PEOPLE BEHIND POLITICAL VIOLENCE DESERVE TO HANG - CHIEF

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.

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