POLITICAL LEADERSHIP DEFICIT

THE absence of a political voice in the unfolding drama playing itself out in the media pitting Chief Justice (CJ) Bheki Maphalala and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), on one hand, and the Law Society of Swaziland (LSS) – I am dead certain the legal practitioners’ body has still not migrated to Eswatini – on the other hand, is but a microcosm of a tragic national political leadership deficit that manifestly is illustrated by the brutality that, last year, culminated in the death of dozens of emaSwati demanding multiparty democracy.

As it were the JSC went rogue sometime back using as refuge the cloak of separation of powers between the three arms of government to do as it pleases, including refusing to account to the elected representatives of the people in Parliament. Yet tens of millions of estate Emalangeni under the custodianship of the Master’s Office have seemingly vanished into thin air. CJ Maphalala unashamedly made it crystal that he would not allow Parliament, which is the only body singularly charged with the responsibility of oversight on any person and institution that is a creation of and funded by the public purse, to probe its operations. What exactly is the CJ hiding?

Remains

But since the matter between the CJ and the JSC, on one hand, and Parliament, on the other, remains a matter before the courts, I will not go into its entrails. Be that as it may, the person of the CJ cannot be said to command respect for his position and the Judiciary in general. His conduct has been partially responsible for bringing the Judiciary into disrepute. He also is personally responsible for bringing down and effectively collapsing the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) via a judgment that contradicted his earlier verdict(s) on similar case(s) while still an ordinary judge. As I see it, the absence of a political voice in the skirmish between the CJ and JSC and the LSS is of major concern specifically because the Judiciary is an important pillar in any society that lays claim to a modicum of civility. The Judiciary is the first port of call for foreign direct investors who require assurances on its functionality, transparency and accountability, not to speak of its independence, especially from political patronage without which assurances they would not dare risk their investments. Put differently, the Judiciary, alongside political stability, is catalytic to economic development.

Silence

Yet given this spectre of negativity blanketing the Judiciary, there has been deafening silence from the political leadership the same way that last year’s civil unrest was left to deteriorate into a slaughterhouse – perhaps that’s what the leadership wanted in order to show its brutal hand to deter those who wanted to stop their life of entitlement. The justification for allowing the image of the Judiciary to be tainted is unfathomable. Or has the absence of the rule of law that has transformed the country into a criminal enterprise blurred the lines between good and evil, dos and don’ts?
Yet another example of political uncertainty owing to a leadership deficit, this Wednesday will be a year to the day that this country was convulsed by the worst ever civil unrest in pursuit of political reforms.

To date there has not been discernible and credible political leadership in resolving this political imbroglio, which has created the gnawing feeling that the leadership is spoiling for a fight with the hope of wiping out if not instilling fear on those driving the pro-democracy movement. While committing itself verbally to the idea of a national dialogue, apparently government and the leadership have merely been playing politics because their posture and actions are not in sync with what they say.

In the first count government has failed or refused to investigate the massacre of dozens of emaSwati during the protests, leaving the impression, in fact the belief, that it authorised this wanton brutality by its security forces. Indeed not only was Army Commander General Mashikilisane Hulumende Fakudze later confirmed to the position but was thereafter also promoted to the rank of a four-star general, ostensibly for a job well done. Does that not confirm something?

Confidence

In the second count, government has not restored any confidence and credibility on its leadership by failing to lead the process towards the national dialogue as promised under the auspices of the Organ Troika of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that this would happen after Incwala. If anything, such a dialogue appears to be the last thing on the national agenda, given the deliberately created catalogue of distractions that are abroad.

By playing musical chairs when the political temperature is soaring is creating an uncertain and unpredictable environment just like leaving the Judiciary to sort itself out – government is reneging on and abdicating its leadership role. Whichever way, it must take the responsibility for creating an untenable environment conducive to another breakout of violence. For given its demeanour, it would appear that government and the leadership want to create an environment that would enable it to justify unleashing deadly force to wipe out elements leading the charge to restore power to the masses.

Instead government and the leadership are threatening hell fire should the commemoration of June 29 happen on Wednesday instead of allowing people the space to mourn the dead and the hundreds maimed while also comforting families of the victims. This move is yet again meant to create justification for government to perpetuate the insidious vicious cycle of violence it has unleashed on pro-democracy activists since last year. The absence of a stable and predictable political environment, added to an unstable Judiciary, is a lethal cocktail that is counter-productive for economic development and the pursuit of broader national developmental imperatives.  

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