Deputy Prime Minister\u2019s Office has instituted an investigation following the participation of children in a celeb ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/childrens-participation-in-swayoco-celebration-probed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eswatini\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-09T07:16:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2023\/08\/sm_1691546560.302105.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/childrens-participation-in-swayoco-celebration-probed#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/childrens-participation-in-swayoco-celebration-probed\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"CHILDREN\u2019S PARTICIPATION IN SWAYOCO CELEBRATION PROBED\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-09T07:16:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/childrens-participation-in-swayoco-celebration-probed\"},\"wordCount\":865,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/childrens-participation-in-swayoco-celebration-probed#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2023\/08\/sm_1691546560.302105.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Eswatini\",\"Eswatini\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"parties\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/childrens-participation-in-swayoco-celebration-probed#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/childrens-participation-in-swayoco-celebration-probed\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/childrens-participation-in-swayoco-celebration-probed\",\"name\":\"CHILDREN\u2019S PARTICIPATION IN SWAYOCO CELEBRATION PROBED - 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