Swaziland Newsletter No. 787 – 28
July 2023
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.
Election
with no democracy on the horizon. Absolute monarch keeps showing he’s not
serious about dialogue
By
CIVICUS, Southern Africa, 20 July 2023
Parliament has been dissolved and an
election called in Eswatini. But it’s Africa’s last absolute monarch, King
Mswati III, who’s still pulling all the strings. Promises to hold a dialogue
following mass protests for democracy in 2021 have been ignored. Politicians
who broke ranks to call for reform have been found guilty on absurd charges by
a judiciary controlled by the king and there’s been zero accountability for
lethal security force violence. The election, in which parties are banned,
promises to be the usual farce, but is being preceded by further repression.
The African regional community needs to get serious in urging genuine dialogue
and reform.
Eswatini heads to the polls soon, with
elections scheduled for September. But there’s nothing remotely democratic in
prospect. The Southern African country remains ruled by King Mswati III,
Africa’s last absolute monarch, who presides over it with an iron fist.
Mswati dissolved parliament
on 11 July, confident there’s little chance of people who disagree with him
winning representation.
A long history of repression
There’ll be some notable absentees at the
next election. At least two members of parliament (MPs) certainly won’t be
running again: Mthandeni Dube and Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza were convicted of
terrorism and murder in June. Their real crime was to break ranks and do what
Swazi MPs aren’t supposed to do: during protests for democracy that broke out
in 2021, they dared call for political reform and a constitutional monarchy. A
third MP, Mduduzi Simelane, remains subject to an arrest warrant for the same
reasons but managed to go into hiding.
Dube and Mabuza currently await sentencing
and could face up to 20 years in jail. In detention they were beaten and
denied access to medical and legal help. They were found guilty by judges
appointed and controlled by the king. In Eswatini, the judiciary is regularly
used to harass and criminalise those who stand up to Mswati’s power: people
such as trade union leader Sticks Nkambule, subject to contempt
of court charges for his role in
organising a December 2022 stay-at-home strike demanding the release of Dube
and Mabuza. Other activists face terrorism charges.
But not every crime is so zealously
prosecuted. In January, human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko was shot
dead at his home by unidentified
assailants. Maseko was chair of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum, a network that
brings together civil society groups, political parties, businesses and others
to urge a peaceful transition to democracy. He’d previously spent 14 months in
jail for criticising Eswatini’s lack of judicial independence. He was also Dube
and Mabuza’s lawyer. There’s been little evident investigation of his killing.
There’s plenty more blood on the king’s
hands. The 2021 youth-led democracy protests were initially triggered by the
killing of law student Thabani Nkomonye, with people blaming the police. At
least 46
people are estimated to have been
killed in the violence meted out to suppress the protests that followed.
Security forces reportedly fired indiscriminately at protesters; leaked
footage revealed that
the king commanded them to shoot to kill and ordered the arrest of the
pro-democracy MPs.
In some areas security forces went house
to house, dragging young people out for
beatings. Hospitals were overwhelmed with
the injured. People who survived shootings weren’t allowed to
keep the bullets extracted from them, since this would have constituted
evidence. Some bodies were reportedly burned to
try to conceal the state’s crimes. When a second wave of protest arose in
September 2021, led by schoolchildren, Mswati sent the army into schools, and
then closed schools and imposed a nationwide protest ban. Hundreds of
protesters and opposition supporters were jailed. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was
enforced with the
army on the streets and an internet
shutdown imposed.
To this day, no one has been held
accountable for the killings. There’s also been zero movement towards reform.
Farce of an election forthcoming
Following the intervention of the regional
body, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), brokered by Eswatini’s
powerful neighbour South Africa, the king agreed to hold a national dialogue.
But two years on, that hasn’t happened. Instead he held a Sibaya – a
traditional gathering in which he was the only person allowed
to speak.
Now the election is going ahead without
any constructive dialogue or reform. The chances of reform-minded potential MPs
winning significant representation are slimmer than ever. To do so, they’d have
to navigate a two-round process that is exclusionary by design, with candidates
first needing to win approval at the chiefdom level. No party affiliations are
allowed.
To further rein in those elected, Mswati
gets to directly appoint most of the upper house and some of the lower house.
And just to make sure, he picks the prime minister and cabinet, can veto
legislation and remains constitutionally above the law.
It’s a system that serves merely to fulfil
a kingly fantasy of consultation and pretend to the outside world that
democracy exists in Eswatini. Official results from the last two elections were
never published, but it’s little wonder than turnout in this electoral farce
has reportedly been low.
