MBABANE – Prime Minister (PM) Russell Mmiso Dlamini has appealed to the public to accord the family of the late Chief Justice (CJ) Bheki Maphalala the dignity, privacy and respect due to any grieving family.
The PM’s remarks come amid a wave of insensitive commentary that has followed the public reporting of his death. The late CJ became the first liSwati to serve as chief justice of Eswatini. His death closes a legal career spanning more than three decades, one that carried him from private practice in Manzini to the country’s highest judicial office.
Responding to questions from this publication, Dlamini said the Maphalala family had lost ‘a father and a cherished member of their family’ at a moment that demanded compassion rather than scrutiny. He said the nation owed the family space to grieve without added burden. “At this difficult hour, their grief must be accorded the dignity, privacy and respect that every bereaved family deserves,” he said.
The premier’s appeal comes as some people have taken to their social media spaces, posting insensitive remarks about the late CJ, some reviving old controversies from his time on the bench. Dlamini described this as an exploitation of a painful family moment for ends that had nothing to do with mourning. “We strongly deprecate any attempt to exploit this painful moment for whatever purpose, including the pursuit of publicity, controversy or sensational news,” he said.
He added that bereavement should neither be politicised nor used as an occasion to advance unrelated interests and urged restraint and sensitivity in how the late jurist’s death is discussed publicly. “We, therefore, respectfully appeal to members of the media, commentators and the public at large to exercise restraint and sensitivity and to afford the Maphalala family the necessary space and privacy to mourn their loved one in peace,” said the PM.
The PM’s remarks came separately from a formal government statement issued the same day, announcing the CJ’s death and extending condolences on behalf of the State.
In the issued statement, the premier stated that government had learnt with profound sorrow of the sudden passing of Maphalala, while extending condolences on behalf of His Majesty King Mswati III, the Queen Mother, government and the people of Eswatini.
The PM further conveyed condolences to his colleagues on the bench, the legal fraternity, his close associates and all who worked with him in the administration of justice, describing his death as marking ‘the close of a significant period in the leadership of the kingdom’s Judiciary’.
Giving a brief record of Maphalala’s record on the bench, where he served for more than a decade before his elevation to the position of chief justice in 2015, government said he had presided over the Judiciary ‘through an important and consequential period in the evolution of the kingdom’s justice system’.
In the process, the statement stated that he had consistently affirmed the principle of judicial independence.
Archivist and historian Lethumusa Simelane, a staunch traditionalist, has made a similar appeal, urging the nation to return to its customary ways of showing respect to the dead.
Contacted following the spate of insensitive social media posts about Maphalala, Simelane said no person, however unpopular they may have been with sections of society in life, should be denied that respect in death. He explained that, according to Swati custom, a person who has died assumes a status akin to that of a new-born child, treated as innocent, without enemies and beyond reproach for whatever mistakes were made in life.
He said just as a new-born carries no grudge and is owed none, he said, so too does the deceased. “The deceased are respected, a gesture that is not merely extended to them but, most importantly, to the remaining family. The consideration is centrally for the grieving family, more than merely the deceased,” Simelane insisted.
He added that Eswatini tradition holds no custom of publicly re-litigating a person’s conduct after death, still less of celebrating their passing. He, therefore, appealed to citizens to observe that same restraint in their conduct online, particularly on social media platforms where such commentary spreads fastest and lingers longest.
Maphalala was appointed Chief Justice by the King in November 2015, following the dismissal of his predecessor, Michael Ramodibedi and has remained active in public affairs until his death. Government has yet to announce funeral arrangements. Officials said further details, including any state recognition befitting Maphalala’s decade of service to the Judiciary, would be communicated by the family and relevant authorities in due course.
By Khaya Simelane, Joseph Zulu and Mfanukhona Nkambule
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