Muslims in Swaziland fear xenophobia as plan to build mosque rejected

Muslims in Swaziland / eSwatini have accused local government councillors of being ‘xenophobic’ because they refused to allow a mosque to be built in Matsapha, one of the kingdom’s major industrial towns.

They said councillors told them that they were of the Christian faith and therefore they could not allow the mosque to be built.

This was stated during a commission of inquiry set up by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development into the affairs of Matsapha Town Council.

Newspapers in Swaziland reported that the plan for a mosque was made in 2017 and rejected. The Times of Swaziland reported, ‘They [the Muslims] labelled the council as having a xenophobic attitude after it threw out their application.’

The Swazi Observer reported, ‘The community submitted that the councillors told them that they were of the Christian faith, therefore, they cannot allow the construction of that mosque.’

The Observer added, ‘All they wanted from the Council was to be granted permission to build the house of worship. They explained that the construction site or plot legally belonged to them, they were not asking for land.’

The Observer added other towns in Swaziland had allowed mosques to be built.

Muslims in Swaziland, who are almost all of Asian heritage, have faced prejudice in the past. 

In November 2016 the Observer on Saturday reported Swaziland’s Director of Public Prosecutions Nkosinathi Maseko saying, ‘most nationals of Asian origin were associated with terrorist activities’. It reported he told this to a parliamentary select committee set up to investigate what the newspaper called an ‘influx of illegal immigrants’ into the kingdom.

The newspaper reported Maseko had said, ‘it was public information that most nationals of Asian origin were associated with terrorist activities; and their continued entry illegally put the country and its citizens at high risk of being a nucleus for terrorist activities.’

Maseko and the Observer gave no evidence to support this. 

In September 2016 it was reported undercover police were infiltrating Muslim mosques to attend Friday prayers. The Times, reported that undercover police were also suspected of monitoring the Muslim community.

‘We do not understand the perception of the local people regarding the Islamic religion,’ one source told the Times. He added that Muslims were perceived as people who wanted to perpetuate violence.

At about the same time, the Muslim community in Swaziland were under attack by Christian leaders for distributing meat to needy people. President of the League of Churches Bishop Simon Hlatjwako was among Christian leaders who told people not to attend a special Muslim ceremony at which meat was distributed. Hundreds of hungry people ignored the instruction.

In November 2016, Muslim visitors to Swaziland said they were ‘terrorised’ by local police.

The Imam of Ezulwini Islamic Centre, Feroz Ismail, said guests had visited the kingdom from across Africa for a graduation and Jasla Ceremony. The Times reported him saying the guests, ‘were abused while in the country. They informed me that they were terrorised by the police while visiting some tourist attraction areas including the glass and candle factory.’ 

He said police demanded that the visitors produce their passports and other documents required for visitors to be in the country.

The Times reported Ismail saying, ‘They were ferried in police vehicles to their hotel rooms as the officers demanded that they immediately produce documents which proved that they were in the country legally.’

In 2017 the Swazi Government, which is not elected but appointed by King Mswat III, who rules as an absolute monarch, announced that Christianity would be the only religion to be taught in schools. 

When the present Swaziland Constitution which came into effect in 2006 was being drafted it was decided not to insist that Swaziland was a Christian country. This was to encourage freedom of religion. 

According to the CIA World factbook religion in Swaziland is broken down as Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40 percent, Roman Catholic 20 percent, Muslim 10 percent, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30 percent.

See also

All Asians banned from Swaziland

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/07/all-asians-banned-from-swaziland.html
 

Asians evicted from home

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/07/asians-evicted-from-home.html

‘OBSERVER’ NAMES ANOTHER RAPE VICTIM

The Swazi Observer newspaper has once again named a rape victim in violation of her human rights and journalism ethical codes.

It also disclosed her HIV-positive status.

The Sunday Observer (22 October 2017) reported on a woman it called ‘mentally unstable’. It named her and published two photographs of her as well as a picture of where she lived and of her aunt. It also published a photograph of her youngest daughter. This had her face blanked out but she would be easily recognisable to people in her community.

The newspaper said the woman had been repeatedly raped by men in her community and was now HIV-positive.