With the king unwilling to concede even
the smallest demands, evidence suggests that repression is further intensifying
ahead of voting. The king has imported South African mercenaries – described as
‘security experts’ – to help enforce his reign of terror. There are reports of
a hit list of potential assassinations. Lawyers who might defend the rights of
criminalised activists and protesters report coming under increasing
threat. A proposed new law on
civil society organisations gives the state more powers to interfere and
restrict.
Time for international pressure
People have been killed, jailed and forced
into exile, but desire for change hasn’t gone away. After all, people in
Eswatini aren’t asking for much. They want a competitive vote where they can
choose politicians who promise to serve them rather than the king, and they
want a constitutional monarchy where the king has limited rather than absolute
powers. If they got that, they might even get an economy that works in the
public interest, rather than as a vast mechanism designed to funnel wealth to
the royal family while everyone else stays poor.
The pretence of an election shouldn’t fool
the outside world. Civil society keeps calling on African regional bodies not
to let them down. In May the Multi-Stakeholder Forum urged the
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to throw its weight behind an
eight-point plan to respect human rights and enable dialogue. The demands were
presented by Tanele Maseko, Thulani Maseko’s widow.
Eswatini’s activists also expect more of
SADC, and of the government of South Africa, the country where so many of them
have been forced into exile. Governments and organisations that claim to stand
for democracy and human rights need to exert some pressure for genuine dialogue
leading to a transition to democratic rule. They shouldn’t keep letting the
king get away with murder.
Our calls for action
King Mswati III must release political
prisoners and commit to holding a genuine and open national dialogue with a
wide range of civil society where political reform is up for discussion.
The government must hold an independent
and impartial inquiry into all killings of activists and protesters, including those
in the context of 2021 democracy protests and the killing of Thulani Maseko.
International partners – including the
Southern African Development Community and the government of South Africa –
must strongly urge King Mswati to open the election up to multiparty
competition.
It
shows elections not fair for some - lawyer
By
Mthunzi Mdluli, Times of eSwatini, 25 July 2023
MBABANE: Human Rights Lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi says what
happened over the weekend is a sign that the elections are not fair for some
candidates.
He was responding to a
question on what it meant to someone who had registered for the general
elections, only to find that his or her name did not appear in the voters
roll. Nhlabatsi said Tinkhundla claimed to allow the participation of
emaSwati as per the Constitution, but what happened during the weekend was a
different story. He said Section 77 of the Constitution talked about the
participation on individual merit, while Section 58 spoke about participation
at all levels. “We are saying an individual participates by first
registering, nominating or being nominated and then cast a vote. It is a sign
of not having free and fair elections if someone who registered cannot find his
or her name in the voters roll. It might be possible that the person had the
potential of nominating or being nominated,” he said.
Nhlabatsi said it was wrong
for people’s names not to appear in the voters roll, despite registering for
the general elections. He said the complainants could challenge the process in
court, based on the fact that they registered for the elections but had their
names omitted from the final voters roll. “The elections are just showing
a sign of not being free and fair from the onset. I think the individuals can
put the EBC to the test by asking them why they had their names omitted from
the voters roll, despite being encouraged to register for the general
elections, yet now coming with lot of excuses,” he explained. He further
said the removal of individuals’ names from the voters roll, even after
registering, was unfair. Another issue that emanated from some residents
was that they filled in the forms during the validation process upon discovering
that it appeared that they would partake in the elections in other chiefdoms.
Despite them following the
procedure, it was discovered that the challenges were not resolved. Nhlabatsi
was then asked whether there was any step the affected individuals could take.
In response, the human rights lawyer stated that what happened was a sign of
the EBC’s incompetence. “If the electoral body is incompetent, it means
the elections would be discredited. It is unfair for the EBC to fail to deliver
as expected. This can also be challenged in court,” he said. According to
Nhlabatsi, what happened at the EBC in as far as the voters roll was concerned,
was early signs of not having free and fair elections. He wanted to know what
would happen in the primary and secondary elections if there were such problems
raised by certain citizens.
See also
Why some outgoing MPs did not stand
for elections
http://www.times.co.sz/news/141175-why-some-outgoing-mps-did-not-stand-for-elections.html
5 700 aspirants
vying for 455 posts
http://www.times.co.sz/news/141195-5-700-aspirants-vying-for-455-posts.html
Aspiring Hosea MPs invade uMphakatsi
amid allegations of looming vote rigging, Chief Mlotjwa says concerns to be
addressed during community meeting
http://swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=4806
Voters demand payment for votes
http://new.observer.org.sz/details.php?id=20815
Fallacy of
tinkhundla elections
http://www.times.co.sz/my-two-cents-worth/141198-fallacy-of-tinkhundla-elections.html
Patients
protest over medication shortage
By
Siboniso Nkambule, eSwatini Observer, 27 July 2023
In the midst of the growing crisis over
the shortage of medication, patients at the Mbabane Government Hospital left
their wards to stage a protest, demanding medication.
