Swaziland’s Elections and
Boundaries Commission (EBC) has called for an end to ritual killings around
voting time.
The EBC is concerned about
reports of people mysteriously disappearing across the kingdom. There has been
evidence of ritual murders in past elections.
Voters go to the polls for
the national election in 2018 at a date yet to be set by King Mswati III who
rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. The EBC is touring
the kingdom in a series of ‘voter education’ meetings.
At KaLanga in the Lugongolweni
constituency EBC educator Cynthia Dlamini said ritual murder reports increased during
election time.
The Swazi Observer reported on Monday (26 June 2017), ‘Dlamini said
this was one belief driven by lunacy which, tarnishes the image of the country
in the process. She said the commission condemns such beliefs and called for
intensive investigations against those who would be suspected of ritual
killings.’
At the last election in 2013, The Swaziland Epilepsy
Association warned that cases of the abduction of epileptic people always
increased during elections.
Mbuso
Mahlalela from the association told the Swazi
Observer at the time it was common that during the time of elections the vulnerable
were targeted and abducted. He spoke after a report that a 13-year-old
epileptic boy might have been abducted for ritual purposes.
The number of ritual murders increases during election
year. Before the previous election in 2008 a march
by civil society groups to draw attention to the problem was
banned by the government amid fears that it would bring bad publicity to
Swaziland and might embarrass King Mswati, who had spoken out against the
practice.
The Times of
Swaziland reported at the time the march had been motivated by the mystery
disappearances and murders of women. Some
of these had been found mutilated fuelling speculating that they were related
to rituals.
Some Swazi people believe body parts can be used as
‘muti’ which is used to bring good fortune to candidates at the election and
help them to win seats in parliament.
In 2008, it was strongly rumoured in Swaziland that
the reason why members of the government wanted to ban discussion on the ritual
murders was that some of them had themselves used ‘muti’ to get elected.
See also
‘MPs USE WITCHCRAFT FOR SUCCESS’
ELECTION:
‘RITUAL MURDERS WILL RISE’
SWAZI
GOVT BANS MURDERS MARCH
FURY
AT SWAZI MURDER MARCH BAN
MORE
ANGER OVER SWAZI MARCH BAN
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2008/07/more-anger-over-swazi-march-ban.html
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