Swaziland Newsletter No. 757 – 16 December 2022
News from and about Swaziland, compiled by
Global Aktion, Denmark (www.globalaktion.dk)
in collaboration with Swazi Media Commentary (www.swazimedia.blogspot.com),
and sent to all with an interest in Swaziland - free of charge.
PUDEMO
applauds public transport workers for successful implementation of national
shutdown.
By
Wendy Magagula, Swaziland News, 14 December, 2022
MBABANE: Wandile Dludlu, the Secretary
General of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) has, on behalf of
the political organization, applauded public transport workers for the
successful implementation of the national shutdown.
In a public statement sent to this
Swaziland News on Wednesday evening, the PUDEMO Secretary General blasted the
regime for abusing the courts to legitimize oppression.
“The leadership and entire membership of
PUDEMO the People's Glorious Movement
"When the Emperor is Naked"
wish to take this moment to salute
firstly, the nation and the transport industry for making sure that, nothing
moves from any corner of the country, reads the statement in part.
The PUDEMO Secretary General said
as a political organization they noted that all cities,
communities as well as industries were none operational as the country was in a
total shutdown.
“This is not withstanding the government
that tried to intimidate, harass and threaten every Swazi particularly the
transport industry as led by the transport revolutionary operatives. Let it be
clear here, Mswati uses all organs of the state to oppress our people. Look how
a court get abused illegally and irrationally to effect an illogical court
order, an attempt to sanitize their nonsense theory of oppression. As a party
we wish every Swazi would understand that these painful sacrifices we make
today go a long way in shaking the ruling elites “Power Matrix" no leader
leads alone, even your pastor leads for and on behalf of a certain clique to
whom he is their gatekeeper. The Royalty in our case is a Gate keeper of
Business while Swazi workers get paid peanuts whilst they rake in billions from
the same industries. We ask everyone to look how uselessly quiet their
Parliament is in such situations, hopelessly so when pro-democracy MPS languish
for over a year now, in prison. This should serve as a symbolic political
school to anybody who may still doubt that not a single organ of this regime
exists to serve the nation's interests but to oppress.Children of our heroes
and heroine know that, nothing gives in without a real push from those who
truly want it, we want it and want it now,” said the PUDEMO Secretary General.
Multiparty
democracy in 24 months – Busi Mayisela
By
Mhlonishwa Motsa, Time of eSwatini, 11 December 2022
MBABANE: Busi Mayisela’s new political party, Swazis First
Democratic Front (SFDF) has set a 24-months target for attaining multiparty
democracy in the country.
This was revealed by Mayisela,
who officially assumed the position of founding president during the launch. In
her maiden address, Mayisela said their assignment as a political party was to
ensure that the multiparty democracy was achieved by December 2024.
“We have but only one
assignment. In the next 24 months the Tinkhundla regime must be a thing of the
past. It is clear that we have but only one solution to the political challenge
we are facing, that is to seek robust ways of pushing and pulling the regime to
the round table. That needs our young men and women to stand up and be counted,
it calls for them to stand ready since the issue has now turned to a do or die
situation,” said Mayisela.
She further revealed that the
name of the political party would be Swazis First Democratic Front (SFDF). She
said they were cognisant of the current political situation in the country. Mayisela
stated that as an organisation they assessed the situation and realised that
their first call should be the unbanning of political parties, which would
allow them to participate in national elections as organisations.
“We are aware that in the country
political parties are not legally allowed to contest power and form a
government or participate in government. The SFDF aims to collaborate with all
liberation stakeholders, with the sole purpose to realise a multiparty
democracy, as well as provide civic education in preparation for a socially
just and democratic government. As means to direct the strategy and tactics of
the political party, we have set objectives, which include enhancing the
realisation of a multiparty democracy in Eswatini by December 2024.
We also intend to increased
engagements with international partners and stakeholders in building solidarity
networks for the liberation of emaSwati. We want to improved democracy and
civic education in communities, in preparation for a democratic dispensation
and to also expand awareness for social responsibility and human rights in the
country,” she said.
