By Mduduzi Hlophe

MBABANE: Johannes Manikela, the Chairman of the Federation of Eswatini Business Community (FESBC) in the Hhohho region has warned against the arrest of pro-democracy leaders saying angry protesters might burn their businesses again.

This comes after the arrests of two Members of Parliament in Mduduzi ‘Bacede’ Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube who were charged for terrorism after leading the calls for democracy in Parliament.

Speaking to this Swaziland News on Monday, the Chairman appealed to emaSwati not to burn businesses when they feel their demands were not met as that would be killing the economy. He also appealed to the country’s authorities not to make reckless decisions that would anger the Nation and manifest into violence.

“In my experience, arresting  pro-democracy activists doesn’t help the country in any way, but only dialogue can be a solution to this crisis.As the business community, we are always neutral when it comes to  politics but at the end we suffer the most”, he said.

When reached for comments, Sibongile Mazibuko, the President of the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) predicted more chaos since the arrests of the two MPs was likely to attract more sympathy from emaSwati who believed in democracy.

“People are likely to be angered and start doing what they did previously and the King is likely to unleash his army officers and kill unarmed citizens but we are not backing down, the struggle continues", said the NNLC President