Swaziland’s ruling regime, headed by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, has lost control of the kingdom, according to main opposition group, the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO).
In this statement, released today (10 September 2010), it also condemns Barnabas Dlamini, the illegally-appointed Prime Minister for advocating the torture of dissidents.
TINKHUNDLA IS DECAYING, COLLAPSING AND DYING
We have always accurately and consistently maintained that the royal regime in Swaziland is collapsing because of its archaic, oppressive and undemocratic Tinkhundla system of governance. The recent events and developments that were witnessed during the week are clear indications and symptoms that strongly confirm our assertion.
The regime is clearly admitting to the people of Swaziland and the international community that it needs help and urgent political intervention for it has lost control of the country; and is in an advanced state of decay and therefore making it even more desperate and dangerous. That it is dying, collapsing and desperate is indicated by:
- Its acute failure to deliver quality services to its people.
- Its deep hatred for criticism by its people hence the enactment of harsh and inhuman laws such as the 1973 King's Proclamation, the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008, etc.
- Its deep hatred of international scrutiny and criticism hence the forceful deportations visited on the visiting international workers activists this week.
- The use desperate tactics to win the people’s favour by targeting the poor and vulnerable members of society with interventions of ‘assistance’ with food hampers and then invite the media to cover such callous acts.
- High expenditure in the security sector not to protect the people, but for reasons of containing the people who are now getting tired of being misgoverned.
- The failure to convince its people to accept its corrupt rule hence outsourcing the task to the security forces to run the country and bring ‘order’. In the process we see massive recruitment into the security forces; their massive deployment undercover into communities (the Nazi style public control). Innocent young men and women have been turned into spies, killers and enemies of their own people just to save the desperate and collapsing Tinkhundla regime.
- The use of scare tactics on the ‘enemies’ of the state including harassment, victimization, death threats and death itself.
The Prime Minister’s promise of torturing (using sipakatane) those with dissenting voices in the country must be located within this context which accurately characterizes the regime in Swaziland. Torturing and hurting people has become the blue-print of its governance. This is where the security forces get their mandate to brutalize the masses.
Afterall in 2008 the head of state issued the call to strangle (kwekhama) all those who do not want to toe the Tinkhundla line of march. This is the reason we as PUDEMO are seriously and strongly lobbying the international community beyond the SADC leadership (which seemingly is not at all bothered) to assist the people of Swaziland push for the urgent democratization of the country before we witness a repetition of the painful and inhuman Zimbabwe and Madagascar scenarios.
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