A businessman with only one leg was barred from meeting King
Mswati III of Swaziland because he would not be able to kneel before the
monarch.
Peter Petersie, aged 54, of Hlatikhulu, who was leading a
group of businessmen, wanted an audience with the king at the Mbangweni Royal
Residence to discuss development matters. But, he was told that because he had
one leg, he could not kneel down as required by custom when before the king.
He was barred by Lindiwe Dlamini, the outgoing Housing and
Urban Development Minister.
The Times of Swaziland,
the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, reported Petersie saying,
‘I am still shocked by the way Dlamini treated me, it was the highest standard
of discrimination I have ever seen in my lifetime.’
He added, ‘We went there to deliver two cows to the king and
I was in charge of the funds and having got inside Mbangweni Palace with a
colleague, Minister Dlamini said I could not see the king because I have only
one leg.’
He said, ‘I have contributed in building the economy of
Swaziland and I do not deserve to be blocked from seeing the king, despite my
disabled condition I am a productive Swazi citizen hence, I should not be
discriminated against but treated as a human being.’
The treatment of Petersie is not unusual in Swaziland, where
King Mswati rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch and requires
every Swazi, regardless of their rank, to kneel when they are before him. In
August 2013 a group of disabled people in the Ngcamphalala Chiefdom of
Swaziland, said they were ‘treated like animals’ by traditional authorities in
the kingdom.
A group called the Association for People Living with
Disabilities said they were concerned that a local development by Swaziland
Water Agricultural Development Enterprise (SWADE) which empowered people
through agricultural schemes such as growing sugar cane had excluded
them.
Sifiso Nhleko, chair of the local Association for People
Living with Disabilities, group told local media, ‘The chiefdom’s inner
council has let us down as they have done nothing to include us in the
development yet they know that we exist. They have not approved our involvement
in the development.’
He added, ‘We are also human beings and deserve to be
included in development. People without disabilities treat us as if we
are animals and government and development agencies do not take us into
consideration when implementing development.’
Disabled people in Swaziland are marginalised by traditions
and superstitions.
A report published by SINTEF Technology and Society, Global
Health and Welfare in 2011 that studied living conditions among people with
disabilities in Swaziland, found, ‘There is a general belief that those who
have a disability are bewitched or inflicted by bad spirits.
‘Many believe that being around people with disabilities can
bring bad luck. As a result, many people with disabilities are hidden in their
homesteads and are not given an opportunity to participate and contribute to
society.’
The report was the result of an extensive study in the
kingdom in 2009 and 2010.
It also found that people with disabilities had been
abandoned by the Swazi Government. The report stated, ‘The absence of any comprehensive
laws and policies to address people with disabilities’ access to equal
opportunities reflect a lack of political will and a failure to recognize
disability as a human right issue contributes to the devaluing and dehumanising
of people with disabilities.
See also
DISABLED PEOPLE ‘TREATED LIKE ANIMALS’
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