Times Of Swaziland: PEOPLE BEHIND POLITICAL VIOLENCE DESERVE TO HANG - CHIEF

PEOPLE BEHIND POLITICAL VIOLENCE DESERVE TO HANG - CHIEF
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Thokozani Mamba on 03/04/2023 08:44:00


SITEKI – “If I had it my way, these people (engaged in politics), would be
killed through hanging.”
This is one of the submissions that were made by KaVuma Umphakatsi Chief
Mshayeli Myeni during the Lubombo Traditional Authorities Workshop held at
Simunye Country Club on Friday. The workshop had been organised by the Elections
and Boundaries Commission (EBC ). By people ‘engaged in politics’, the chief
was referring to those who expressed their political beliefs through the
destruction of structures, which he said was not what emaSwati stood for. Chief
Myeni said democracy came with the white people from the Western countries and
found a peace-loving nation rooted in its cultural traditions.
Blessed
The chief stated that His Majesty King Mswati III was blessed and entrusted to
lead the nation by God. He said emaSwati were granted independence from the
British rule after being colonised by Britain. The chief highlighted that
emaSwati were entrenched with peace and respect as every liSwati grew up groomed
to be respectful. “The white people hid the truth from emaSwati regarding
issues of democracy. And those people calling for democracy must go to those
countries where there is spillage of blood. King Sobhuza II preached against the
spilling of blood. They must go to the country where bloodshed is allowed and
pursue their political ambitions. If the hangman was still lawfully recognised,
these people deserved to be hanged,” he said.
Destroyed
He noted that there were locals who had turned against the country and destroyed
it in various forms, while others allowed ‘people from the outside’ to have
a say in its politics. It is on record that in 2021, Eswatini experienced
unprecedented levels of violence that resulted in the looting and destruction of
both government and private properties. This followed the banning of the
delivery of petitions to various constituencies, which, in some of these
constituencies, had turned violent. Most of the petitions had a clause calling
for democratic reforms.
During the violence, some civilians were shot allegedly by members of the
security forces. The actual figure of the shot civilians was not precise, but
records from the Human Rights and Integrity Commission stated that they were 46,
though members of the mass democratic movement (MDM) estimated the deaths to be
around 100.
From then, there had been random shootings of security officers and to date,
police official records reflect that there were 11 deaths. Already, certain
individuals, some of whom are affiliated to political movements, have been
arrested in connection with the deaths. The chief added that emaSwati voted for
people who donated food parcels to win their hearts and did not vote for people
with integrity to represent them in Parliament. He further mentioned that
emaSwati should exercise their right by casting their votes for people who would
pursue development and improvement of their livelihoods in their respective
communities. “Those we voted into Parliament were last seen during their
campaigns. Our roads are poor and some die along the way while trying to reach
health facilities and schools are far away from some of these communities.
People should stop voting for people who seem to be concerned about their plight
yet they want to push their own personal enrichment after they voted into
Parliament,” the chief said, arousing laughter from the other chiefs.
Submission
Just immediately after the chief’s submission, Lubombo Regional Administrator
(RA) Themba Msibi, acknowledged the presence of the media at the workshop and
stated that such discussions attracted media coverage, hence the media should
also promote the good that was said during the discussions. “If someone is
saying something in this meeting in a friendly manner yet he has invited
publicity by so doing, it will prompt us to conduct such meetings in closed
sessions yet by so doing, it will appear as though we are hiding something. Our
media should be responsible in their reporting,” he said. Reacting to the
chief’s statement, Swaziland Democratic Party (SWADEPA) President Barnes
Dlamini said the MDM had lost good people for a chief to issue such a statement.
The president said the chief should know that whether he liked it or not, change
was coming and that would happen in this lifetime.
Dlamini said as political parties, there were a lot of issues to worry about,
hence the chief should know that his submission would remain his wish. He
mentioned that if it were according to his wish, he would do away with chiefs
and allow emaSwati to have land and a peace of mind. “It is such institutions
that confuse the proper governance of this country. Of course, we still need to
see if they have any meaning in the upcoming democratic reforms. So, let him
wish and we also have our wishes. These people think they own us,” he said.
Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) Spokesperson Thantaza Silolo said chiefs
were part of the traditional structures, hence they wanted people to be
‘hanged’ just for demanding democracy, justice and fair sharing of the
economy. Silolo wondered how would the chiefs feel when, after attaining
democracy, they be hauled before courts for all the abuses they had subjected
their people to in their respective communities. The spokesperson said there was
no question that some chiefs had abused emaSwati in unspeakable ways all these
years and that must be prosecutable.
Democracy
“Are they looking into a society that will seek revenge after democracy? That
can be very possible and practical,” he said. Director of Communications in
the King’s Office Percy Simelane said his office viewed the chief’s
utterances as merely a projection of innermost feelings about what he perceived
as an undue call for political change in Eswatini. Simelane said emaSwati’s
experience was that for any suspect to be sentenced to death, he or she would
have appeared before the courts of law and legally attracted capital punishment
through evidence linking him or her to the offence beyond reasonable doubt and
not because an individual or mob felt the suspects should be executed.
Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo asked that the EBC should be contacted
on this matter. “EBC is the right body to make a comment about this matter,”
he briefly said. EBC Communications Officer Mbonisi Bhembe said it might happen
that the chief spoke out of a good heart, but the commission hosted the workshop
to ensure that chiefs, as traditional leaders, were capacitated on their huge
role to play in their respective chiefdoms in uniting their subjects and
encouraging them to forge a consensus despite the different views from people.
Elections
Bhembe said the concept of elections was to ensure that all people were heard
and given equal opportunities to register, nominate and be nominated as well as
be elected. He described chiefs as agents of national building as they were
leading their chiefdoms, hence they should be at the forefront in paving way for
development of their communities. Meanwhile, during the workshop, EBC
Chairperson Prince Mhlabuhlangene encouraged chiefs to sensitise their subjects
to vote for the right calibre of people into Parliament. “Capacity building at
all levels is important in strengthening the chiefdom institution, which is a
footstool of the monarchy. We are where we are after deviating from our roots.
Every liSwati has the mandate to vote the right people into Parliament,” he
said when addressing the chiefs about the upcoming elections.