Mayisela said the organisation
was calling for the people to unite and increase the pressure on government to
dialogue. “Liberation, as it has been said, is not a fruit that falls when
it is ripe. We need to make the ‘fruit’ of our liberation fall and that means
we need to commit to the only alternative that we all did not wish for but it
is the only alternative. The political party we are here to launch today in
this auspicious occasion. One would ask, if there are political parties, why
found another one instead of joining any of the existing ones? That question
needs to be answered in the most genuine way possible. As Swazis we are advocating
for a multiparty dispensation and the first valid reason is simple, the right
to freedom of conscious, expression and association. That could have been
achieved in the other political parties and that brings us to the core reason,
the issue of ideology,” she added.
She said the SFDF had spotted
a gap in ideology on pragmatic and the bold social democratic approach to
politics that deals with issues of social justice and economic freedom. She
said their target was to address issues affecting women, the youth, workers and
the environment. Mayisela said they were built upon the ideology of
democratic socialists and were therefore calling for social democracy.
“It has been said that a
revolutionary with no ideology is nothing but criminal. Social democracy has
proven to be the solution across continents where it is being practiced mainly
in the Nordic countries and Europe. The values of social democracy are
universal and they sit well with being African as they promote the idea that
‘you are because we are’, that is ‘umuntfu ngumuntfu ngebantfu’. The SFDF
believes in communal, that is, social justice approach in dealing with the
political and economic issues facing our country, continent and the world, and
the SFDF is canvassing and advocating for a socially just and democratic
society,” she said.
Mayisela explained that the
name of the organisation was a simple way of sending the message across, that
justice for each and every liSwati was their priority. She said the people of
Eswatini were their priority and would take pre-eminence in all their
plans. Mayisela said the name made it a lifetime agenda for every member
of the SFDF to consider the people first. She said members of the organisation
were considered to be servants of one another and ambassadors of social justice
and economic freedom for each other.
“This should be and remain in
the DNA of the political party to prioritise policies, agendas and actions that
consider emaSwati’s welfare first ahead of their own. I, therefore, urge all
the members present here today that in the SFDF, leadership is servant-hood,
and you literally work for the people. It is for that reason that we shall be
holding a National Conference to elect a new leadership for the SFDF within six
months from today. All the members here are expected to assist the interim
National Executive Committee to prepare for that National Conference,” she
said.
Mayisela further encouraged
the members present at the launch that they were to mobilise members in wards,
branches and regions. She said as a collective, the members needed to identify
a minimum of three strong leaders that would come as delegates to the inaugural
congress. She said their intention was to get all issues around leadership
to be solidified so they could focus on the strategic plan for the liberation
of the country.
“I urge the members to read
the documents here provided today as they are guidelines to how best we can
work in the SFDF. You are going to leave this launch today having in your hand
the founding principles that is our manifesto, constitution, policy statements,
strategy and tactics. These documents are hereby presented to you as working
documents that will help guide us all as we set up this political party that
will be expected by Swazis to operate with integrity,” she added.
She mentioned that the NEC had
identified regional coordinators, women and youth presidents. Mayisela said
these leaders were expected to work with speed to identify the rest of the
leaders and utilise the guiding documents.
She added that her NEC was
ready to assist in setting up the structures below the leadership. She added
that all structures were to be put in place for a period of six months. She
further warned the leaders against participating in social media fights.
“On the issue of Facebook
squabbles, we are not expecting any member to practice the detestable ‘kugudla’
or ‘kugudlana’ in the name of defending the SFDF. Comrades, the leaders of SFDF
and the political party itself does not need to be defended by using vulgar
language and slurs on Facebook or any other social media platform. Others
can do it but we cannot because emaswati are part of us despite political
affiliation. Always remember our values; freedom, equality, solidarity,
diversity and fairness. I want to thank the members of SFDF, who upon hearing
the aspirations to found a new political party, they did not know even the name
but they chose to join the political party anyway,” she said. Mayisela received
support from the African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom
Fighters (EFF) among other parties that attended the unveiling of the new
political party.
