Swaziland’s unelected Prime
Minister Barnabas Dlamini has published the first volume of his autobiography.
It runs for 500 pages and more books are promised.
Unsurprisingly newspapers such as
the Swazi Observer which is in effect
owned by King Mswati III, the absolute monarch who appointed Dlamini to office
with the order to attack democrats who wanted political parties to be able to
contest elections, was full of praise for the book.
The Observer
on Saturday (3
February 2018) reported, ‘Dlamini disclosed during the launch of his book that he was inspired
to write the book by the absence of a significant number of similar accounts by
prominent public figures in Swaziland.’
Dlamini who is a very sick man turned 75 in May 2017. Informed readers (that is those who don’t rely solely on the censored and self-censoring news media in Swaziland) will not bother to buy the book which retails at E300 (US$25). Most people in Swaziland where seven in ten of the 1.3 million population have incomes of less than US$2 per day would not be able to afford it even if they wanted to buy.
Dlamini who is a very sick man turned 75 in May 2017. Informed readers (that is those who don’t rely solely on the censored and self-censoring news media in Swaziland) will not bother to buy the book which retails at E300 (US$25). Most people in Swaziland where seven in ten of the 1.3 million population have incomes of less than US$2 per day would not be able to afford it even if they wanted to buy.
It is not
worth buying the book because it is a dishonest account of Dlamini’s life. The
book fails to remind readers that Dlamini has been involved in a questionable
business deal that netted him millions of emalangeni. He was also involved in a
dubious land deal and was only saved from a formal inquiry by the personal
intervention of the King.
Barnabas
Dlamini was also humiliated on the world stage in 2010 when he accepted an
international award for his ‘humanitarian work’ from a known con-man.
And, he
has a record as an anti-democrat who has advocated that his opponents be
tortured.
In 2015,
the Times Sunday reported (10 May 2015) that Fusini
Investments (Proprietary) Limited, directed by the Prime Minister and two
others, bought land for E93,120 from government in 2005, which by then had
generated a profit of E7.4 million (US$740,000 at the then exchange rate): a
profit of more than 800 percent.
The PM’s
company sold the land to the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF), a public
organisation that was established in 1993 for the management and administration
of pensions for government (public sector) employees.
Prime
Minister Dlamini has a history of involvement in questionable land deals. In
2011, he and others escaped scrutiny on land deals after the direct
intervention of King Mswati.
They had
bought Swazi nation land for themselves at what a select committee report later
called ‘ridiculously cheap’ prices and ‘tantamount to theft of State
property’.
In late December 2010 it was revealed that Dlamini, his deputy, and
four cabinet ministers were at the centre of a land purchase scandal.
Dlamini,
who constantly claims he wants to stamp out corruption in the kingdom, was allowed to buy
government-controlled land at half price, netting himself a E304,000 (US$43,000
at the then exchange rate) saving. Themba Masuku, the then Deputy PM and four
ministers each received discounts of between 30 and 50 percent on their
purchases. None of these people were elected to the Swazi Parliament – all were
appointed by the King.
The
politicians were allowed to purchase the so-called ‘crown land’ (which is owned
by the King on behalf of the Swazi nation) in the Swazi capital Mbabane without
having to compete with other would-be buyers. They were given the land at below
market value, in effect cheating the Swazi people out of the money.
Two of
the ministers who took advantage of this scam were members of the Swazi Royal
Family, which is headed by King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute
monarch.
The
ministers involved were Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, Princess
Tsandzile; Minister of Economic Planning and Development, Prince Hlangusemphi;
Minister of Home Affairs, Chief Mgwagwa Gamedze; and the Minister of
Agriculture, Clement Dlamini.
The Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only
independent daily newspaper, reported at the time that the Prime Minister made the
biggest killing. He was allocated ‘a portion of land measuring 6,084 square
metres. He paid E304,000 for the land after it was discounted from the initial
price of E608,000. Effectively, he was granted a 50 percent discount.’
In total
the land was sold at about E1 million less than it was worth, the Times estimated.
Former
government ministers also benefited from the land purchase scandal. They
included two members of the Swazi Royal Family. Prince David received a 50
percent discount on land worth E97,000 allocated to him. Prince Mbilini also
received land, but the exact details of his windfall were not known, the Times reported.
It was
believed that at least nine former ministers were also given land at discounted
prices.
It later emerged that the Swazi Cabinet, which
was hand-picked by the King, approved the land purchase. This, in effect, meant
they approved a plan that allowed themselves to save hundreds of thousands of
emalangeni on the land scam.
