WHO IS WITCH IN STRUGGLE? TINKHUNDLA OR US?- SIBONGILE

MBABANE – Political activist Sibongile Mazibuko has posed a million-dollar question in the pro-democracy movement.

“Who is the witch?” she asked during the memorial service of Bheka Brian Magagula, the former warder who was reportedly missing in neighbouring South Africa and later found dead.
Mazibuko also said that if there are sell-outs in the struggle, they should be killed and thrown in the sea just like it happened in biblical times. Mazibuko was one of the attendees who represented different Eswatini political parties and spoke strongly about not only the brutality in the killing of Magagula, but the now visible problems in the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM). The memorial service was shown live on online media platforms, the Swaziland Democratic News and the Swazi Voice of the People. The speakers decried that Magagula died in a brutal manner and said their hope is that the truth will come out eventually.

Singing and dancing

Struggle songs were the order of the day, as the attendees would now and again spring up to action by singing and dancing. Some of the songs they sang were titled ‘Ye-Bheka ulele kanjani’, ‘Ye-Bheka kuyaliwa lana’, ‘Comrade IB sabela uyabizwa’. Beginning her speech by passing her condolences to the family of Magagula, Mazibuko, who serves as the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) President, then mentioned that comrades are scared as they wanted change but now it was bloodshed. “The spilling of blood belonging to Magagula shows that victory is certain, because they are a special clan and leaders. He sacrificed his life and said I am ready. He did it just like Jesus Christ who decided to be nailed on the cross,” she said. Mazibuko then informed the attendees that there was a big question that begged an answer.

“Who is the witch? Is it Tinkhundla or  is he  among us? Among us, do we now have someone who when we are weeding comes with a slasher? This is the question that we hope will be answered by the South African Police Service. They must investigate and bring us answers,” Mazibuko said.She asked to know if there is anyone sinking the struggle ship and changing the mandate for personal gain and that if there is, such a person needed to be known. “It is a fact that inside the struggle ship. There is an unwanted person inside the ship that the MDM is driving. The person, as it turns, will throw all of us out. It is time we take a decision, that those who are with us but are sell-outs, they be thrown into the sea,” she said.

She then claimed Eswatini’s neighbouring country; the Republic of South Africa, has a duty to support the local struggle. azibuko said Eswatini comrades were there for their South African counterparts during hard times as they housed them and suffered gunshots from all directions. “We invested in you, it is time we harvest, so South Africans, it is time you stand up,” Mazibuko emphasised. Also speaking at the memorial was Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) Secretary General Paul Matimela, who first appreciated United Eswatini Diaspora (UED) Convener Bonginkhosi IB Dhlamini and political activist gift Dlamini for what he termed love for the struggle.

Matimela mentioned that on behalf of SWALIMO, he wanted to speak to comrades and make them aware that when they joined the revolution, they knew that it is a rough terrain.
He said he was sorry for those who joined the struggle just to be seen wearing political parties replicas and post on social media.“We have not forgotten how emaSwati died in 2021.We have not forgotten how Thulani Maseko was killed. Comrade Bheka was not just killed, but was butchered. This is now how you kill a person. It happened in a painful way which we condemn as SWALIMO,” Matimela said.He said following the killing of Magagula, he wonders if people still have a conscience and that he believes that even if there are dissenting views, there is a better way.

Pay for what they did

“Those who butchered Bheka will be known and will pay for what they did. When I joined the struggle, I only knew that the enemy of the struggle was the regime. But as the political transition prolongs, it is painful that now there are narratives which make one even fear to trust another comrade next to him,” he said.He then asked how the comrades will push for a successful revolution if they will now and again be forced to hide from both their enemy and fellow comrades at the same time. Matimela said he does not believe allegations, but wanted to emphasise the importance of unity. “We might differ on political ideology, but at least we have a point of convergence that we need change. Let us focus on that. We need to form one democratic front. The struggle is real and is on the ground and not on facebook. The insults on Facebook are a shame to the struggle. You buy data to insult others, but you failed to even contribute to this funeral today,” said Matimela.

His disappointment

Meanwhile, UED Convener IB also spoke at the memorial and relayed his disappointment at developments that unfolded after the death of Magagula. “Let us talk like real people. If you receive news that a person says he is being attacked and names the attackers, if it is your friend, would you keep quiet? Why would you do that? If it comes out later on, what are you going to say?” he asked. He then mentioned that he receives insults on social media for having spoken out and told the world what Magagula said on the phone before he disappeared.
IB said the reason he spoke out was because he wanted Magagula’s attackers to release and not kill him.

“All we wanted was to save his life. We were alerting the attackers that we now know who they and we thought they would let him go”. He emphasised that all he heard was Magagula saying, ‘Bayangihlasela leader’ (They are attacking me, leader) and that it was Gift who confided that he had named the attackers.IB said during the conversation with Magagula, he asked him where he was as he wanted to alert the police.He said the call was cut after which there was no response.

“I asked Gift three times who the attackers had said were and this is because I did not believe it. The truth will come out. People are spreading different rumours, one of them being that Tinkhundla must have held Bheka in ransom and forced him to say the words. Really? Is Bheka a fool? Was it even going to be better if it was Tinkhundla?” IB asked.He reiterated that Magagula did not say any names to him, but did so in the conversation with Gift.He said there could be many possibilities that he might have been killed by Tinkhundla, fellow comrades or thugs, but that he is now gone and someone had a hand.

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