Swaziland
Newsletter No. 751 – 4 November 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.
Junior police invade PM’s homestead
By Kwanele Sibiya, eSwatini Observer,
4 November 2022
The operational support services unit
(OSSU) and officers from the criminal investigations department (CID) were
called in to attend to a security threat at the prime minister’s private
residence yesterday (3 November).
This was after junior police officers paid
an impromptu visit to the Prime Minister, Cleopas Dlamini’s homestead at
Nhlambeni.
Junior officers from His Majesty’s
Correctional Services and Royal Eswatini Police Service were recently stopped
in their tracks from marching to Cabinet offices by senior officers who were
armed with a court order.
During the march, the junior officers said
they wanted to get responses to a petition they had earlier delivered to the
prime minister’s office.
Officers from the Eswatini Correctional Services Staff Association (ECOSSA)
were not part of the visit to the prime minister’s homestead.
The junior officers said the purpose of
their visit to the prime minister’s homestead was to make him appreciate why
they were an important stakeholder, which deserved to enjoy benefits of the
2014 salary restructuring exercise.
They said this was in response to comments
the premier allegedly made in relation to significance in the
country.
The officers, who drove in their personal vehicles, did not find the prime
minister at his home and left without having an audience with him.
Their unannounced visit to the prime
minister’s homestead raised a security concern as they spent time at the
entrance.
This saw officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and OSSU hurriedly
arriving to attend to the officers.
Upon arrival, the OSSU and CID officers
peacefully reasoned with their colleagues, who after the negotiations
left.
The officers, who spoke on condition that
their identities be protected, said the reason they decided to pay the prime
minister a visit was to make him understand and appreciate why they were
important and the role they played.
They said this was after the prime
minister during the debate of his office’s second quarter performance report,
enquired about their significance.
“We decided that it would be best to visit him at his home to explain our
importance in the country’s security structures.
Our intention was to politely inform the
prime minister that we are an essential stakeholder of government, which
deserved to benefit from the salary restructuring exercise because we provide
security for the country, including his,” they stated.
The officers said they would schedule another date to visit the prime minister
as they did not find him.
Government Spokesperson, Alpheous Nxumalo,
said government could not disclose any information to the media at this point,
adding they were waiting for a report from the police on what transpired at the
prime minister’s homestead. He said after receiving the report they would make
an official comment.
Following the incident, junior officers
who provided security for the prime minister were said to have been immediately
reassigned.
According to reliable sources, senior
officers were assigned to the premier’s security detail.
“The junior officers were removed from their posts effective immediately as
they are said to be capable of compromising the prime minister’s safety,” said
the source.
They said another reason was that junior
officers were currently aggrieved following the non-implementation of the Phase
II salary restructuring exercise as per their demand.
Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer (PICO) Inspector, Nosipho
Mnguni, said she was not at liberty to comment on the issue because it touched
on State security.
See also
Demand for a salary
increment: Junior cops invade Police Headquarters, lock gate.
Current
MPs term of office must be extended pending removal of King Mswati.
Opinion by Zweli Martin Dlamini, Swaziland News,
30 October, 2022
Parliament and the Judiciary remain the
two key institutions that are critical in the democratic transition process.
It should be noted that the process of
removing or dethroning King Mswati is at an advanced stage.
But even before that happens, we need to
ensure that key institutions like Parliament and the Judiciary are capacitated
to pass Bills and ensure the fair administration of justice pending the
election of a new democratic Government.
I don’t blame those who are preparing for
the undemocratic elections, some of them don’t know what is being planned
behind the scenes.
King Mswati will eventually surrender
power through a political dialogue or be removed by force.
It’s important that even before we seize
power from the dictator, we must formulate a legal framework that will ensure
that the pro-democracy Interim Transitional Authority to be dominated by
political leaders, works with Parliament to draft a new democratic Constitution
or amend the current one to be in line with democratic principles.
Perhaps, others might think this cannot be
possible because currently, Parliament is dominated by King Mswati’s loyalists
particularly, in Senate.
The truth is, there are operations that
will ensure that no Parliamentarian use our Parliament to side with the cruel
dictator.
As a result, those appointed MPs and
Senators will see for themselves when the time comes that King Mswati’s
dictatorship regime is no more, and they will find themselves with no
alternative, but to side with the people.
Parliament is a very important
institution, it belongs to the people not a cruel dictator, who is Mswati to
own a Parliament?
MP Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni
Dube must be released and go straight to Parliament to join other pro-democracy
MPs in facilitating Bills that seek to usher us into a new democratic
dispensation.
It’s surprising that even in the
pro-democracy movement, there are political leaders who still dream of
participating in the undemocratic Tinkhundla elections, we won’t allow that
nonsense to take place because by so doing that would mean we would spend the
next five (5) years in exile while Bacede and Mthandeni languish in jail.
We must not allow King Mswati to dissolve
the current Parliament next year without holding a political dialogue.
The current MPs are now experienced, they
were in power during the political unrest and are the right candidates to
facilitate the transitional process.
