Home | Feature | THE TRUTH IS YET TO COME!

THE TRUTH IS YET TO COME!

30/12/2018 06:29:00 By Musa Hlophe

Font size:

Last weekend’s article seems to have triggered a lot of violent reactions against me and what I believe in. I got attacks even from longest fellow human rights defenders from across the globe?

How does one react to such attacks from those whom he loves and has defended so much at every level and for most of one’s life? I know what you think right now: you either feeling sorry for me or laughing at me and saying that this was good fixing, if not worse thoughts than those who hate what I do - telling truth to power.

Ok, I was badly hammered by people I love in many ways through telephonic conversations, emails and WhatsApps messages. In their view, they were defending those who are guilty of the on-going persecution of my fellow comrades and blaming those who are on my side - fellow activists and supporters of these farmers who are daily persecuted just because their forefathers allegedly voted for the NNLC in 1972; in the process, defeating one important member of the Imbokodvo National Movement led by the late Prince Mfanasibili.

MY APOLOGIES
While I would like to apologise to those who might have misread my article last weekend; and found it to be an attack on them, but I am greatly indebted to those who did not only attack me and stop there; but instead went an extra mile of supplying me with the relevant evidence for each point of their bout. Thank you for this; because most of us, had not been following this case although it has been going on for quite some years now, with local institutions which were supposed to have given the farmers protection but turned themselves into ringleaders of their persecutions.

Now that I have this compelling evidence in my possession; I may no longer accuse those I considered to be politicizing a matter which demands justice than politics because the persecution is itself a result of deep seated and evil political manoeuvring which is being pursued by individuals and institutions who think that by robbing these poor citizens in the name of our national leadership; things would simply go away and these fellow citizens getting no sympathy, let alone from within their own country, but internationally as the matter has gone thus far.

attack these farmers

This is so because the reading of the evidence in my possession is quite revealing. For no sooner had His Majesty King Sobhuza II passed on than some key members of Liqoqo (The Supreme Council of State), after having deposed the Rightful Queen Regent; Queen Dzeliwe, than they moved to attack these farmers; something which makes the denials by respectable persons and leaders like Tibiyo TakaNgwane is worrisome to say the least; because we expect truth from such leaders; more so because of their close proximity to our monarch.

We have the right to expect and actually receive truth from such people and not what is fully covered in numerous case law matters being denied by them. Such act is not only shameful, but it actually threatens the very sugar industry we claim to be protecting as well as having the potential of tarnishing the integrity as well as the good image of our monarch, because these evil actions are mostly said to be done in the name of the monarch in trust of the emaSwati. The questions now being asked are :(1) who then are the real emaSwati? (2) How does one distinguish between His Majesty the King and emaSwati? And how does the nation benefit from the huge profits currently being earned in their name by such institutions as Tibiyo TaKaNgwane? Had this matter been handled with truth from the very beginning; and not covered by claims of Charters and Emabandlas; we would not have been in this mess.

Therefore, any attempts at short cutting the process are not going to work, believe you me. Just too much resources have been invested in this case, in both human and materially, such that one would seriously warn such business leaders such as Mr.Nick Jackson and his Chairman of the Board in A. T. Dlamini to thoroughly read the Times of Swaziland dated December 24, 2018, page 7 and quickly look out for the leaders of these farmers.

avoid any point scoring
They should avoid any point scoring behaviour, but seriously work out a solution to resolve this matter in the best interest of both sides before it begins to hurt both our sugar industry as well as seriously bringing into disrepute the name and position of our King and his entire Royal family.

In reading the article one easily connects what the material before one’s face accurately connects with the papers and case law before one’s face. While the paper spoke or wrote of ‘a senior prince’, the papers are clear as to who that ‘senior prince was’ and why he had pursued an agenda of persecuting these farmers soon after he had engineered and succeeded in the removal of Queen Dzeliwe; who appears to have wanted the farmers to continue in the manner His Majesty King Sobhuza II had wanted them to do- keeping their land for future generation. That is contrary to what we are now being told by Tibiyo, whose very Charter was violently rejected by the highest courts of this land!

potential threats
While on this point, one would not blame the incoming government; but it may be advisable that on reading about the potential threats to our sugar industry; not only in South Africa; but potentially even from some of the European countries where we sell most of our sugar.

Due to the fact that Europe is strict with its commitments to basic human rights, it may not wish to ignore the global push this case is enjoying; more so because most of the financing of this case comes from some of the European capitals whose human rights defenders are saying “enough is now enough for Eswatini to continue committing atrocious human rights violations with such impunity and always getting away with it.”
I would like to call upon those with legal knowledge and competence; whose job is to advise our King, to seriously look out for these papers and then appropriately advise him to repeat what he did on this case in 1987- give back the land to his people and kill this unnecessary noise which may end up embarrassing him and the monarch. He does not deserve the attacks one is reading on these papers, which the people close to him are quite aware of , but would not disclose them because it would reflect badly on them too.

PLEA TO THE PM
Let me call upon our Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini to carefully look at this case and its ugly implications and then advise the Minister of Agriculture not to leave this in the hands of the warring parties; but instead, take over the case and acquaint himself with the true facts and not just the published press statements because in my view, all those are totally misleading to those who have all the facts. I say this because government has a duty to protect this country and its institution of monarch.
At the moment, the denial and counter denial does not serve our national interests; but simply serve the short term interests of those who are defending the indefensible.

This case is being well managed by some of the best human rights defenders across the globe and well-funded. In fact, very soon, the defenders of these persecuted fellow citizens will have their harassment cases against the Tshaneni Police brought up before the courts. This, because there are no reasons for any one of these farmers to be harassed by the police, as they are being harassed at the moment: unless the police themselves know something we do not know about these persecutions.
My aim at his point is not to embarrass anyone but to have the parties coming together and resolving the case to the benefit of all. We pride ourselves as a peaceful nation; now it is time we demonstrated that for the entire world to see. And of course we can.
PEACE!