The patients decried the shortages of
medication, saying it placed their lives at risk and that they were tired of
the continuous empty promises to be afforded treatment which never came.
They also complained about the long
waiting list at the Orthopaedic theatre.
To show their frustration, they blocked the hospital’s main gate with a
hospital bed used by an admitted patient with leg fractures. Others used
crutches while some were in wheelchairs.
A group of about 15 patients’ faces were
etched with anger and desperation, calling for an end of the crisis, that they
termed a medical genocide.
They were carrying placards that read, 'We
need our medication' and 'No more delays’.
This is the second time patients admitted at the hospital are involved in a
protest action.
Last month, some patients left their wards to join healthcare workers in
petitioning the ministry of health over the shortage of medical supplies and
staff among other concerns.
This medical staff when petitioning
government, said the continuous shortage of medication and healthcare personnel
among other issues had resulted in unnecessary deaths and amputations.
The patients at the time said they decided
to join the healthcare workers as they were tired of continuing being admitted
yet they were not receiving any treatment, stating that they wanted to return
to their homes.
This time around, blocking the main
entrance for about an hour, they called for the ministry of health officials to
address the situation, saying they had been pushed to the brink as they had
tried to engage them with no hope.
They argued that their health was at stake
and vowed not to back down until their cries were heard and supplied with the
medication they need.
One of the patients, Menzi Masuku, said
the lack of essential medications left them desperate and vulnerable, thus
resorted to taking matters into their own hands.
Masuku said some of them had been admitted for almost two months without
getting the assistance they need.
He explained that the protesting patients
were admitted for an Orthopaedic operation, but they had not been attended to
and were told that there was a shortage of medication.
According to Masuku, they were promised
that medication would be available as government had paid all its suppliers but
this changed after a day as they were told that government had not completed
payments.
Masuku said doctors told them that the
theatre was grounded because there was a shortage of medication, adding that
they were also promised to be taken to the Mbabane Clinic, where they would
conduct the required operations but that had also not happened.
He further said they had spent a lot of
money buying their own medication while waiting to be booked at the theatre.
To read more of this report, click
here.
http://new.observer.org.sz/details.php?id=20834
When
gender is synonymous with women
Comment
by Vusi Sibisi, Times of eSwatini, 24 July 2023
What happens in cyberspace directly
impacts society and this point was driven home by the construction of the
‘Men’s House Eswatini’ on Facebook, perhaps with the sole intention of
countering ‘Ladies House Eswatini’ that had been established earlier.
Not being a permanent resident
of cyberspace, yours truly only became aware of the existence of the latter in
the wake of the emergence of the former that attracted traditional media
coverage. Not until the emergence of ‘Men’s House Eswatini’ did some of
us, who have not taken up dual citizenship of the cyber-world, become aware of
the existence of the ‘Ladies House Eswatini’. It would appear that the sole
mission of ‘Ladies House Eswatini’ was to pillory, malign, ridicule, embarrass
– you may add any suitable adjective that is not complimentary – men. This was
accomplished through laying bare men’s indiscretions, including, but not
limited to, their manhood or use thereof or, in the case of victims of gender
based violence and abuse, simply to let off steam. And all of these, a majority
of which borders on the criminal and defamatory, remain allegations and
accusations until the targeted victims are given space to have their voice
heard, if not pursue litigation in the real world.
As I see it, the construction
of the ‘Men’s House Eswatini’ was by no means a serendipitous occasion but its
raison d’etre was to balance the social scales by giving men a similar platform
and space to respond either directly to the verbal missiles launched from the
refuge of ‘Ladies House Eswatini’ or to also launch their own offensiveness
because men are not immune to but are also subject to abuse. Perhaps I should
explain that this article is not meant to interrogate the apparent toxic
content in both houses that seems to suggest that society had not yet come out
with a one-size-fits-all solution to the issue of gender-based violence GBV)
and abuse, a subject that has now been escalated to cyberspace. Yes, the
contents spewing from both houses are, by their nature, perpetuating the abuse
that is abroad in the real world.
The gist of this article is to
point out the imbalanced societal scales when it comes to issues of gender that
has been laid bare. Until the emergence of the ‘Men’s House Eswatini’ there was
silence on all fronts about the existence of the ‘Ladies House Eswatini’ and
its vituperative posture towards what may be termed (allegedly) abusive men –
the jury is still out if this did not include innocent souls. Can this silence
be interpreted to mean that society accepts that it is fine for women to
dehumanise men but is not ready to accept men reciprocating the gesture? There
is a lot of hypocrisy on this subject matter of GBV and abuse because, from the
onset, it was constructed on the false foundation of the term, ‘gender’, being
interchangeable or synonymous with women.
