A chief in Swaziland / eSwatini has banned alcohol in his area. It is another
example of how chiefs in the kingdom have complete control over their people.
The ban happened in Qomintaba. Chief Gasa waNgwane Dlamini issued the ban
after youths allegedly got drunk and attacked elderly people with spears.
Chiefs are appointed by King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of
Swaziland. They rule in his name and have unlimited powers; sometimes literally
of life and death.
The international
news agency AFP reported a spokesperson for the chief saying, ‘The
violent behaviour of drunk youths who spear and assault elderly people is the
reason why the chief decided to ban alcohol.
‘In this area we have a problem of a high rate of drinking among youths
caused by high unemployment.
‘This causes them to spend a lot of time drinking traditional
concoctions and smoking dagga (marajuana).’
Chief Gasa waNgwane Dlamini was in the news ahead of Swaziland’s
national election in September 2018. In April there was a campaign at Lavumisa
that includes Qomintaba.
The Swazi Observer reported
at the time people were angry at ‘the draconian laws imposed
allegedly by the leadership of the area’.
Lavumisa Chief Gasa WaNgwane’s main royal residence is Qomintaba. There
are almost 16 mini-chiefdoms in Lavumisa, all which report to Qomintaba.
Constituencies under Lavumisa include Sigwe, Somntongo and Matsanjeni
South.
The Observer reported, ‘There
has been instability in the area with some of the residents, including close
family members of the ruling household, questioning Gasa WaNgwane’s leadership
style. It is said some of the close family members and residents no longer
participate in activities organised by the leadership.’
Chiefs in
Swaziland are appointed by King Mswati and wield tremendous power over their
subjects. They can, for example, determine whether people are allowed to live
in the area, or whether children can attend universities and colleges. In some
cases they decide who lives and who dies as they are in charge of distributing
international food aid to starving communities. About a third of the population
of Swaziland receive food aid each year.
Chiefs can
and do take revenge on their subjects who disobey them. There is a catalogue of
cases in Swaziland. For example, Chief Dambuza Lukhele of Ngobelweni in the
Shiselweni region banned his subjects
from ploughing their fields because some of them defied his order to build
a hut for one of his wives.
Nhlonipho
Nkamane Mkhatswa, chief of Lwandle in Manzini,
the main commercial city in Swaziland, reportedly
stripped a woman of her clothing in the middle of a street in full view of
the public because she was wearing trousers.
In
November 2013, the
newly-appointed Chief Ndlovula of Motshane threatened to evict nearly 1,000
of his subjects from grazing land if they did not pay him a E5,000 (about
US$500 at the time) fine, the equivalent of more than six months income for
many in Swaziland.
In March
2017 the Swazi Observer reported the EBC
told residents during a voter education exercise at Engwenyameni
Umphakatsi, ‘it was not acceptable have elected politicians to behave as if
they were above community leaders’.
It added,
‘Chiefs remain superior to any other person in communities as they are the
administrative arm of His Majesty King Mswati III.’
See
also
Chief punishes residents with fine
https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/chief-punishes-residents-with-fine.html
King's defiant subjects ‘will burn’
King's defiant subjects ‘will burn’
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/04/kings-defiant-subjects-will-burn.html
Chief forces subjects to greet King
Chief forces subjects to greet King
Bullying chiefs rule in Swaziland
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/06/bullying-chiefs-rule-in-swaziland.html
Chief makes woman in pants strip
Chief makes woman in pants strip
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