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‘GAWUZELA’ COMING NOV, SAYS HE IS READY TO DIE

07/07/2024 08:40:00 Ntombi Mhlongo

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MBABANE – Despite being regarded as a fugitive of the law in the Kingdom of Eswatini, exiled President of the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) has vowed to be in neighbourig South Africa, come November 2, 2024.

On the aforementioned day, he will be located in an area that is situated a few kilometres from the Kingdom of Eswatini. He has said that he will be in attendance at an event organised by his party dubbed ‘The Gathering of Nation’ set to be held at KaMhlushwa in Mpumalanga. The former Member of Parliament (MP) introduced his upcoming event on Thursday during his online show dubbed ‘Family Meeting’, where he invited emaSwati to come in numbers. Simelane began his address by stating that he was never in the Kingdom of Eswatini last week as many might have been made to believe.

Received a tip-off

He claimed that he had heard that the country’s security forces searched for him after having received a tip-off that he had arrived through a train. “What I can assure emaSwati is that I will travel to Africa after the month of October. When travelling to Africa, I will be going to Kamhlushwa Stadium, which is 20 kilometres from the Mananga Border Post. I am going there to call out to God and join other emaSwati. This will be during the day,” he said. Elaborating, the former MP said the event was all about uniting all emaSwati who want democratic change, since they cannot be allowed to gather in the Kingdom of Eswatini.

“It will be very helpful for emaSwati to gather, let alone the fact that I will be there. We will be praying against all evil and the success of the movement,” he said. He vowed that all talk at the event will be directed to God and that by the end of the year, there will be a huge change in the country. Also, he said his political party will engage certain institutions, one of them being the United States Embassy to enquire about a petition that was delivered over two years ago. He said since the general elections have been concluded in South Africa, SWALIMO will make sure that it mobilised the political parties of the neighbouring country in calling for a democratic Eswatini.
According to Simelane, an anticipated huge turnout at the upcoming event will convince the people of South Africa that emaSwati want change.
invite MPs
“We will also invite MPs from other countries in the SADC region so that they can hear our story. Even here in the United Kingdom, we will try and engage two or more MPs to be part of us at the upcoming event. We want the global world to be with us on the day,” said Simelane. He said on the day, emaSwati in attendance will be the ones given the platform to speak and not him. Detailing the preparations for the event, Simelane pleaded for support in terms of funds. He cited that in order to secure a sound system, about E85 000 was needed. Interestingly, the exiled former MP said he was aware that his followers might have fear that he might be arrested at the event due to that the Kingdom of Eswatini has bilateral relations with South Africa. Also, he cited the recent trip by the Eswatini delegation to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva and said a presentation made there regarding events of the political unrest in 2021 was not true.

Raided the homes

Furthermore, Simelane used his online show to condemn the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) for having raided the homes of Siphofaneni MP Nomalungelo Simelane and former politician Ngomuyayona Gamedze a few days ago. During breaks, the former MP would play video clips of gospel artists and local representatives of other political organisations who declared that they will support the event. One of the organisations appearing on the clips is Swazi Democratic Party (SWADEPA) whose President Barnes Dlamini said: “We appreciate the work that is being planned by SWALIMO of wanting us to speak to God. We are here to give assurance that we will support it fully. Let us go there to sharpen our holy weapons. We will be shouting God’s name and that is all.”

On the side of artists, Pastor Scara Maziya appears on the clips, where he is heard inviting other emaSwati to grace the event. It should be noted that early this year, this publication reported that Simelane had been granted a refugee asylum stay in the United Kingdom (UK) for the next five years. Refugees have the right to apply for welfare in the UK, in line with nationals in that country. If one is a refugee, they are able to work in the UK without any restrictions. He shared a copy of a letter dated February 8, 2024 written by the UK Home Office detailing that his application for a stay had been approved.

Simelane fled the Kingdom of Eswatini in July 2021, shortly after news of an arrest warrant against him made rounds. His warrant of arrest was issued along with those of incarcerated former MPs Mthandeni Dube and Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza. The two were arrested on July 25, 2021 and charged under the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008. After fleeing the country, Simelane stated that he was in the UK in a quest to spread the word about the human rights violations in Eswatini. He said he was on a global advocacy drive. When announcing the news of being granted an asylum stay to his followers, Simelane revealed that the Government of Eswatini had cancelled the diplomatic passport that had been issued to him.
The passport was given to Simelane as a working tool in his capacity as an MP.

The granting of the asylum stay meant that the UK Government had accepted that Simelane had a well-founded fear of persecution and, therefore, could not return to the Kingdom of Eswatini and had, therefore, been recognised as a refugee under the 1951 Refugee Convention. By definition, a refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

International refugee

Seeking asylum is not an unlawful act, and as such, international refugee and human rights law standards protect from penalisation even those who have entered or remained in the territory of a State without authorisation, including penalisation in the form of detention or other restrictions on their movement. According to research, the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of July 28, 1951 is a United Nations (UN) multilateral treaty that defines who a refugee is and sets out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum.

Research also makes mention of a relation between the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and what is known as the 1967 Protocol? The 1967 Protocol broadens the applicability of the 1951 Convention in that it removes the geographical and time limits that were part of the latter. These limits initially restricted the convention to persons who became refugees due to events occurring in Europe before January 1, 1951.