CHIEF FINES SWAZI DISSIDENT WRITER

Swazi dissident Mfomfo Nkhambule, who has been in trouble for criticising King Mswati III in his newspaper column, has been fined by his traditional chief.

Nkhambule was summoned to appear before traditional authorities on Saturday (28 February 2009) and told he must pay an undisclosed number of cattle to the king.

Nkhambule had previously been told by the traditionalists that he must stop writing about the king in his regular Monday column that appears in Swaziland’s only independent daily newspaper, the Times of Swaziland.

Nkhambule had also been hauled before state police and told he could face 20 years in prison if he didn’t stop criticising the king. It was also reported that Nkhambule faced torture if he didn’t stop his writing.

Nkhambule, a former cabinet minister in the Swaziland Government and present chair of the Inhalva Forum political party, was told to appear along with his father before Prince Logcogco Mangaliso’s Inner Council. His father couldn’t make the date, so Nkhambule;s brother went along instead.

The prince is also the chairman of the advisory committee to King Mswati III known as Liqoqo.

According to a report in the Times Sunday yesterday (1 March 2008), ‘They were sternly cautioned to toe the line laid down or face consequences.’

According to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Swaziland Chapter such ‘consequences’ could include eviction of him and his entire family from his area of birth.

When the Times Sunday contacted Nkhambule after the meeting he was said to be ‘too distressed’ to talk and ‘adamantly declined to divulge deliberations of the meeting other than to say it was tough for him and his father. He said his spirit was down because it appeared to him that the situation was getting worse.’

The Times Sunday also revealed that he ‘was busy last night trying to delete phrases that could be viewed as directly and challenging to the institution of the monarch or those that could perceived as blatant disrespect of His Majesty King Mswati III.’

In his column in the Times today, Nkhambule gives details of the meeting with the traditional leaders and says they wanted to punish him to show that they did not agree with his comments about the king.

He wrote, ‘The inner council told me that they were no longer comfortable with these articles because everyone who matters in the corridors of power was of the opinion that they were failing to protect and uphold certain values and traditions of the Swazi people which have remained intact since time immemorial.’

Nkhambule disclosed that he was required to give the king a number of beasts as an apology for his writings.

But there remains a defiant streak in Nkhambule. In his article today he concluded that under the present system in Swaziland, ‘A Swazi national today is supposed to be a permanent idiot. A Swazi national today is supposed to cast a blind eye on any form of injustice perpetrated by those in authority in the name of culture or tradition.’

TWISTED SWAZI MEN RAPE CHILDREN

In the twisted culture that is Swaziland, women are being blamed for men sexually abusing children.

A report says that women who sexually starve their husbands are responsible for the growing sexual abuse of children.

In Swaziland it is estimated that one in three girls suffer sexual abuse, but it is thought that fewer than half of sexual assaults and other abusive crimes are reported to the authorities.

According to a report in the Swazi Observer on Friday (27 February 2009), ‘Men who were interviewed during the making of the State of the Swaziland Population report said they “salivate” over children wearing skimpy dress codes because they are sexually starved in their homes.’

It goes on, ‘They (men) argued that men have turned into “cannibals” – they salivate over young girls, and as such now sexually abuse orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC). They, however, turned the blame on their wives whom they accused of refusing them sexual intercourse.’

The State of the Swaziland Population report goes on to say that Swazi men also blame ‘modernisation’ for giving women and girls the idea that they do not need to obey their menfolk.

The report states, ‘They blamed the current generation of children for their inquisitorial minds, saying they always ask why? and why not? They were not content with counselling words from adults. They concluded that these were the negative impacts of education on behaviour.’

The report doesn’t actually tell us why the men who are ‘starved of sex’ by their wives then rape children. This is of course because there is no causal relationship between sex within marriage and child rape. It is simply rape.

A big problem is that adults in Swaziland just do not respect children. Only last week I reported that at least 100 school teachers had been accused of having sex with their pupils and that young girls were being forced into ‘marriages’ against their will.

The biggest abusers are the girls’ own families. According to a UNICEF report published in 2008, 75 percent of the perpetrators of sexual violence were known to the victim.

According to the Weekend Observer, sexual abuse remains hidden as it becomes a family secret.

The report states that as poverty remains a major challenge in Swaziland, many victims depend on perpetrators of violence for support.

Often, the perpetrator uses his/her status as the sole breadwinner to intimidate a child or coerce her into staying silent. Children often remain silent for fear of retribution not only from the perpetrators, but from family members as well.

