MANDELA’S FRIEND ADVISES EMASWATI ON SIBAYA

MBABANE – He is admired by many as the walking dictionary of Eswatini politics.

At 95 years of age (born February 1, 1929), experienced politician and founder of Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) party Shiyemaparty Dube is without doubt a political legend in his own right.

Not everybody can claim to have enjoyed the privilege of rubbing shoulders with respected African leaders like the two former South African Presidents Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela and Jacob ‘Msholozi’ Zuma among the many, but Dube lives to tell the story.

Interacted

After all, he has interacted with the two respected South African politicians in his illustrious political career spanning over 60 years now. He is a pro-Tinkhundla person and holds high respect for the country’s monarchy.
Dube was among the first emaSwati to be elected into the first Parliament of the Kingdom of Eswatini.

The former MP said Sibaya would remain the appropriate platform for emaSwati to interact and talk about matters affecting them, as was the case during the recent People’s Parliament. “I am 95 years old and ever since I was born, Sibaya has always been the perfect platform for us as a nation to meet and deliberate on issues. That has always been the practice and we should not be influenced to change that,” he said.     

Disowned

He said people who disowned Sibaya did not understand that some nations liked the philosophy of the cattle byre. The 95-year-old former MP said there were no delegates during Sibaya as every liSwati has a right to make a submission on how this country should be governed. In two weeks, he said Sibaya could listen to thousands of views and seconders.

Handful

He said there were only a handful of delegates who attended conferences in other countries. He said a handful of people decided the future of a country. The old man said all people in Eswatini were part of the decision making mechanism at Sibaya. Dube then praised His Majesty King Mswati III for his well-articulated speech from the throne in parliament recently.

Praise

The King officially opened the 12th Parliament, delivering a two-hour long speech that won him praise from a number of people and organisations. Speaking to Eswatini News, he said he was mostly impressed with the King’s emphasis on the issue of corruption. He said the country will never flourish or develop as long as corrupt elements were not exposed and dealt with accordingly.

Directive

“When I heard the King speaking about corruption and giving directives for action to be taken, my heart was filled with joy,” he said. He said corruption would stall the development of the country’s economy. “The sooner it is addressed, the better and I want to say that the King was spot on regarding that issue,” Dube said. He also lauded the King for touching on the importance of improving the health sector in the country.

Dube said health was a very crucial aspect of any nation, commending the head of State for emphasising on the efficiency of the health system. It must be said that Eswatini became a constitutional monarchy at independence in September 1968 under the leadership of His Majesty King Sobhuza II and held its first post-independence elections in 1972. The kingdom became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (CON) and Eswatini was admitted as a member of the United Nations (UN) on September 11, 1968.

Served

The government, at the time, was headed by Prince Makhosini Dlamini, who also served as foreign minister from 1968 to 1970. Dube speaks fondly of these days, revealing that the first parliamentary elections were held on May 16-17, 1972. The pro-monarchist Imbokodvo National Movement (INM) won 21 out of 24 seats in the House of Assembly. Dube’s NNLC won three seats in the House of Assembly and he was among those elected into Parliament.

Interesting to note is that one of the elected members from the NNLC, whose nationality was questioned by the major political party, was refused his seat in the House of Assembly and threatened with deportation. The NNLC referred the matter to the Swaziland Court of Appeal, which ruled in its favour. Dube said King Sobhuza II, on April 12, 1973, declared a state of emergency, dissolved the House of Assembly, banned all political parties and abolished the 1968 constitution.

Altercation

“The King established the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force, to defend the monarchy. I was the leader of NNLC but we had an altercation with Ambrose Zwane in Parliament. I remember forcefully taking the microphone from him in parliament to address the members. This was after I was summoned by King Sobhuza II before that sitting in parliament, where he made it clear that he was not for the idea of parties. He actually directed me to denounce my alliance with the NNLC, which I did.”

Zwane was arrested in Manzini and imprisoned on February 9, 1978. Subsequently, King Sobhuza II introduced a new constitution on October 13, 1978, restoring parliament, including the 50-member House of Assembly and 20-member Senate. Dube is singing nothing but high praise for the Tinkhundla system of government, pointing out that it was a system perfectly designed for emaswati.

“We need to embrace the Tinkhundla system of government as emaswati and respect the Monarchy as the highest authority in the country. The King is our leader and we must respect that. Yes, opinions will always differ in politics but we should never lose respect for Their Majesties. This is our culture as emaswati,” Dube said. On meeting both Mandela and Zuma, Dube said he learned a lot, politically from the two African leaders, admitting that these are memories he will cherish forever.

Opportunity

“I had the opportunity to interact with these two great African leaders and gained quite a lot in shaping up my political career. Yes, the political system of our country will always evolve with time but this should not change who we are as emaswati. We may hold different political ideals but losing respect for the King should never happen.”
Dube said Eswatini should be a peaceful country, urging citizens to read and appreciate the rich history of this country.

“I am very proud to have been among the politicians to be elected into the first parliament of this country. It seems like yesterday and these are memories I will cherish everyday,” he said. Dube is free to share his knowledge and experiences with emaSwati and institutions.

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