Therefore at this time of the revolution,
bringing-in new MPs who are yet to taste forty-nine thousand Rands (R49,000.00)
salary and power would cost us our freedom or democracy that is now very close.
But apart from the significance of
Parliament, we will need an Acting Chief Justice who will ensure the fair
administration of justice during the transitional period, Bheki Maphalala must
know that his days are numbered in that position.
In conclusion, let me state categorically
that it’s very important that all of us understand the process of seizing power
from this cruel and oppressive dictator, we cannot seize power and leave a
leadership vacuum.
State power must be held temporarily by
legitimate institutions like Parliament and the pro-democracy Interim
Transitional Council pending the process of holding democratic elections.
That Interim Council will hold Executive
powers, present Bills and account to Parliament to ensure a smooth transfer of
power from the dictator to the people.
Late October visit by eSwatini monarch continues Taiwan’s
backing of an authoritarian ruler
by Brian Hioe, New Bloom Magazine (Taiwan), 2
November 2022
King Mswati III visited Taiwan last month [October] as part of the first visit to Taiwan
by the monarch of Eswatini since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mswati III
was a frequent visitor to Taiwan in the past, visiting on 17 other occasions.
Mswati’s son also goes to college in Taiwan. His last visit to Taiwan was in
June 2018.
Mswati III met Taiwanese political leaders such
as President Tsai Ing-wen, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu, and others, with a banquet held in his honor. Likewise,
Mswati III met with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and held a lecture aimed
at attracting Taiwanese investment to Eswatini.
Likewise, in a similar vein,
Mswati III met with representatives of CPC Corporation, Taiwan’s state-run petroleum,
oil, and natural gas company, which is operated by the Ministry of Economic
Affairs. Mswati III also met with students from Eswatini currently studying in
Taiwan.
Unfortunately, Mswati III and
his regime in Eswatini prove one of the authoritarian regimes backed by the
Taiwanese government in return for diplomatic recognition. This is more
generally the pattern among many of Taiwan’s remaining allies, who are all
smaller than Taiwan in terms of their population and the size of their economy.
In 2018, Taiwan’s economy was three times larger than that of all of its
diplomatic allies combined, and this is no different with Eswatini, which has a
population of 1.5 million compared to Taiwan’s 23 million.
As a number of its remaining
diplomatic allies are run by authoritarian political leaderships, Taiwan has
long been accused of “dollar diplomacy”, in backing them in return for
recognition–even as Taiwan’s own rhetoric is that these are fellow democracies
with whom it shares common values. Although this is a practice that goes back
to KMT authoritarian times, the DPP has not substantively broken from the
practice.
Eswatini is a particularly
egregious example. Mswati III is one of the world’s last remaining absolute
monarchies. Under his rule, Eswatini is impoverished and has one of the world’s
lowest life expectancies. Life expectancy has halved since
2000 due to high
rates of HIV. In 2011, Mswati III called for sterilizing
and branding individuals with HIV. Perhaps pertaining to his discussions with CPC, Mswati III and his
family are accused of significant graft, such as skimming 25% of deals made by the state through mining deals or other
trade agreements.
Political parties were banned in
1973 and the constitution voided, as
a result of which Eswatini does not hold free and fair elections. Mswati III
had agreed to constitutional changes in the past and there had been protests in
the past, such as saw strikes by civil servants critical of the monarchy’s
exorbitant spending in 2019, that pushed against his power. But protests in summer 2021 calling for democratic
elections were put down by state security forces, with dozens killed.
Politicians that supported the
protests, such as parliamentarians Mduduzi Bacede
Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, have
now been imprisoned for over a year and denied legal representation, while
others, such as Hon Gaw’zela, have been
forced into exile. There
have been no answers or accountability regarding the killings.
The pro-democracy protests in
Eswatini prove reminiscent of Taiwan’s past in that Taiwan also once had
authoritarian rulers in the form of the Chiang family and KMT, who were also
highly corrupt. It required protest and significant sacrifice to achieve
democracy in Taiwan. But despite this, the Tsai administration has continued to
back the Mswati regime, donating 637 million NT after the protests for reconstruction
efforts–some of which is
likely to have been skimmed off by Mswati III and his family. On other
occasions, the Taiwanese government had provided medical treatment for Mswati
III.
Nevertheless, such actions on
the part of the Tsai administration do not surprise. In 2018, the Tsai
administration recognized the election victory of Juan Orlando
Hernandez in what
international observers called a stolen election. In 2021, Taiwanese diplomatic
accounts on Twitter expressed support for the Colombian government after police violence against demonstrators
protesting against tax reforms. So, too, then with Mswati III’s dictatorial
rule in Eswatini–even if through withdrawing support, Taiwan is in a position
to apply pressure for political changes to take place.
1
550 diarrhoea cases in one week
By
Mthunzi Mdluli, Times of eSwatini, 4 November 2022
MBABANE: At least 1 550 diarrhoea cases
were recorded in the country last week only, with Hhohho being the highest of
all the regions.