It was later revealed that the Prime Minister and the
others were not eligible for discounts on the land because such discounts were
only available to poor people. In Swaziland seven in ten people have incomes of
less than US$2 per day.
Prince Guduza, Speaker of the Swaziland House
of Assembly, rebuked Barnabas Dlamini, the Prime Minister, for ‘interference
of the highest order’, after the Swazi Parliament decided to set up a
seven-member select committee to investigate the land deals
and he called MPs in to see him ‘one-by-one’ to try to get them on his side.
The whole
land deal scandal reached a climax in May 2011 when Dlamini took
Prince Guduza, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, to court to stop a debate
about the PM’s irregular land deals taking place.
He succeeded in getting a High Court order to
stop parliament debating the land issue and publication of a select committee
report into the affair. The House of Assembly ignored the court and debated
anyway.
The select committee report described the conduct of Lindiwe
Dlamini, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, in the deals as corrupt and
treasonous.
The
report stated that the authority for land deals was unconstitutionally taken
away from the King’s Office, by Lindiwe Dlamini.
‘The act
of the minister was not only unconstitutional but also seriously undermined the
authority and sovereignty of the office of the Ingwenyama [the King] and was
therefore treasonous,’ the report stated.
That the Minister for Housing and Urban Development
[Lindiwe Dlamini] acted unconstitutionally and with total disregard of the
Crown Land Disposal regulations of 2003, which were promulgated in line with
the provisions of the Crown Land Disposal Act of 1911.
That the cabinet ministers concerned used their
positions to gain unfair advantage over other Swazis who had applied for the
land many years ago, by-passing the Crown Land Disposal Committee in the
process.
The Prime Minister and the Minister for Natural
Resources and Energy [Princess Tsandzile] bought the land at ridiculously low
prices. The most disturbing aspect is that the Prime Minister was awarded the
certificate to develop his portion and designs approved without having paid for
the plot and records show that he only did so on February, 22 2011, long after
the Select Committee was appointed.
That the current administration has no respect for
the constitution, as there are many laws that deal with land issues and until
now they have not been aligned with the constitution.
That the Attorney General was never consulted on
this land deal.
That the allocation of land to ministers through a
cabinet decision was unlawful and it smacks of an element of personal
aggrandisement since such action is not supported by any legal instrument.
Receiving a housing allowance on the one hand and on the other hand
apportioning crown land to oneself, is tantamount to theft of State
property.
That, as a custodian of State assets and property,
by virtue of its position in government, cabinet had no legal right to take a
collective decision on the allocation of land to ministers, even worse, that in
the process it violated the Constitution, 2005.
In June
2011, King Mswati confirmed his status as an absolute monarch when he ordered the House of Assembly and the
Senate to stop discussing the land scandal. He said he would decide what would
happen to the land.
The
King’s decision to intervene was kept private and the media were excluded from
a joint meeting of the House of Assembly and Senate at which the King’s dictate
was given.
Dlamini
then instructed the media in Swaziland to stop discussing the land deal. He said, ‘His Majesty said the issue
should be put to rest. It means the matter has been concluded because the
King’s word is a command and the law. I take it that it is over and I hope
journalists will take it as having been concluded. There is no need for
journalists to keep bringing this matter up and spicing it. It has to be taken
out of the news,’
Parliament
was informed by both its presiding officers (Speaker Prince Guduza and Senate
President Gelane Zwane) that the King had ordered the PM to withdraw his court
action regarding the land issue and that the land in question would be returned
to government ownership.
Dlamini is a human rights’ abuser
Dlamini
has a poor human rights record going back more than a decade, but he is known
to be close to King Mswati. In October 2012, the House of Assembly passed a vote of no-confidence in Dlamini and his government
and according to the Swaziland Constitution the King was obliged (he had no
discretion in the matter) to sack the PM and government.
King
Mswati did not do so and instead put pressure on the House of Assembly to
reverse its vote.
Dlamini
has been appointed four times by the King to be PM of Swaziland. His record
shows him as a hard man with little regard for human rights. He supports the
King in his desire to stop all dissent and brand oppositions as ‘terrorists’.
When
introducing Dlamini as the PM in 2008, King Mwsati told him publicly to get the
terrorists and all
who supported them. Dlamini set about his task with zeal. He banned four
prodemocracy organisations.
His
Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini told Swazis affiliated with the political
formations to resign with immediate effect or feel the full force of the law.
Under the Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA), enacted the same year Dlamini
came to power, members and supporters of these groups could face up to 25 years
in jail.
