Top Royal presses Swaziland Govt to send riot police, army into homes to confiscate alcohol

A Regional Administrator in Swaziland (eSwatini) has called on the government to send riot police and soldiers into people’s homes to confiscate alcohol.

Chief Gija Dlamini, a half-brother of King Mswati III Swaziland’s absolute monarch, said this would help tackle the increase in cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the kingdom. Manzini where he is Regional Administrator has the highest population of the four regions of Swaziland and also the highest number of cases.

Chief Gija wants the Swazi cabinet, which was not elected but appointed by King Mswati, to raid homes and confiscate alcohol. Sales of alcohol have been banned as part of a partial lockdown of the kingdom in response to the virus.

He said some liquor shops had partnered with shebeens (unlicensed bars or private households) to sell alcohol. He asked for permission to send officers from the Operational Services Support Unit (OSSU), a paramilitary-style state police unit, and members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (the official name for the army) into homes.

He said there was a danger that people who drank alcohol might behave ‘irresponsibly’.

As of 15 July 2020, the Ministry of Health reported 1,489 cases of coronavirus across Swaziland and 20 deaths.

Human rights have been under attack in Swaziland since the lockdown was imposed by the king in March 2020. A new offence of spreading rumours or ‘unauthentic information’ about coronavirus was introduced, carrying a fine of E20,000 or up to five years imprisonment.

Since lockdown, local media reported a number of cases of police and soldiers beating members of the public who were not complying with the regulations. An 85-year-old woman collapsed and died at her home on the outskirts of the Swazi capital Mbabane when police and correctional services forces raided her home. The eSwatini News reported that the woman sold alcoholic beverages for a living.

On 15 April 2020 Swazi Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini endorsed police beating people during the coronavirus lockdown. He told a press briefing, ‘If you are found to be violating these regulations, the law will definitely take its course, we won’t compromise on this. Maybe those who were assaulted were found to be on the wrong side of the law by breaking the regulations put in place by government. We would like to encourage members of the public to abide by these regulations, there shouldn’t a need for the law enforcement to force you to respect these regulations.’

See also

Coronavirus pandemic highlights human rights abuses in Swaziland, new review shows

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/07/coronavirus-pandemic-highlights-human.html

Swaziland bans alcohol production and sales, threatens media as coronavirus lockdown extended

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/04/swaziland-bans-alcohol-production-and.html

More reports of police and army violence against civilians as Swaziland coronavirus lockdown continues

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/04/more-reports-of-police-and-army.html

Swaziland armed police, army intimidate people to obey coronavirus lockdown. Woman, 85, dies

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/04/swaziland-armed-police-army-intimidate.html

All Public Events Banned in Swaziland on Day of Primary Election

Swaziland / Eswatini has banned all public events including weddings and funerals that fall on the day of the kingdom’s primary election.

It is the first time this has happened in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III who is one of the world’s last absolute monarchs.

The announcement was made on Monday (6 August 2018) by Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) Chair Chief Gija Dlamini. 

The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, reported him saying, ‘All Eswatini events that are slated for the eve and the 25th of August 2018, the day of the national primary elections, must be cancelled. This date was announced by His Majesty the King as primary elections day and Emaswati should respect that.’

He added that every eligible and registered person should vote at the election.

Elections in Swaziland are widely recognised by international observers as a sham. Political parties are banned from taking part and King Mswati chooses the Prime Minister and the government. No members of the Swaziland Senate are elected by the people. Only 59 House of Assembly members are elected and the King chooses a further 10.

Dlamini, who is also one of the King’s brothers, said that all events that coincided with the primary election, including weddings and funerals, were banned. The Observer reported, ‘He said events such as weddings and funerals should either be shifted to earlier dates or postponed to later dates other than the 25th.’

He said, ‘Funerals can be shifted to Sunday, unless the family is certain that by 5am of Saturday [25 August] the burial would be over for the mourners to be able to have at least an hour to spare and prepare for the elections that will start at 7 am.’