Some children do not report cases of violence because they are not aware that they are being abused, states the report.

SWAZI POLICE SMASH YOUTH RALLY

Swazi police were true to their word when they said they would crush the Swazi Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) rally if it went ahead yesterday (28 February 2009).

Reports from the scene of the rally in Msunduza Township in the Swazi capital, Mbabane, said members of the special police task force OSSU were determined to clean up the area and they fired teargas canisters at SWAYOCO members and ordinary members of the public. One newspaper report said Msunduza ‘was reminiscent of a battlefield in a war torn country’.

According to the Times Sunday today (1 March 2009), ‘Some of the people who were caught up in the fracas were vegetable vendors, old women who were watching the proceedings and young children who were wandering around the shopping area.’

The police were so out of control that they mistakenly fired teargas at customers in a bar.

According to a separate report in the Times Sunday, the customers were ‘literally smoked out of their favourite hangout’. Other people affected by police teargas were tenants of houses near the bar, as well as vendors who had to run with their wares as police fired the teargas.

The newspaper reported, ‘Moments after the incident, a police vehicle was seen driving towards the bar. It is suspected that they had gone there to arrest some of the members of the banned organisations, while others suspected that the officers had gone there “to remove evidence”’.

Times Sunday editor Mbongeni Mbingo, writing in his own newspaper, said before the rally started there were scores of police officers roaming the township and the city of Mbabane. ‘This was a move by the force to prevent the rally from taking place, and given the number of officers who were unleashed, you could understand government meant business—this rally was not going to take place, or if it did, the police would be there and would deal with the situation—however, they could.’

In the days before the rally, the Swazi state had made it clear it would not allow the rally, in support of Mario Masuku, President of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), who is in jail awaiting trial on charges under the Suppression of Terrorism Act, to go ahead. Both PUDEMO and SWAYOCO have been branded terrorist organisations by Swaziland’s illegally-appointed Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini. Members or supporters of banned organisations can face up to 20 years in jail.

The police provocation ensured a tense atmosphere before the rally started. SWAYOCO supporters took the initiative and attacked police with missiles and logs as police were trying to block the road.

Police retaliated and drove an OSSU Casper at full speed towards SWAYOCO demonstrators. Then, according to reports, ‘all hell broke loose’ and police set off tear gas indiscriminately.

The OSSU Casper was followed by another police vehicle and together they brought the rally to an end.

According to the Times Sunday, about 50 members of SWAYOCO attended the rally, but the number increased when ordinary members of the public and sympathisers joined the marchers. Other organisations that were represented were the Swaziland Union of Students, the People’s United Democratic Movement and the Swaziland Association of Students.

Police said four members of SWAYOCO were arrested and charged following the rally. This brings to six the number of people who have been arrested in connection with yesterday’s event. On Friday morning, police arrested the organisation’s President Wandile Dludlu and another party official.

SWAZI HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES WORSEN

There are serious human rights abuses in Swaziland and these are getting worse.

These are the unsurprising conclusions of the US State Department annual Country Report on Swaziland released this week.

In a wide ranging report, Swaziland is criticized for the way in which the Swazi Government and its agents continue to condone or commit serious abuses.

The ‘human rights situation in the country deteriorated’ over the past year, the report concludes.

‘Human rights problems included inability of citizens to change their government; extrajudicial killings by security forces; mob killings; police use of torture, beatings, and excessive force on detainees; police impunity; arbitrary arrests and lengthy pretrial detention; arbitrary interference with privacy and home; restrictions on freedoms of speech and press and harassment of journalists; restrictions on freedoms of assembly, association, and movement; prohibitions on political activity and harassment of political activists; discrimination and violence against women; child abuse; trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against mixed race and white citizens; and harassment of labor leaders, restrictions on worker rights, and child labor.’

The 10,000-word report covers a wide range, including the lack of respect for human rights; restrictions on freedom of the press (publishing criticism of the monarchy is banned); suspension of the constitutional right to free expression (especially regarding political issues or the royal family); the practice of self‑censorship that restricted academic freedom by limiting academic meetings, writings, and discussion on political topics and restrictions on freedom of assembly.

In September 2008, Swaziland held elections. According to the report, ‘International observers concluded that the elections did not meet international standards. Political parties were not allowed to register or sponsor candidates; ballots were cast in secrecy but could be traced by registration number back to voters; some ballot boxes were not properly protected; and accusations of bribery occurred. There were widespread reports that citizens were advised that if they did not register to vote, they would no longer receive government services.’

To see the full report, click here.