Swazi dissident Mfomfo Nkhambule and has vowed to continue writing his controversial articles in the Times of Swaziland.
And he has called on King Mswati III to support him by telling the traditional authorities who have told Nkhambule to stop writing to shut up.
Writing his regular Monday column in the Times today (2 February 2009), Nkhambule says that only his readers can tell him to stop writing.
Nkhambule has been under intense pressure over the past three weeks after members of the Swazi state police Intelligence Unit hauled him in for questioning and told him he must stop criticising the king. He was threatened with 20 years in jail. It is also reported that Nkhambule faced torture if he didn’t do as the police said.
Later, traditional authorities at Nkhambule’s home and at his regiment waded in by telling Nkhambule that he would lose all rights and privileges if he didn’t stop his criticism.
In his column today Nkhambule continues his attack on supporters of the king who exploit ordinary Swazi people. ‘I think my king should be happy when we realise that we have been exploited by other Swazis who have turned us into a nation of beggars whilst they have been using His Majesty’s resources (people, tax and any other source of income) to enrich themselves and their friends much to the detriment of the majority of his subjects. I want to believe that if there is anything that my king can look after carefully with all of his might, it is none other than the culture of the Swazi people,’ he writes.
He goes on, ‘Therefore it is my hope that His Majesty will quickly call the regiments to order before great damage is done to our culture. If His Majesty endorses the unbecoming behaviour of the leadership of this regiment then he needs to maintain his silence on this disturbing development so that you and I may draw the necessary conclusion. If my king decides to marginalise the matter of the regiments, then we will deduce as to who was behind the action of the police warning me about the articles and who is behind the action of the regiment leadership threatening me with expulsion for helping my fellow countrymen believe in themselves and or giving them information that will help them make good decisions for their survival as well as their children's survival.’
In conclusion, Nkhambule writes, ‘What I have undertaken in this column is a public duty and I cannot make a unilateral decision. When the people who I serve tell me to stop I will do so.’
To read the full column, click here.
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