The Observer listed events affected including weddings, lobola, stovel meetings, schools meeting, soccer matches, fundraising walks, funerals, and birthday parties.

In Swaziland nominations for member of the House of Assembly (parliament), constituency executive committees (Bucopho) and constituency headmen have already taken place. At the primary election people at chiefdom level elect the member of the Bucopho for that particular chiefdom.  Aspiring Members of Parliament and the constituency headman are also elected from each chiefdom.  At the end of the primary elections, there should be one candidate for the position of the Member of Parliament and one for the position of the constituency headman who then contest elections at secondary level on 21 September.  

See also

New Study Shows Why Swaziland Elections Are Not Democratic

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/07/new-study-shows-why-swaziland-elections.html

Swaziland Police Force Worshippers From Churches to Attend Election Nominations

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/07/swaziland-police-force-worshippers-from.html

Confusion over Status of Widows as Swaziland Prepares for National Election

Widows will be allowed to nominate candidates at the forthcoming election in Swaziland / Eswatini but it is not clear if they can stand themselves.

The kingdom’s Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) announced this week that widows would not be permitted to attend nomination events to be held this weekend at royal kraals across Swaziland but arrangements could be made to allow them to make their nominations elsewhere.

EBC Chair Chief Gija Dlamini told the Times of Swaziland (25 July 2018) Swaziland had a culture of respecting dead relatives, which was why women underwent the mourning period and wore black gowns.

‘It is just pure respect that when a woman is still in mourning, they do not enter the royal kraal,’ the newspaper quoted him saying. Chief Gija said that the authorities would ensure that all people were involved and not discriminated against by identifying alternative nomination centres which could be a school situated nearby.

Nominations take place on 28 and 29 July 2018. According to the EBC, they take place in the open, people are nominated by a show of hands and the nominee is given a chance to indicate whether he or she accepts the nomination. If he or she accepts they must be supported by at least ten members of that chiefdom. Chief Gija did not say how this would work if a widow was not present at the place where nominations were taking place.

At the last election in 2013 a chief’s headman at Ludzibini, ruled by Chief Magudvulela a former Swazi Senator, threatened that people would be banished from their homes if they nominated a widow for the election. Dumisani Dlamini warned residents that if they voted for Jennifer du Pont they would be evicted from the area. The Times Sunday reported at the time, ‘He warned that those who would nominate her should be prepared to relocate to areas as distant as five chiefdoms away. Her sin was that she attended the nominations only a few months after her husband died.’ He said she should still be mourning her husband. 

The newspaper reported du Pont did not wear standard black mourning gowns and was dressed in a blue wrap-around dress known as sidvwashi. Enough people in the chiefdom defied Dlamini and du Pont was duly nominated.

There is confusion about whether a widow would be permitted to stand for election.

In April 2018, Lusendvo Fakudze, the acting Ludzidzini Governor, who is considered to be the voice of King Mswati, the kingdom’s absolute monarch, on traditional matters told the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, that widows would not be allowed to contest the election until they had been in mourning for two years and gone through a cleansing ceremony.  

The newspaper reported, ‘EBC Chairperson Chief Gija Dlamini also confirmed that women who lost their husbands could register for elections only after the two-year mourning period and cleansing ceremony.’

The announcement contradicted what the EBC said in April 2017. EBC commissioner Ncumbi Maziya told a voter education meeting at Bulandzeni Chiefdom that women in mourning had a constitutional right to stand for election, but he added that there might be problems for a widow if she were elected.

The Swazi Observer reported at the time,  ‘He said a person wearing a mourning gown was not allowed to be near His Majesty the King. If a certain constituency elected a person in such a situation, it was highly possible that the woman could not attend the Parliament opening event, where the King would also be in attendance. Maziya said that was when a woman would have to exercise conscience by at least standing by the gate of Parliament, to avoid being near the King.’