To read more of this
comment article, click here
http://www.times.co.sz/feature/141140-when-gender-is-synonymous-with-women.html
King’s
Protocol Officer Khandlela Mdluli accused of taking bribes for Cabinet
positions and security forces jobs, challenges accusers to report him to the
police
By
Zweli Martin Dlamini, Swaziland News, 25 July 2023
MBABANE: Khandlela Mdluli, the King’s
Protocol Officer has challenged all those who claimed to have bribed him for
jobs, to open a case with the police if their accusations are genuine.
The Protocol Officer in the King’s Office
was responding to this Swaziland News on Tuesday morning, after being
questioned, amid accusations suggesting that he was taking bribes from aspiring
politicians seeking positions in Cabinet, Parliament and emaBandla while others
accuse Mdluli of promising them jobs in the security forces.
It is alleged that Mdluli claimed
that, King Mswati gave him powers to identify and recommend members of the
next Cabinet and emaBandla (Governing Councils), among others.
As a result, more aspiring politicians who
are struggling to meet or attract the attention of the King, “are approaching”
him for political positions.
“This is not the first time I am accused
of taking bribes for jobs but, no one is coming-out to open a case with the
police. Abakusho nje bangakufihli because in order for umuntfu kutsiwe kukhona
lakwentile, loyo muntfu lokushoko loko must prove that, angikwati mine kutsatsa
timali,” said the King’s Protocol Officer.
But one of the alleged victims who claimed
he paid Mdluli for a job in the army said, he visited the Army Headquarters to
file a complaint, after being left-out in a recruitment, however, senior army
officials allegedly told him to engage the King’s Protocol officer politely.
Mdluli is alleged to be demanding about
fifty-thousands Rands(R50,000.00) for jobs in the security forces.
“The army officials told me to engage
Mdluli politely, ngimncenge kahle ngitawusitakala,” said the alleged aspiring
soldier.
But this investigative journalist has seen
an alleged secret list of the Protocol Officer, with names of job seekers, some
allegedly paid money while others surrendered their land or plots to Mdluli.
As a result, some of the job seekers are
already working in the security forces being the Police, Correctional Services
and the Army.
The information in our possession further
alleged that the Protocol Officer also uses his mother identified as Angel
Shongwe-Mdluli, an employee of Ndabazabantu (National Court) at Pigg’s Peak and
one, Correctional Services Officer and Imbali leader Nonduduzo Zubuko as his
agents.
Efforts to reach both Zubuko and the
Protocol Officer’s mother proved unsuccessful at the time of compiling this
report.
But on the allegations of taking bribes
for Cabinet positions, one royal insider very close to the King and Mdluli
further alleged that, the Protocol Officer holds meetings at a Guest House
known as First World-Ngwane Park.
It has been disclosed that one prominent
figure who consistently met Mdluli was Siboniso Nkambule, the Principal
Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Nkambule, it is
alleged, aspires to be appointed into the next Cabinet.
The royal insider further told this Swaziland
News that sometimes, King Mswati would rely on people he trust next to him,
to recommend names of individuals who ‘qualifies’ to be appointed into
political positions.
As a result, the insider said, Protocol
Officer Khandlela Mdluli was taking that advantage to enrich himself.
“These days, Khandlela is meeting
Siboniso, the PS in the Ministry of Commerce, kufuneka tinkhundla kubi,” said a
royal insider.
Responding to questions from this Swaziland
News, Siboniso Nkambule, the PS in the Ministry of Commerce denied meeting
the King’s Protocol Officer, he said, he had never met Mdluli in his entire
life.
“I’ve never met Khandlela Mdluli in my
entire life,” said the PS in the Ministry of Commerce.
Reached for comments by this Swaziland
News on Tuesday morning, King’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane said such
corruption allegations normally ‘re-surface’ ahead of political appointments
with individuals claiming to have met the King or those close to him.
The King’s Spokesperson said, a list for
political appointments, is normally prepared by the King’s Advisory bodies, not
by individuals.
“With no intention to buy anyone out of
these allegations I must say there is usually so many of them around this time.
Our experience is that even those who have not heard from or seen the King
for over two(2) years, claim to have just spoken to him on sorting to
fill positions, or claim to have spoken to someone close to the King for same
for a fee. It would be therefore difficult for me to know what exactly is
happening here and why and how Mr Mdluli's name has been used. Officially and
normally, the list in question is brought to the King by his advisory bodies
for approval and not by individuals. As short as to tell I am blank about the
alleged payments constituting the corruption in question,” said the King’s
Spokesperson.
SWAZI
MEDIA COMMENTARY
Find us:
Blog: www.swazimedia.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/142383985790674
Twitter: @Swazimedia