By publishing the name of the women, the Observer broke Article 15 of the Swaziland National Association of Journalists (SNAJ) code of ethics on Survivors of Sexual Assault which states, ‘Journalists shall avoid identifying survivors of sexual assault or any information that may lead to the identification of the survivor.’

Journalists across the world generally agree that it violates the rights of rape victims to publish their names without their consent.

This is not the first time the Swazi Observer has named alleged rape victims. In February 2015, it published the names of eight alleged rape victims without their consent.

The Observer published the names as part of a report on the start of a trial of an alleged serial rapist. In its report the Observer listed the women’s names and details of their attacks in what it called ‘a sneak preview’ of the case. It gave their names and details of how each attack took place. The newspaper named one woman and revealed she was a virgin.

In all of the attacks violence including a knife was used. In all cases the alleged rapist did not use a condom.

When the publication of the report caused an outcry the Observer gave a half-hearted apology, saying it had made a ‘boo-boo’. 

In its apology, the Observer said, ‘Indeed, the only decent thing we could do after mixing up the rules is to draw our own sword and hang ourselves.’

The editor nor any other journalist involved in the story was disciplined and the women involved received no compensation. Now, the offence has been repeated it remains to be seen what action will be taken.

The Swazi Observer newspapers are in effect owned by King Mswati III who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Its journalistic credentials have been called into question many times. In a review of press freedom in Swaziland, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) called the Observer, a ‘pure propaganda machine for the royal family’.

The Observer regularly breaks Article 1 of the SNAJ code Article 1which deals with people’s right to information. The article says, ‘The duty of every journalist is to write and report, adhere to and faithfully defend the truth. A journalist should make adequate inquiries, do cross-checking of facts in order to provide the public with unbiased, accurate, balanced and comprehensive information.’

The newspaper is on public record to say that its ‘collective stand as a newspaper is that the integrity of Swaziland as a democratic State and His Majesty King Mswati III as the legitimate leader of the Swazi nation, must never be compromised in any way.’ 

It also publishes false reports about Asians in Swaziland that are capable of string up racial hatred. In October 2016, it claimed that 600,000 people in Swaziland are of Asian origin (14 October 2016). A website called countrymeters that constantly updates statistics recorded Swaziland’s total population at that time as 1,312,881. 

That would mean that about 45 percent of the entire Swazi population were of Asian origin. In fact, every reputable source shows that about 97 percent of Swazi people are African. The sources include the CIA factbook and indexmundi.

The Observer reported on 14 October 2016 that a parliamentary committee set up to investigate Asians in the kingdom was told Asian people had occupied, ‘every available space in the urban areas’. The newspaper did not name the source of this statement. 

The Observer reported as if fact that 90 percent of shops in the kingdom are owned by Asian people (14 October 2016). It said, in Manzini, the main commercial city in Swaziland, ‘almost the entire city is reportedly in the hands of the Indians’ (14 October 2016). 

Other reports it made without giving readers evidence included: Asian people are rushing to acquire Swazi Nation Land to open up small businesses (15 October 2016);  wealthy Asian businessmen are evicting Swazis in massive scales in the areas of Manzini (17 October 2016); Asians are associating themselves with the Swazi Royal Family because it would secure their investments (17 October 2016). 

The constant trashing of Asian people runs against Swazi journalists’ own code of ethics. It amounts to hate speech. The Swaziland National Association of Journalists in Article 13 of its code states, ‘Hate speech. (Journalists shall avoid by all means the publication of speech that might promote hatred, spite and conflict amongst the Swazi or any other nation.)’ 

Richard Rooney

See also

PRESSURE ON ‘OBSERVER’ OVER RAPE

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/pressure-on-observer-over-rape.html

 

‘SWAZI OBSERVER’ NAMES ‘RAPE VICTIMS’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/02/swazi-observer-names-rape-victims.html
 

‘OBSERVER’ SHRUGS OFF ITS RAPE OUTRAGE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/02/observer-shrugs-off-its-rape-outrage.html

 

SWAZI KING’S PAPER ATTACKS ASIANS

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/swazi-kings-paper-attacks-asians.html

 

UNREST AT SWAZI KING’S NEWSPAPER

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/unrest-at-swazi-kings-newspaper.html

 