See also

Expect Confusion, Chaos and Rule-breaking at Nominations for Swaziland’s Election, if Last Time is a Guide

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/07/expect-chaos-and-rule-breaking-at.html

SWAZI KING EXTENDS VOTER REGISTRATION

King Mswati III Swaziland’s absolute monarch has extended voter registration in his kingdom for another 11 days even though the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) announced 87 percent of eligible voters had registered by the deadline on Sunday (17 June 2018).

EBC chair Chief Gija Dlamini said the King had done this following reports that there had been a high turnout on the final day. He did not disclose how many people registered on the final day. 

On the day registration ended the Sunday Observer a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati reported the EBC saying that as of 16 June 2018 ‘over 590,000 voters were registered’.

On Monday after registration closed the EBC announced that 526,073 people had registered to vote for the election in September, about 70,000 fewer than it had reported previously. The Swazi Observer, also owned by the King, reported on Tuesday the number registering was ‘unprecedented’. It said it represented 87 percent of those entitled to vote. 

At the last election in 2013, 414,704 people registered to vote according to the EBC’s election report published in 2017. This contradicted the number of 411,084 it had released at the time of registration.

The EBC said on Tuesday it could not give a date when the voters’ roll would be available for public inspection but gave no reason.

The King’s order and the EBC misrepresentation of registration numbers throws doubt over the election that is widely considered outside of Swaziland to be undemocratic.

Throughout the registration period there have been reports of incompetence, corruption and nepotism. Police are to vet all nominated candidates ahead of the vote.

There is confusion about how many people are eligible to vote in the election. When the process started on 13 May 2018 the EBC said it was 500,000, later after public scepticism about the figure’s accuracy it increased the number to 600,000. The EBC said it based its figure on the 2017 population census in Swaziland that put the number of people living in the kingdom aged 18 and over (the voting age) at 625,629. Data published by CIA Factbook based on 2017 figures puts the estimated population at 1.4 million and suggests the number of voters is between 700,000 and 800,000.

The EBC has a history of poor performance since it was inaugurated in 2008. It took four years for it to produce its official report on the last election in 2013 and it has still not published the full results. The winners in each constituency have been announced but the number of votes cast for each candidate competing have not.

When registration began this year equipment was not in place at all centres and trained election personnel were not always available and there were many reports of computer failures. A toll-free line available for people to report grievances and challenges they met at registration centres failed to work on MTN mobile phone numbers. Many people did not receive voter cards after registering, leaving them in doubt that they would be able to cast their vote.

Reports of attempted bribery were rife across the kingdom where King Mswati III rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch and political parties are banned from taking part in elections. Elections in Swaziland are widely regarded as not democratic by observers outside the kingdom. The King choses the Prime Minister and government ministers and the parliament has no powers as these rest with the King. 

At Maphungwane in the Matsanjeni North Constituency football teams rejected a E10,000 (US$790) sponsorship from an aspiring member of parliament. The Swazi Observer reported (18 May 2018) that the sponsorship was in the form of prize money that would be paid at the end of the football season and after the election had been held.

The newspaper reported the clubs’ representatives questioned the timing of the sponsorship and rejected the offer. One club boss told the Observer that aspiring MPs had also tried to manipulate them in the past.

There was a report that police in Swaziland were investigating possible election corruption concerning a former government minister accused of bribing people with promises of food parcels for their votes. 

Poverty-stricken textile workers said they sold their votes for cash and chicken pieces. The Swazi Observer reported sitting members of parliament had sent their agents into factories to buy up votes in the industrial town of Matsapha. People said they were persuaded to register as residents of the surrounding areas as opposed to their chiefdoms of origin. 

Other textile workers in Nhlangano said groups of 50 or 60 of them had been given free lunches by sponsors of people keen to win seats in parliament. They also said transport costs to and from work had been paid. The Swazi Observer reported on Friday (15 June 2018) that some outgoing MPs were involved.