Confirmed - shots fired at SWALIMO leader's home
By Eugene Dube, Swati Newsweek 13 December, 2022
MBABANE: Sibongile Mamba-
Manyika an active Swaziland Liberation Movement leader, survived after unknown
person /persons invaded her home and fired several shots and further damaged
windows last night at Ngwenya in the Hhohho region.
Thandaza Silolo, the SWALIMO
spokesperson confirmed this matter through a statement.
He said, "The Swaziland
Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) has learnt with shock and pain of the attack on
cadre Sibongile Manyika who is the Assistant National Organising Secretary of
the Movement."
Silolo explained, "We
know that the regime and its assistants are frustrated that SWALIMO is breaking
new ground everyday in Swaziland and cadre Sibongile Manyike is in the
forefront as the Assistant National Organising in making sure SWALIMO reaches
all communities of emaSwati."
Silolo said, "Just
recently, the office of the National Organising Secretary led the hosting of
SWALIMO’s first year anniversary which was highly successful and well attended
by emaSwati from all walks of life."
"The movement believes
that dialogue be the basis of engagement and not firearms. Attacking individual
political activists with brutal force will not help the situation but can only
lead to more and deep violence as emaSwati seek to retaliate.
The Swaziland Liberation
Movement will not be bullied by the regime or any of its supporters and we will
rise to the challenge in defense of our leaders.
This barbaric act needs to be
nipped in the bud before SWALIMO decides on seeking and catching all
perpetrators. When that happens, the payment will be terrible."
Information gathered is that
Sibongile was inside the house when the unknown people fired shots.
eSwatini
religious leaders express need for sensitization on LGBTQI issues
By Sifiso
Nhlabatsi, eSwatini Observer, 13 December 2022
In August 2018, at a rare meeting between Eswatini’s LGBTQI community
and religious leaders, most of the 15 pastors in attendance walked out because
they were uncomfortable with the discussions.
Since that meeting, some local faith leaders have expressed willingness to meet
with and learn more about the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
queer and intersex Emaswati.
Bishop Zwanini Shabalala, Secretary General of the Council of Swaziland
Churches, said CSC has always taught that everyone is welcome to worship
without any form of discrimination because every human being is created by God
in His own image. Yet Shabalala said not all churches are welcoming to the
LGBTQI community and cited several occasions where LGBTQI people raised
concerns about being mistreated in churches.
“Nowhere in the Bible does it state that if someone is a member of the LGBTQI
community, that person must be chased out of the church or discriminated
against,” he said.
He explained that CSC’s fellowship of more than 100 churches have clear
policies and positions around equality and human rights but no specific
position about how LGBTQI people should be treated in places of worship, hence
the need to engage in discussions around sexual and gender diversity.
“As the world changes, the CSC is also trying to adapt, and this is not
something that can happen overnight,” Shabalala stated.
Pinty Manqoba Dludlu, the Executive Director of TransSwati, said she
barely attends church because she works seven days a week teaching people about
human sexuality and diversity.
TransSwati is an organisation that works to advance equal rights of transgender
people and access to different services without discrimination.
“I strongly believe in the existence of God and believe He made no
mistake creating LGBTQI people,” Dludlu stated.
Dludlu said sometime around 2011 she visited a famous church in Zakhele,
Manzini, where a pastor said “there are demons in the house,” while praying for
her, a remark she considered discriminatory.
“Eswatini has culture and religion at the front, which have and continue to be
main perpetrators of stigma and discrimination against LGBTQI people,” Dludlu
said.
She explained that some members of the trans community stop going to church or
switch churches when gender-segregated activities, socializing, and sitting
arrangements force them into boxes where they don’t identify or belong.
