CATHOLIC BISHOPS FOR UNREST FACT-FINDING MISSION

MBABANE – The political unrest in the kingdom has attracted five bishops from the Southern Africa Catholic Church, who are currently in the country on a fact-finding mission.

The bishops arrived in the country last Wednesday and are expected to leave tomorrow. They came to Eswatini at a time when local pastors are arguing on whether they should be vocal about political matters or stay out of politics as the church. Prime Minister (PM) Cleopas Sipho Dlamini was supposed to meet the bishops at Cabinet on Friday, but due to other engagements, he could not meet them. The bishops then met with the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Themba Masuku, on behalf of the PM. The bishops said the purpose of the visit was to get first-hand information on the recent political unrest in the country.

Burning

The unrest resulted in the looting of shops and burning of property and most recently, schools and some tikhundla centres have not been spared from sporadic arson attacks that are still ongoing. The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) was led by its President Bishop Sithembele Sipuka from Umtata in South Africa. Father Hugh O Connor, the General Secretary (GS), and Sister Phuthunywa Catherine Siyali were part of the meeting as well. Also present was Eswatini Catholic Bishop Jose Luis Ponce de Leon.

Bishop Sipuka said the reason they paid a courtesy call to the PM was to get first-hand information on the recent political unrest which prevailed in the country, instead of relying on hearsay. He said the acts of violence, deaths and school protests were not only a threat to Eswatini, but the whole southern Africa region.
“We came out of concern. We read in newspapers and saw the news and we did not want to draw conclusions solely based on the news we heard. We wanted to see and hear everything ourselves,” said Sipuka.

He mentioned that their presence was to add their own voice for peace and if needed, collaborate in efforts that would see the country resolving its differences peacefully and creating a healthy environment for order, development and promotion of justice. He further said he believed it was the kingdom and its citizens who would resolve the present challenges and the purpose of their solidarity visit was to appeal to everybody, Their Majesties, the three arms of government, civic groups and every individual to be convinced about the seriousness of the present challenges.

“We are here to make efforts inspired by solidarity and love that will help in building a just and peaceful society,” he said. Bishop Sipuka said they were hoping and advocating for peace. He said the relationship between the church, society and the Kingdom of Eswatini was paramount. Sipuka said one of the deepest forms of poverty a person could experience was isolation.

“When alone in the face of difficulties, one feels alienated, fearful and not strong enough to deal with the emerging challenges. After hearing about challenges this beautiful country is facing, some of them similar to those of South Africa, and not at all claiming that we have a solution, we decided as both neighbours and church leaders to make this solidarity visit,” said the president.

He also thanked the PM for the time granted to them despite the short notice. He said true communion was not simply a group of subjects who happened to live side-by-side. In the context of the sad experiences that the Kingdom of Eswatini is going through and their negative impact on the life of the citizens of this country, the Catholic Church strongly affirmed the possibility of overcoming the obstacles that prevent a solution to these experiences.

The DPM thanked the Catholic Church for the visit and acknowledged the importance of the church in nation building. He assured the bishops that dialogue had never been discarded by government and related that the King assured the nation that it (dialogue) would definitely be held as soon as the COVID- 19 pandemic was under control.

Issues

Earlier this month, Bishop José Luis Gerardo Ponce de Leon, noted that the Eswatini Government had not yet given any indication on the way forward and how the issues raised during the unrest would be addressed. The bishop noted that concerns were raised regarding the request to allocate more money to security forces and the risk of making the country a military State. Eswatini is not new to a fact-finding mission as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in July 2021 deployed a technical fact-finding team to the kingdom to engage with stakeholders following the recent political and security disturbances through the Troika Organ..

Then Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security and Botswana President Dr Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, had said the team would analyse the political and security situation in the country with a view of supporting the people of Eswatini towards finding a durable solution. The fact-finding team wrapped up its visit to Eswatini on July 22, causing mixed reactions from the civil society.

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