The Ministry of Health
Promotion Officer, Calvin Dlamini, speaking on national radio yesterday
morning, said the summer season had resulted in an increase in diarrhoeal
cases. He stated that most healthcare facilities had infected people, which was
so alarming. Dlamini said in last week’s statistics alone, for the four
regions, the Hhohho Region had the highest diarrhoeal cases
of 600, followed by Lubombo (500), Shiselweni (300) and Manzini
recorded at least 150 diarrhoeal cases. He said despite the current recorded
cases in a week alone, there was still a concern on the increasing number
of diarrhoeal cases across the country. He said there was a need for
quick measures to be taken before the situation got out of hand.
“We are seeing a continuous
increase in diarrhoeal cases. Whether you go to a government hospital, clinic
or visit any healthcare facility, you will discover that there are patients
suffering from diarrhoea,” said Dlamini. He also indicate that emaSwati were
no longer cautious about their health as they used to during the COVID-19 era
where they kept on washing their hands in fear of contracting the virus.
He said such an increase showed that people were living irresponsibly.
Dlamini further said the ministry
had discovered that babies were mostly affected by diarrhoea through contact
with their parents or family members. He then pleaded with parents to wash
their hands before breastfeeding their babies. “Children, who are not even
in a position to crawl, are now suffering from diarrhoea. The reason is that
their parents breastfeed them with unclean hands. It is high time that parents
never allow anyone to pick their child unless that person has clean hands,” he
stated. He then encouraged emaSwati to continue using the sanitiser like they
did during the COVID-19 era. He said during that period, few diarrhoea cases
were reported in all healthcare facilities.
“The best way for us to fight
diarrhoea is through washing of hands regularly with running water or even use
a sanitiser. Make sure you do that even if you have been shaking hands with
people you know,” he pleaded. Dlamini also said another way of curbing the
increasing diarrhoeal cases in the country was by encouraging shebeen owners to
build toilets for their customers. Dlamini further encouraged parents to
rush their children to hospital immediately they exhibited symptoms.
He said by so doing, they
would eliminate the loss of lives. He further advised people to use the oral
rehydration solution anytime they experienced diarrhoea symptoms to remain
strong. From the last report released by the Ministry of Health two weeks ago
(October 17, 2022), Hhohho Region had the highest number of diarrhoea cases
recorded with Shiselweni Region recording the lowest cases.
eSwatini political unrest: PM says Government will
engage Interpol to apprehend perpetrators of violence hiding in other countries
Africa
Press, 27 October 2022
Eswatini. Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini says Government will now
engage the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to try and
apprehend perpetrators of violence hiding in other countries, amid the ongoing
political unrest.
Eswatini is in the midst of a political crisis after King Mswati
allegedly unleashed soldiers and the police to shoot and kill dozens of
civilians merely for demanding democratic reforms.
Despite consistent demands for justice by international human rights organizations,King
Mswati’s Government refused to arrest those who issued and or implemented the
order to kill civilians.
This resulted to the establishment of the pro-democracy Swaziland
International Solidarity Forces (SISF), an Underground Unit protecting civilians.
The press recently exposed evidence implicating King’s Governor Themba
Ginindza who disclosed that,as the State, they were training a squad to bomb
political activists and their properties.
Subsequent to the report, the home of Mlungisi Makhanya, the President
of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) and National Organizer
Penuel Malinga was bombed allegedly, by State agents, there were no reported
arrests by the police.
“We will now engage INTERPOL to try and bring the perpetrators of violence
to book. These people normally skip the country upon finishing their terrorist
attacks and have the audacity to announce that it’s them,” said the Prime
Minister when speaking in Parliament on Wednesday.
Country’s security services have been implored to unite
By
Kwanele Sibiya, eSwatini Observer, 29 October 2022
The three security services of the country
must unite and carry each other’s burden instead of mocking one another’s
plight.
His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS)
Hhohho Regional Commissioner Nomahhohho Sibandze said it was time the country’s
security services united and supported one another.
Sibandze said if there was a time where the country’s security services needed
each other, it was now.
She was speaking during the memorial
service of the slain correctional services officer Mike Menzi Mthethwa held at
Ka-Bhudla Assembly of God Church yesterday (28 October).
Mthethwa is the warder who was abducted
from his workstation at the Sidvwashini Correctional facility last Thursday.
He was discovered in a forest at Ngwenya
with gunshot wounds in the head and chest.
Mthethwa was allegedly disarmed of his service rifle (R4), kidnapped and shot.
A correctional officer was reportedly involved in Mthethwa’s abduction and
brutal killing.
Sibandze said they were aware that a
majority of people had unanswered questions pertaining to Mthethwa’s death,
unfortunately HMCS did not have the answers.
She said all they knew was that he passed
on after being kidnapped by one of their own.
Sibandze further appreciated the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and the
Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) for offering moral support to the
Mthethwa family.
Sibandze said death was eminent for
everyone and therefore it was important to prepare for same by accepting Jesus
as their Lord and personal saviour.
Meanwhile, members of the REPS and UEDF
showed up in their numbers to offer moral support and solidarity to the
family.
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