POLITICS OF SMEAR TACTIC VERY DANGEROUS

I have a special wish.

Despite our differences in political ideology, my wish is that emaSwati, at all times; are not tempted to embrace the politics of smear tactic, also called smear campaign or smear. A smear campaign is an intentional, premeditated effort to undermine an individual's or group's reputation, credibility, and character. In a broader political space, smear tactic, in my personal definition, is a calculated effort to set someone or a group against the masses.

Where dirty politics rears its ugly head in any given society, smear tactic at its peak leads to assassinations. Say the politics of smear tactic has superseded basic reasoning or societal logic; mob justice may manifest, culminating in physical assassination of people.Misguided perception and suspicion as the cousin of smear tactic preoccupies the mind to an extent that we can even witness pockets of cataclysm.My wish is that logic and proper reasoning continue to define us as emaSwati even where dirty politics attempt to push us to a situation in which we can find it appropriate and convenient to embrace smear campaign as our philosophy defining the way we do things politically. That is the route we must not take.

Smear campaign is a dangerous game. Every human being is vulnerable to the dangers associated with this fatal game. When it has been mastered, smear campaign may influence people to believe that X killed Y. Through the art of smear tactic, innocent people are arrested and sent to gaol. People who have never committed murder are charged and found guilty as charged.I want to make an example that you will understand. Supposedly, I walked out of the offices to find gunmen waiting for me outside and ready to pull the trigger. God forbid!

Now, I am dead. Okay, goodbye! God forbid again! Last week, I want to put it this way, “some” comrades disagreed with my version of truth and analysis of a second civil unrest. Others went as far as alleging that I have been sent by Tinkhundla System of Government to confuse them. I am neither a supporter of Tinkhundla or multiparty democracy. I only regard both philosophies as political tools to govern people.Now, let us say a wayward supporter of Tinkhundla System of Government (I am making an example) has been closely monitoring my relationship with those who advocate for political changes (the comrades).

Via online media, let us say that some people issued threats against me. Supposedly, the supporter of Tinkhundla wants to use smear tactic to set comrades against the nation. He wants to build strong national hatred against the people calling for political changes. In the process, he attacks me. I get harmed.The Tinkhundla supporter capitalises on the threats made against me to harm me.Expectedly, my family, relatives, colleagues and police will have reasonable suspicion to believe that comrades eliminated me when, as a matter of fact, are not responsible for this criminal act.

That is why I did urge emaSwati to exercise caution to allow the investigation into the assassination of Thulani Maseko to go unhindered by distractions and misguided theories. The mere fact that someone threatened me with death does not mean that he eventually committed the criminal offence. That I said I would kill does not mean I ended up killing you. We cannot, at this stage, confirm that Maseko was killed by X or Z. We do not know who killed Maseko.    

Recently I did tell a story. In 1999, the late top detectives, Jomo Mavuso and Maphindane Sibandze came to the Times offices in Manzini to educate me about probabilities of opportunism in the commission of crime. That was a powerful lesson, I would never forget. Mavuso said X would threaten or understood to be threatening to kill Y. Z, with an interest in the matter, is listening. Z reports to some members of the community that X plans to kill Y. The community is now on high alert.

X changes his mind and decides not to kill Y. Unbeknown that Z also holds a grudge against Y, Z decides to kill Y, after all, suspect number one is obviously X.Y is dead and the mob bays for X’s blood. I hope you get what I mean. Z has employed the art of smear tactic to get X arrested or harmed by a mob.We have to learn to put assumption aside and utilise all available resources to get to the bottom of a complex case.

Smear campaign triggers a mob to take action. Justice Centres Ghana says mob action takes place in the absence of any form of fair trial in which the accused is given a chance to defend him/herself. The mob simply takes the law into its own hands.There is no fair trial since the complainant and the mob in most cases are the witness, prosecutor, judge and executioner of the punishment. According to Justice Centres Ghana, in most cases, there are no prior independent and impartial investigations conducted and conclusions are always based on hearsay, motivated by jealousy, hatred and misconceived facts.