Dludlu, who believes churches should be a place of healing, said it’s sad that
churches are often places where LGBTQI people are hurt.
“We do have churches that are open and welcoming to LGBTQI people. However, if
the leaders perpetuate hate, that makes it easy for the entire church to hate.
People hate what they don't understand,” Dludlu stated.
Dludlu said TransSwati has hosted dialogues and sensitization workshops with
church leaders who see LGBTQI people in their pews and want to show them love
and make them feel comfortable but don’t know how to address them.
“They wanted to help other members embrace the LGBTQI community. This has
really been amazing for us,” Dludlu explained.
She said TransSwati hopes to facilitate more such conversations where
church leaders can be capacitated on human rights to create an enabling
environment for everyone.
Themba Ngozo, Chief Executive Officer of the Eswatini Conference of Churches
(COC), said his ecumenical organization opposes discrimination and called on
the ministry of health, the LGBTQI community and church leaders to organize
dialogue sessions on gender and sexual diversity.
Ngozo said as long as religious leaders are ignorant on the topic there
will always be cases of anti-LGBTQI discrimination.
Ezulwini Islamic Centre's Imam, Feroz Ismail echoed Ngozo, saying mosques
should offer support to the LGBTQI community.
“Muslims respect other cultures, ideologies and faiths and expect those
sentiments to be reciprocated,” he said.
He said that with the maintenance of respect towards each other's
boundaries, mutually respectful coexistence can prevail.
Church needs to make informed decisions
Sisanda Mavimbela is executive director of Eswatini Sexual and Gender
Minorities (ESGM), a community-based advocacy organisation that works to
advance the protection of human rights for LGBTQI people in the country.
She lost interest in attending church after being told to leave by a pastor who
further influenced her mother to cut ties with her due to her sexuality.
Mavimbela said the Bible, like other books from other religions, preaches love,
but most people who identify as LGBTQI endure hatred in the church.
“I cannot speak of the church as a whole, because some church
consortiums are looking into the LGBTQI issue in the country, however,
individual churches, where LGBTQI people face challenges, have blatantly
ignored the infringement of rights by stating that they follow a certain
‘ideology,’” Mavimbela said.
Mavimbela blames the church for spreading homophobia, transphobia and biphobia,
which result in assaults, verbal abuse, killings and suicide among LGBTQI
Emaswati. She said religious leaders should learn more about LGBTQI persons so
that they can lead by example and make the world a better place.
While her organization and others have sensitized some of Eswatini’s 6,000
churches about gender and sexual diversity, reaching all of them is an ongoing
challenge.
“Let church leaders reach out to organisations like Eswatini Sexual and Gender
Minorities for information on what we mean by ‘LGBTQI rights are human rights,’
and ‘everyone deserves a religion of choice regardless of their sexual
orientation, gender identity and expression,’” Mavimbela stated.
Muzi (not his real name), the son of a pastor, is gay but has not openly come
out about his sexuality for fear of embarrassing his family and his father’s
church.
He said as soon as he moves out of his parents’ home he will have the
confidence to come out and share his story.
“I wish religious leaders can understand our plight and stop wrongly
using Holy Scriptures to demonise who we are,” Muzi said.
SADC
wants dialogue progress report from eSwatini
By
Nhlanganiso Mkhonta, Times of eSwatini, 9 December 2022
MBABANE: The SADC Secretariat, in consultation with the Government of
Eswatini, has been urged to present a progress report on the implementation of
the national dialogue at the next Organ Troika Summit in August 2023.
This was reportedly discussed during the
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Extraordinary Meeting of the
Ministerial Committee of the Organ, (EO–MCO) held on November 30, 2022 in
Windhoek, Namibia. The summit was chaired by Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the
Republic of Namibia.
According to records of the meeting that
this publication was privy, to the EO–MCO urged the Government of
Eswatini to submit to the next extraordinary Organ Troika Summit its
comprehensive position on the draft framework for the national dialogue, with
counter-proposals and timelines to be determined in consultation with emaSwati
in accordance with the Constitution of the kingdom.
