Social media users are once again bringing news of human
rights violations in Swaziland to the attention of the world.
This time the world-famous hip-hop and soul singer Erykah Badu is
their target.
People are angry because Badu sang Happy Birthday at a private
party for King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, and then
gave him a lucky stone and a US$100 note as a gift.
The Swazi King rules his kingdom with an iron grip and while
he lives in luxury with 13 palaces, fleets of Mercedes cars, and a private jet
airplane, seven in ten of his 1.3 million subjects live in abject poverty on
less than US$2 a day. Forbes magazine
once reported King Mswati had a personal fortune of US$200 million.
King Mswati’s grip on power in his kingdom is so great that at
present editor Bkheki Makhubu and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko are on
trial in Swaziland for contempt of court after calling the independence of
the Swazi judicial system into question in articles in a small circulation
magazine, the Nation.
Also, seven people are in
jail awaiting trial for wearing T-shirts supporting the pro-democracy group
PUDEMO.
It was against this background that people rushed to their
Twitter and Facebook accounts to condemn Badu, who in the past has been a vocal
supporter of human rights. Mainstream media quickly picked up on the story and it
went global.
Badu was so
stung by the criticism that she went on Twitter to defend herself. She
refused to apologise, saying, ‘I can’t be held responsible for the situation in
the kingdom because I signed up as an artist, not as a political activist.’
Groups supporting the call for human rights in
Swaziland joined in. Human Rights Foundation director of institutional affairs,
Alex
Gladstein, in a press release said, ‘She
claims to want to improve the lives of the disenfranchised and impoverished,
but unapologetically does favors for a corrupt tyrant who jails those who
challenge his ill-gotten wealth and power. She should be the first in line
asking the
king to release Makhubu and Maseko.
‘The authenticity of Badu’s
philanthropic efforts is called into question by her celebration of Mswati.’
He added, ‘The
king is a kleptocrat who lives in the lap of obscene
luxury while most of his countrymen toil in abject poverty for less than $2 a
day. Badu’s
performance for him is a slap in the face of all human rights defenders inside Swaziland and is a
mockery of Badu’s work
inside the US.’
Social media is being increasingly used by
supporters of democracy in Swaziland, by-passing mainstream media in the
kingdom, all of which supports the monarchy. Activists have been Tweeting each
day from the Swazi High Court as the trial of Makhubu and Maseko continues.
They have also drawn the world’s attention to human rights violations
concerning, among other things, violence against women, discrimination against gays
and lesbians, ill treatment of juvenile prisoners and the rape of young girls.
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