Residents at Mbangweni complained of nepotism when four people selected to assist in the election were from the same family. The Swazi Observer reported Inkhosatana Gelane, the acting KoNtshingila chief, saying they were ‘loyal and respectful residents’. 

Many residents in areas including Engwenyameni, Madadeni, and Lavumisa, said they would boycott the election because they were dissatisfied with how constituency boundaries had been drawn. 

Days before registration closed EBC Chair Chief Gija Dlamini told media that all persons nominated for election would be vetted by police. 

At past elections people only got to select 55 of 65 members of the House of Assembly. The King chose the other 10. At this election there will be an additional four seats for people to vote for. It has not been announced how many members the King will choose but the Swaziland Constitution allows him to pick up to ten. 

As in previous years, none of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate will be elected by the people; the King will choose 20 and the other 10 will be chosen by members of the House of Assembly.

See also

PEOPLE NOT ELECTING THEIR GOVERNMENT

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/people-not-electing-their-government.html

 

CHORUS AGAINST UNDEMOCRATIC ELECTION GROWS

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/chorus-against-swazi-election-grows.html

POLICE TO VET ALL ELECTION CANDIDATES

Police will vet all candidates in the forthcoming national election in Swaziland / Eswatini.

The kingdom is ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Political parties are banned from taking part in the election and people may only stand as individuals.

The Swazi Observer reported on Friday (15 June 2018) that Chief Gija Dlamini, Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) chair, confirmed, ‘that all persons who will be nominated would be vetted before the next stage of the elections’.

In an interview he said the vetting would be at police headquarters in Mbabane where the fingerprints of all candidates would be checked.

‘All nominated candidates will be required to go to police headquarters to be vetted and a record will then be forwarded to us,’ he told the newspaper.

The paper added, ‘When asked to state the purpose of the vetting process, Chief Gija was not clear saying that was an issue for the courts.’

Nominations are due to take place on 28 and 29 July 2018 ahead of a final election on 21 September 2018.

According to the EBC, nominations take place at the chiefdoms. On the day of nomination, the name of the nominee is raised by a show of hand and the nominee is given an opportunity to indicate whether he or she accepts the nomination. If he or she accepts it, he or she must be supported by at least ten members of that chiefdom. The minimum number of nominees is three and the maximum is twenty. The nomination process takes place in the open, persons are nominated by a show of hand and the nomination is done by the community. Those nominated then contest elections at primary level.

Elections in Swaziland are widely recognised outside of the kingdom as undemocratic. Parliament has no powers as these are vested in the King. After the election, the King will chose the Prime Minister, government ministers and the top civil servants and judges. At past elections people only got to select 55 of 65 members of the House of Assembly. The King chose the other 10. At the forthcoming election there will be an additional four seats for people to vote for. It has not been announced how many members the King will choose but the Swaziland Constitution allows him to pick up to ten.

As in previous years, none of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate will be elected by the people; the King will choose 20 and the other 10 will be chosen by members of the House of Assembly. 

See also

ELECTION WILL ENTRENCH KING’S POWER

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/election-will-entrench-kings-power.html 

ELECTION VOTES SOLD FOR CHICKEN PIECES

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/05/election-votes-sold-for-chicken-pieces.html

CONFUSION OVER VOTER NUMBERS

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/confusion-over-swazi-voter-numbers.html

POLICE PROBE ELECTION “CORRUPTION’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/police-probe-election-corruption.html

ELECTION BOARD TARGETS FEWER VOTERS

Swaziland’s Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) is targeting to register fewer voters for the forthcoming national election than registered at the last poll in 2013.

EBC Chairman Chief Gija Dlamini said it was targeting 500,000 voters. The Swazi Observer reported on Friday (1 June 2018) he said, ‘It could be a miracle to have all eligible Emaswati [Swazi people] turning out for registering but we are expecting the number to reach 80 per cent.’ If this figure is met, 400,000 people will register. He said 278,888 people had already registered.

The 400,000 target is fewer than the 414,704 people who registered to vote in 2013.

