Yet, the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, is trying to deflect criticism away from the King by telling its readers that these young lives were lost, ‘for King and country’. They were in the ‘service of the nation’ – defending Swazi cultural heritage.
The truth is different.
The girls died because they, and thousands more like them, were forced to
travel on the back of unsafe open trucks, jammed together cheek-by-jowl and unable
to sit or move. In civilized countries cattle are transported in better
conditions.
There were at least sixty
people on the back of one truck when it was involved in a collision on an open
road on 28 August 2015. The victims were thrown from the back of the truck.
Many died on the spot; some reports state that some were hit by oncoming
vehicles. If the girls had been travelling in a bus they would almost certainly
have escaped death.
The girls, reported in
Swazi media to be ‘virgins’ or ‘maidens’, were on their way to the Reed Dance,
where they were expected to dance bare-breasted in front of King Mswati III,
who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. The youngest ‘maiden’ to die was 11 years old.
The deaths (and the numbers
that died is still disputed, at least 65 might be the true figure) were
unnecessary. The girls should have been given safe transportation, but to do so
would have meant hiring buses which would need to be paid for.
The King could afford to
pay for safe transportation. He, with his 14 wives and vast Royal Family, lives
in extreme luxury with 13 palaces, a private jet aircraft, and fleets of BMW
and Mercedes cars.
Meanwhile, seven in ten of his 1.3 million subjects live in
abject poverty with incomes of less than US$2 per day. Last month, it was
reported in Botswana that one of the King’s sons, Prince Majaha, aged 23, had a
watch
worth US$40,000 stolen from his hotel room. The cost of the watch equals
about 55 years’ income for seven in ten Swazi people.
The King uses the annual
Reed Dance in a cynical attempt to influence international opinion into
believing that he is an adored father of his kingdom, but his state which does
not allow political parties to contest elections and has banned all opposition
groups has been criticised by all the world’s major
human rights observer groups.
Emotions are running high
in Swaziland, where the King’s regime holds total power and any voices raised
against him are silenced. Even so, dissenting voices are being heard, most
notably on social media.
Mainstream media outside Swaziland have questioned why the girls were forced to travel in such terrible, and unsafe, conditions. In South Africa they are reviewing their own methods for transporting people to similar cultural events.
Mainstream media outside Swaziland have questioned why the girls were forced to travel in such terrible, and unsafe, conditions. In South Africa they are reviewing their own methods for transporting people to similar cultural events.
Now, the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect
owned by King Mswati, is trying to deflect criticism away from the King by
declaring that the dead girls were ‘heroes’ of Swaziland.
Fanyana Mabuza,
a leading cheerleader for King Mswati, wrote
on Thursday (3 September 2015), ‘[I]t cannot be denied that they [the girls who
were killed] were on national service and like true cultural activists, died in
the propagation of values that make us who we are.’
Mabuza added, ‘Hence,
these women, as young as they were, could be said to have died protecting or
defending this cultural heritage, passed down to this nation from many eons
ago.’
The observer has been described by the Media Institute of Southern
Africa Swaziland chapter as a ‘pure propaganda machine for the royal family’
Mabuza then goes on to
suggest that future generations of children would want to follow the same fate
as those who were killed.
Mabuza wrote, ‘Naturally,
the deeds performed by heroes whether glorious or villainous (depending on
which side of the fence you sit) should be celebrated and documented for
posterity. Future generations must know of their deeds so they could wish to
emulate them.’
Mabuza added, ‘Just like
the parents of some of the girls expressed their gratitude that their children
were being recognised for dying for the king and country, a fitting monument
for them could further enhance their legacy, while also demonstrating that as a
country, we fully honour those who die in service of this nation.’
No public inquest into
the circumstances of the accident has been announced. The King has made no
public statement about the causes of the accident. The Swazi Government, which
is not elected, but handpicked by the King, has not announced an inquiry into
the accident.
See also
DEAD GIRLS TRANSPORTED LIKE CATTLE
‘COVER-UP
ON SWAZI REED DANCE DEATHS
‘CANCEL
REED DANCE AFTER DEATHS’
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