HYPOCRISY OF ANC GOVT ON ESWATINI

The African National Congress (ANC)-led South African (SA) Government did Africans proud by taking Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on allegations that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

SA is alleging that Israel is responsible for violations of the Genocide Convention in respect of its actions taken in Gaza, allegations which Israel rejects. This comes after Israel’s deadly reaction to the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, which took responsibility for the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel that saw the death of over 1 200 people and taking of hostages.

Retaliated

The Western-backed Israel retaliated with a fierce onslaught on Gaza immediately and the death toll stands at over 27 000 and counting. SA asked the ICJ to order nine provisional measures, including the cessation of military operations, and the court has now responded to that request. The court ordered as follows:
* Israel must, in accordance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention and in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, ‘take all measures within its power’ to prevent the commission of acts prohibited in the convention, in particular killings, causing serious physical or mental harm, the deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the population in whole or in part, and the imposition of measures intended to prevent births;
* Israel must ensure that its military forces do not commit any of the acts mentioned in point 1;
* Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent and punish direct and public incitement to commit genocide;
* Israel must take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of humanitarian relief to Gaza;
* Israel must take effective measures to prevent destruction of evidence relating to allegations of acts contrary to the Genocide Convention;  
* Israel must submit a report to the court within one month regarding the measures it has taken to give effect to the order.

The court has not taken a decision on whether or not genocide has been committed. Nor has it decided whether it even has jurisdiction to hear the case. It was not at all a surprise to some of us that the ICJ would decide to sit on the fence in this matter. Israel has vowed to continue with this heartless war and more children, women, elderly and people with disabilities will continue to die and be maimed. That notwithstanding, it is laudable that one country, especially an African country, itself fraught with pre-election problems, decided to take a bold stand at the international arena, and go against the dominant Western narrative of Israel being a blameless victim and seek justice for the Palestinian people in Gaza. The SA Government must be lauded for this historic action.

The pith of my focus in this article, though, is what I see as a glaring contradiction or double standards by SA. While it has taken this bold stand at the international level and been so decisive on an injustice that is taking place over 7 000km from its shores, it is very regrettable, to say the least, that we did not see the same vigour and an unwavering sense of morality when unofficially over 100 people were killed, allegedly by State security personnel during the unrest in a country not very significant from a geopolitical point of view, Eswatini, right next door.

At a time when the President of SA, Cyril Ramaphosa, was chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Troika Organ on Politics Defence and Security, we saw the kingdom being treated with kids gloves as it failed to take responsibility for the death of scores of emaSwati during the unrest. Under Ramaphosa’s leadership, Eswatini has successfully been able to shift goal posts and not do anything the SADC recommended. The country has been able to show SADC and the world a middle finger and literally got away with murder.

No country had the clout; politically, economically and culturally, to get us to do the right thing, but SA. However, it chose to be pushed over and it yielded, taking down its credibility and that of SADC in the process. Because of that, there may likely never be justice for the people who were killed and maimed during the unrest. The proposal for a proper national dialogue, facilitated by a credible independent organization, will also likely remain a pipe dream. SA chose not to stand with the people of Eswatini but instead, in what could easily be construed as grandstanding, it has taken a bold stand against a military giant, Israel, and by extension, its Western allies. Some of us will never forget this. From Luthuli House to the Union Buildings, the ANC-led government has refused to offer concrete solidarity to the suffering people of Eswatini and posterity will remember that.
 

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