Regardless of our differences in ideology, I am happy there is no political divide caused by identity superiority claims.Whether one is a proponent of the Tinkhundla System of Government or multiparty democracy, we are all emaSwati sharing one King, language, culture and tradition. In as far as identity is concerned; we are a strong nation with a stronger spirit to withstand any external force or influence that may sow seeds of discord, thus dismantling, in the process, the social and moral fibre that we desire to keep for a very long time.

I never wish that we live in an environment in which the politics of smear tactic or campaign reigns supreme. In a situation in which the philosophies of smear tactic are applied without any fear of reprisal, the nation ceases to remain united and resolute or dutifully firm in keeping and protecting “that which binds emaSwati together.” Published on March 28, 2023, in a carefully written analysis titled “democracy and justice”, Jonathan Day shares the same opinion that smear campaigns are an attempt by powerful figures to undermine someone's credibility and reputation, with the goal of distracting public attention from something they are trying to keep quiet.

Day says recovering from a smear campaign is tough, but possible. I agree with him that some competitors resort to unethical means to gain an upper hand over their rivals.One such reprehensible stratagem is the use of defamation tactic, which involve spreading false information or making baseless accusations to tarnish the reputation of a competitor. Researchers like Day say smear campaign is done by disseminating damaging propaganda that most often avoids a substantive critique of the actual work of the target or any relevant public interest.

Analysts say smear campaigns are also tools to divert attention or to set an individual against the masses.Day, in other parts of the analysis, says smear campaigns can be used against individuals, organisations, or other groups. Of course, they have frequently been used to target politicians or other public figures, activists, and journalists in Eswatini. Anyone is a victim or can be a victim of smear campaign. The political analyst teaches us that smear campaigns are, almost by definition, asymmetric attacks.Civil Liberties Union for Europe says smear campaigns contain a number of standard elements, like exaggerations, misstatements, distortions, and outright lies.

Civil Liberties says one of the hallmarks of a smear campaign is that it most often avoids discussing real substance – debated policies or ideas, the actual work of the victim, etc.The union says smear tactic often seek to attach short labels to their targets – like “foreign agents” or “enemies of the State” or even “mercenaries” – that are so easy to consume that they do not need to be further explained or justified.

In Eswatini, smear tactic associate the victim with a political system or the political movement or its philosophy. You will hear masters of smear campaign alleging: “That one is a Tinkhundla or that one is a PUDEMO.” That is what they usually say whenever they are up to something – either to discredit a person earmarked for greater things of life or belittle someone in the eyes of the public so that he or she cannot get public approval. When appointments are to be made, certain elements unleash the smear campaign. Some emaSwati are masters of smear tactic.

I was told that a certain person, irked by moves to appoint a certain public officer to a higher position bellowed: “Why is that person being considered for a promotion because he’s a PUDEMO?” I know that even comrades are victims of smear campaign within their circle. Party politics can be dirty as well. Refer to the African National Congress (ANC) case (Cyril Ramaphosa camp versus Jacob Zuma camp).I am not surprised at learning about this statement: “Why is this person being elected to the executive committee of the party because he’s a Tinkhundla or police spy?”

Smear campaigns are all over the world. Civil Liberties say smear campaigns know no boundaries, and have become commonplace even in free and democratic societies where fair elections, quality journalism, and informed public debate are prized.Rightly and contextually explained by the union, Ralph Nader, an American activist and politician, was the victim of a smear campaign in the 1960s because of his campaign to increase car safety.General Motors employed private investigators to tap his phones and even hire prostitutes to catch him in unsavoury situations in order to sully his reputation and discredit his work.

Nadar was fortunate to have the means to counter the smear campaign in court, winning a settlement against the company. Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and many others may have a story to tell about smear campaign or smear tactic. Regarding emaSwati, we cannot afford to live by smear tactic. This is a very dangerous game to an African or liSwati.

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