The Observer reported Dlamini saying the 500,000 figure was based on the population census undertaken in 2017. However, this figure contradicts an announcement made by the Swazi Government in November 2017, that the total population was 1,093,238 people. It did not say how many people were aged 18 or over (the voting age), but said 35.6 per cent of the population were of ‘working age’. That would amount to 389,192 people.

The accuracy of the total population count in Swaziland is in doubt. For years, outside organisations have been estimating the size of the population in Swaziland and recording it as much higher than 1.1 million. The CIA Factbook gave the figure in July 2017 as an estimated 1,467,152 (373,914 higher than the government figure). 

The CIA figures show the number of people aged 25 and over as 628,935. It also shows 324,495 people are aged between 15 and 24. It is not certain how many from this group are aged 18 or over but when added to those aged 25 and over the number of people eligible to vote in 2018 would certainly be between 700,000 and 800,000.

The Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, did not report that at the last election in 2013, Dlamini said the EBC was targeting 600,00 people to register.

He told this to the Voice of America radio on 26 May 2013. When it became clear that the EBC would not make this target, he denied it had ever been set.

In 2013, 414,704 people registered to vote. At the final (secondary) election, 251,278 actually voted. That was only 41.8 percent of the 600,000 supposedly entitled to vote. 

It matters that there is an accurate figure for the number of people eligible to vote. Elections in Swaziland are recognised outside the kingdom to be undemocratic. Political parties cannot take part and people vote under a system of ‘Monarchical Democracy’ that underpins the King’s place as an absolute monarch. The King chooses the Prime Minister and Cabinet, as well as top judges. The King and his supporters say that the people of Swaziland like it that way and there is no need for change.

But that has never been tested. Media are censored and freedom of assembly is limited, so there has never been an a opportunity to debate whether people are truly happy with the political system. The turnout at elections is used by the King’s supporters as a way of measuring this. That is why it is in the interest of the King to spread the message that they are well supported.

Richard Rooney

See also

‘RITUAL KILLINGS LINKED TO ELECTION’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/05/ritual-killings-linked-to-election.html

ELECTION VOTES SOLD FOR CHICKEN PIECES

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/05/election-votes-sold-for-chicken-pieces.html

POLICE PROBE ELECTION “CORRUPTION’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/police-probe-election-corruption.html

POOR START TO VOTER REGISTRATION

With the election registration in Swaziland only days old there is a report of corruption and another of nepotism. Voting equipment is not available across the kingdom.

The Times of Swaziland reported on Tuesday (15 May 2018) an aspiring member of the parliament who it did not name had been accused of bribing people E50 if they registered at his chiefdom. He reportedly ferried people in a hired car from Kwaluseni to register at Ngwane Park. Police are investigating.

The first day of registration on Sunday was marred by confusion. People at many registration centres across the kingdom were turned away as no registration kits were available.

The Times of Swaziland, reported on Monday several registration centres visited by reporters were found with only the registration clerks, assistants, and police officers. It reported the registration kit includes a laptop, scanner, fixed camera, biometric scanner and a printer.

The Times reported Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) Communications Officer Mbonisi Bhembe said they had technological challenges, including software issues and slow Internet connections.

The problems came despite previous EBC assurances it was ready for the election. It said it had trained about 600 people to administer the election, mostly during the registration period.

EBC chairman Chief Gija Dlamini told media in April 2018 the trained people were unemployed students from tertiary institutions and pupils who had just finished high school. He said the people had been recommended by chiefs.

On Thursday the Swazi Observer reported residents at Mbangweni complained of nepotism when four people selected to assist in the election were from the same family. It reported Inkhosatana Gelane, the acting KoNtshingila chief, saying they were ‘loyal and respectful residents’. The Shiselweni Regional Administrator Themba Masuku is investigating.

The registration process at the last election in 2013 had similar computer problems and there was reported corruption during registration in 2013. The EBC said some people were offered bribes of E100 (US$10 at the then exchange rate) or E200 to register twice.

