Times Of Swaziland: ALL WANT DIALOGUE, BUT HOW? – BISHOPS

ALL WANT DIALOGUE, BUT HOW? – BISHOPS
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BY SIBUSISO ZWANE on 12/10/2021 08:37:00


MANZINI – While all parties seem to be in agreement on the need for dialogue
in light of the ongoing political unrest in the country, there is no consensus
on how this dialogue should be held.
This was said by South African Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, who is the President of
the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC). He said this during a
press conference held at the Roman Catholic Bishop’s House in Manzini
yesterday and this was after the SACBC’s week-long fact-finding mission about
the ongoing unrest in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Team
The team of SACBC executive members, who included the president, Secretary
General Father Hugh O’Connor and Associate Secretary Phuthunywa Siyali,
arrived in the country last Wednesday and during the mission, they met with
government and various stakeholders, including the Council of Swaziland
Churches, the youth and The Nation Magazine Editor Bheki Makhubu among others.
According to the SACBC president, they came to the country because they were
concerned about the ongoing unrest and their visit was to show their solidarity
with the kingdom in light of the current situation.
Following their visit, he said they were informed about what was happening in
the country.  “We are aware of the complexity of the situation and that there
are more than one views about it,” the president said. In that regard, he said
their prayer was that there would be some kind of engagement between the
stakeholders; the leadership of the country and the people in order to find a
solution.  He said they encouraged the stakeholders to have engagements and
mentioned that they were willing to support means of finding a way forward.
However, he mentioned that even though the stakeholders had different views,
they were all prepared for dialogue and as SACBC they were pleased by that.
He then raised a concern that in as much as the stakeholders were prepared for
dialogue, they did not agree on how it (dialogue) should be and what it meant.
“In that regard, there is a need to dialogue about the dialogue before it
starts,” the president said. He said the stakeholders needed to meet and
discuss how they would talk about the key issues which resulted in the unrest.
Thereafter, the associate secretary said as they interacted with the
stakeholders, the voice of the young people was clear that they wanted to be
heard and recognised. He said even young religious women also made it clear that
they wanted to be heard. Sipuka said in order for the situation to improve, the
stakeholders needed to be open, talk about the issues and listen to each other.
He added that they were aware that there was a traditional way of dialoguing
(Sibaya). He said this was good because it meant that dialogue was not strange
or new in the country.
Proposals
However, he said as time went by, changes took place and things developed,
adding that there were proposals that different ways of dialoguing should be
used.
Moreover, the president said without sounding like he did not understand the
temptation for people to be violent, violence begets violence. He added that for
whatever reason, it was not the way to go because it would lead to further
violence. He said even if the change would be achieved, it would be the people
who would live with the consequences of the violence.
According to the Roman Catholic Bishop Jose Luis Ponce de Leon, the unrest
started in May 2021 after the death of Thabani Nkomonye and it escalated in June
2021. Nkomonye is the 25-year-old man who went missing on the night of May 8,
2021 after his car was involved in a road traffic accident at Nhlambeni. After
the accident, his body was not located. It was eventually discovered five days
later.
The delay in the discovery of Nkomonye’s body raised questions among many,
resulting in the #JusticeForThabani movement, whereupon the members of the
public demanded answers from the police. Thereafter, then acting Prime Minister
(PM), Themba Masuku appointed a Coroner, Senior Magistrate Nonhlanhla Dlamini to
lead an inquest into the death of Nkomonye.