The EO–MCO also urged all stakeholders to
remain calm and participate peacefully in the national dialogue. It commended
the Chairperson of the Organ, President Hage Geingob, for his leadership in
SADC as well as his efforts in finding lasting solutions to the challenges
faced by the kingdom.
The EO-MCO noted that, in response to the
civil unrest that took place in late June 2021, certain initiatives were
undertaken in Eswatini, with a view to assist the organ to obtain a clear
understanding of the prevailing political and security situation. These
initiatives included the dispatching of the SADC Organ Troika Ministerial
Fact-Finding Mission to the kingdom, on July 4, 2021; of the Organ Troika
Technical Fact-Finding Mission deployed from July 15-22, 2021; the Mission of
Special Envoy of Organ Chairperson, October 21-22, 2021; and, following an
escalation in the disturbances, the then Chairperson of the Organ President Cyril
Ramaphosa made a Working Visit in November 2021.
The EO-MCO also noted that the initiatives
involved extensive consultations with stakeholders from government, political
organisations, civil society organisations, businesses, labour, academia, and
religious bodies, in order to obtain an understanding of the root causes of the
civil unrest and design appropriate recommendations.
Further input was received from civil
society organisations through various letters addressed to the Chairperson of
the Organ. The EO-MCO further noted that the Organ Troika Technical
Fact-Finding Mission deployed from July 15-22, 2021, bearing in mind the
natural necessity and the supremacy of domestic interventions, as well as the
need for the country to own its future direction, recommended certain
consideration by the Government of Eswatini.
One of these was the restoration of the traditional linkages between the
constituency centres (tinkhundla) and the community to enable the people to
engage with their constituency leaders.
Another recommendation was to clearly
articulating the steps that had been taken, and being taken, to address the
suspicions regarding the death of a university student (Thabani Nkomonye), and
the subsequent deaths and injuries sustained during the disturbances.It was
also recommended that there was a need for setting clear time frames and the
process for the conduct of independent inquiries into the deaths and injuries
resulting from the disturbances; opening up Parliament to allow for
deliberations on the situation and to allow for ordinary business of Parliament
to proceed.
Another recommendation was on taking
immediate measures to restore police-community relations at the local level.
These may include police leadership interacting with the local communities at
meetings, specifically aimed at rebuilding trust.
Meanwhile, Government Spokesperson
Alpheous Nxumalo said the much anticipated national dialogue would be all
inclusive. Nxumalo was responding to this publication when asked about the
recommendation of SADC that in the interests of inclusive dialogue,
consideration be given to the participation of proscribed organisations.
Nxumalo said every national dialogue that
had been conducted in the past had been inclusive. He also said to provide a
presentation of any report of any kind, shape and nature, was not a directive.
He said presentation of a report did not also by necessity, be about the
national dialogue having been convened. He said it could also be a report about
why the national dialogue had not been convened.
Health
Crisis: Patients at Mankayane Government Hospital forced to buy own gloves.
By
Nokwanda Mamba, Swaziland News, 15 December 2022
MANKAYANE: Mayibongwe Masangane ,the
Secretary General of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) says the
collapse of health system in the country is getting worse, he confirmed that
maternity patients are now forced to buy gloves.
Speaking to this Swaziland News on
Thursday, the SWADNU Secretary General said even those who were scheduled for
theatre were forced to buy their own medication.
“There is nothing from Government, the
conditions are becoming worse by the day. It is a difficult situation, in fact
the health system has totally collapsed. Even those going to theatre are buying
their medication for them to be operated on", he said.
Dr Simon Zwane, the Principal Secretary
in the Ministry of Health had not responded to our questionnaire at the
time of compiling this report.
It has been disclosed that maternity
patients at Mankayane Government Hospital are now buying gloves and medication
to be used by the nurses attending to them since the Government can't provide
same.
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