Political parties are banned from taking part in the election and King Mswati III, who rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, picks the Prime Minister and Government. At past elections people only got to select 55 of 65 members of the House of Assembly. The King chose the other 10. At this election there will be an additional four seats for people to vote for. It has not been announced how many members the King will choose but the Swaziland Constitution allows him to pick up to ten.

As in previous years, no members of the Swazi Senate will be elected by the people; the King will choose 20 and the other 10 will be chosen by members of the House of Assembly.

King Mswati has yet to set the date for the election.

See also

REGISTRATION OPENS FOR SWAZI ELECTION

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/registration-opens-for-swazi-election.html

REGISTRATION OPENS FOR SWAZI ELECTION

Swaziland’s Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) says it is fully prepared for the forthcoming national election. Registration is open and runs to 17 June 2018. 

EBC Chair Chief Gija Dlamini has been talking up the election and says he expects people to ‘vote in their numbers’. A date for the election has yet to be announced.

He should hope that there is not a re-run of the chaotic registration process at the last election in 2013. Across the kingdom people turned up to register at 400 centres only to be turned away. Excuses given to them ranged from computer equipment not working to polling clerks not properly trained to perform their duties.  

The campaign to sign up voters was sluggish and the EBC struggled to generate interest so registration was extended by a week.

Eventually, the EBC announced 411,084 people had registered to vote out of the 600,000 people in the kingdom it said were eligible to vote. At the previous election in 2008, the EBC signed up 88 percent of the eligible 400,000 population. If it signed up a similar proportion in 2013, there should have been 528,000 people on the electoral roll.

A campaign to boycott the election may have affected registration numbers. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections and the parliament that is selected has no real power and acts as a rubber stamp for King Mswati, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

In the past people only got to select 55 of 65 members of the House of Assembly. The King chose the other 10. This time there will be an additional four seats for people to vote for. It has not been announced how many members the King will choose but the Swaziland Constitution allows him to pick up to ten.

As in previous years, no members of the Swazi Senate will be elected by the people; the King will choose 20 and the other 10 will be chosen by members of the House of Assembly.

There was reported corruption during registration in 2013. The EBC said some people were offered bribes of E100 (US$10 at the then exchange rate) or E200 to register twice.

The EBC said it did not have enough money to run the election successfully as the Swazi Government had cut its allocation from E200 million to E100 million. It is claimed that it could not afford enough staff to monitor the registration of voters across the whole kingdom. 

The ability of members of the EBC to do their job was questioned. King Mswati appointed the EBC in 2008 and at the time many civil society organisations and pro-democracy campaigners criticised the choices because members were inexperienced. The Swazi Constitution demands that the EBC chair should be a qualified judge, but King Mswati appointed one of his half-brothers, Chief Gija Dlamini, who was variously described at the time as an electrician or electrical engineer, to the post, which he still holds today.

The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) shortly after the 2008 election reported, ‘Almost all the stakeholders regarded the members of the EBC as royal appointees.

‘Stakeholders did not regard the EBC as independent and believed that the EBC operated under the instruction of the King. Stakeholders also expressed the view that the EBC was not representative of society as a whole, but was drawn exclusively from government officials or members of the aristocracy.

‘Most believed that the Commissioners do not meet the qualifications laid down in the constitution in Article 90(6): “The chairperson, deputy chairperson and the other members of the Commission shall possess the qualifications of a Judge of the superior courts or be persons of high moral character, proven integrity, relevant experience and demonstrable competence in the conduct of public affairs”’.

See also

VOTERS MISLED ON SWAZILAND ELECTION

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/voters-misled-on-swaziland-election.html

 

BILL TO GET WOMEN INTO PARLIAMENT

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/bill-to-get-women-in-parliament.html

 

EARLY ELECTION CAMPAIGNING ILLEGAL

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/early-election-campaigning-illegal.html