KING KEEPS GRIP ON ‘SWAZI OBSERVER’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/king-keeps-grip-on-swazi-observer.html

 

FALSE CLAIM OF OBAMA SUPPORT FOR KING

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/false-claim-of-obama-support-for-king.html

 

KING’S PAPER CALLS DEMOCRATS ‘HITLER’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/kings-paper-calls-democrats-hitler.html

 

AGOA PROPAGANDA FROM KING’S PAPER

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/agoa-propaganda-from-kings-paper.html

KING’S PAPER AND ITS AIRPORT FANTASY

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/kings-paper-and-its-airport-fantasy.html

KING FORCES NEWSPAPER APOLOGY

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/king-forces-newspaper-apology.html

FOREIGNERS BARRED FROM BUSINESSES

Foreigners will be barred from operating 31 types of businesses in Swaziland if the unelected government in the kingdom gets its way.

The acting Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Phiwayinkhosi Mabuza introduced a proposed Reservation of Certain Trades and Businesses for Swazi Citizens Regulations 2017 to the Swazi Parliament.

The businesses listed in the regulations include a dealer in household and proprietary, grocery, produce and handwork, private investigator, dealer or speculator in livestock, debt collector, street vendor and funeral parlour, among others.

The APA news agency reported that foreigners who were already in these businesses would not be affected, but only new entrants would not be granted licenses.

The Federation of the Swazi Business Community (FESBC) welcomed the move.

It comes as antagonism to “Asians” in Swaziland grows. The kingdom of 1.3 million people is ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. The King appoints the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The kingdom’s economy has been in the doldrums for years but immigrants have managed to create small businesses throughout Swaziland.

Newspapers in Swaziland have been reporting scare stories against Asians for months. In November 2016, the Observer on Saturday reported Swaziland’s Director of Public Prosecutions Nkosinathi Maseko saying, ‘most nationals of Asian origin were associated with terrorist activities’. 

It reported he told this to a parliamentary select committee set up to investigate what the newspaper called an ‘influx of illegal immigrants’ into the kingdom.

The newspaper reported Maseko had said, ‘it was public information that most nationals of Asian origin were associated with terrorist activities; and their continued entry illegally put the country and its citizens at high risk of being a nucleus for terrorist activities.’

Maseko and the Observer gave no evidence to support this. 

In October 2016,the Times of Swaziland reported traditional authorities in the Ngcina Chiefdom in Swaziland had ordered a man to close his grocery business and leave the area because he is Asian.

See also

SWAZI DPP CALLS ASIANS ‘TERRORISTS’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/11/swazi-dpp-calls-asians-terrorists.html

ANTI-ASIAN FEELINGS SPREADING

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/10/anti-asian-feelings-spreading.html

ALL ASIANS BANNED FROM SWAZILAND

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/07/all-asians-banned-from-swaziland.html

ASIANS EVICTED FROM HOME

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/07/asians-evicted-from-home.html

SWAZI POLICE CORRUPTION PROBE

Police in Swaziland are to investigate their own officers amid claims they helped to ‘smuggle’ illegal foreigners into the kingdom.

National Commissioner of Police Isaac Magagula made the announcement amid increasing concerns that ‘Asians’ are in Swaziland illegally.

The Swazi Observer on Monday (5 June 2017) reported, ‘He said even though these remain only allegations for now, it is important that an investigation be conducted. It is recalled that the said allegations is actually information unearthed by the parliamentarians’ committee which has been tasked to probe the influx of Asians into the country. 

‘Some interviewees allegedly told the probe team that some senior police officers were engaging in criminal activity, assisting illegal immigrants to get forged travel documents and resident permits.’

The Observer added, ‘Magagula said the police service was disappointed to learn of the manner in which illegal immigrants of Asian origin were being treated by the courts. 

‘He pointed out that on several occasions; police would conduct raids and arrest illegal immigrants who would be found without valid resident permits. He said, however, a few hours later, the same convicts would be seen back on the streets after paying a mere E500 (US$40) fine.’

See also

ALL ASIANS BANNED FROM SWAZILAND

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/07/all-asians-banned-from-swaziland.html

ASIANS EVICTED FROM HOME

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/07/asians-evicted-from-home.html