Under the
draconian provisions of the STA, anyone who disagrees with the ruling elite
faces being branded a terrorist supporter.
The
Attorney General stressed that the government was after supporters of the
banned organisations. Supporting an organisation, he said, ‘includes
associating with such banned formations or aiding materialistic through
provision of commodities such as food and weapons.’
This
happened at a time when the call for democracy in Swaziland was being heard
loudly both inside the kingdom and in the international community.
The
Dlamini-led Government clamped down on dissent. In 2011, Amnesty International reported the ill-treatment, house searches and surveillance
of communications and meetings of civil society and political activists. Armed
police conducted raids and prolonged searches in the homes of dozens of high
profile human rights defenders, trade unionists and political activists while
investigating a spate of petrol bombings. Some of the searches, particularly of
political activists, were done without search warrants.
In 2010,
Dlamini publicly threatened to use
torture against
dissidents and foreigners who campaigned for democracy in his kingdom. He said
the use of ‘bastinado’, the flogging of the bare soles
of the feet, was his preferred method.
Dlamini
told the Times of Swaziland newspaper he wanted, ‘to punish dissidents and
foreigners who come to the country and disturb the peace’.
But
Dlamini’s abuse of human rights did not start with his appointment in 2008. He
was a former PM and held office for seven and a half years until 2003. While in
office he gained a reputation as someone who ignored the rule of law.
In 2003,
he refused to recognise two court judgements that challenged the king’s right
to rule by decree. This led to the resignation of all six judges in the Appeal
Court. The court had ruled that the king had no constitutional mandate to
override parliament by issuing his own decrees.
In a
report running for more than 50,000 words, Amnesty International looked back to the years 2002 and 2003 and
identified activities of Dlamini that, ‘included the repeated ignoring of court
rulings, interference in court proceedings, intimidating judicial officers,
manipulating terms and conditions of employment to undermine the independence
of the judiciary, the effective replacement of the Judicial Services Commission
with an unaccountable and secretive body (officially known as the Special
Committee on Justice but popularly called the Thursday Committee), and the
harassment of individuals whose rights had been upheld by the courts.’
Barnabas Dlamini falls for
Humanitarian Award con-trick
In
October 2010, Barnabas Dlamini travelled to the Bahamas to receive an
international award for his ‘humanitarian’ work, even though it had been
revealed to be a con-trick.
He received a medal from a known con-artist called
Rudy King. At the
centre of the scandal was an organisation called World Citizen Awards (WCA)
headed by King. The Swazi Government had put out a press release saying WCA was to honour Dlamini
for the work he was doing for human rights.
The Swazi
Media Commentary (SMC) website went to the Internet and found the website for
WCA. On there was a list of trustees who were said to be the backbone of the
organisation. Each person listed had a reputation as advocates for human rights
and it seemed odd that they would vote to give Dlamini a medal.
SMC
emailed each of the trustees and within hours received a reply from one of them
that said he was the victim of a hoax. It turned out that none of the
trustees had ever heard of WCA and certainly were not supporters.
The Associated Press (AP) news agency took up the story and realised
that the WCA was a sham organisation consisting only of a website and an
accommodation address.
Once the
AP story hit the Internet, journalists in the Bahamas who knew Rudy King of old ran
reports about his background as a con artist.
But Barnabas Dlamini still flew at Swazi taxpayers’
expense across the world to collect his medal.
Later, he defended accepting the award by saying Rudy King was respected in Swaziland and had been ‘in and out of the
country since the century began’.
He told a
news conference that the media ‘had sung his praises’ when he wanted to open an office
in Swaziland.
Dlamini
also said King had previously awarded his medal to other Swazi
luminaries.
He said, ‘In 2005 he gave an award to a
prince (David), gave a medal to Prince Guduza in 2007 and to the prime minister
in 2008, so what is the difference now in 2010? His history in Swaziland is
rich. This is the fourth medal he has presented to Swazis but now the focus is
on 2010.’
Richard
Rooney
See also
SWAZILAND
PM IN LAND SALE SCANDAL
MPs
ATTACK LAND-SCAM MINISTER
PM SAYS
GOD SUPPORTS LAND SCAM
CABINET
APPROVED ITS LAND SCAM
PM ‘STOLE
FROM POOR’ IN LAND SCAM
LAND-SCAM
PM DECIDES HE’S INNOCENT
SWAZI PM
UNDER THE COSH
SWAZI PM
‘FACES NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE’
SWAZILAND’S
BULLY PM ‘MUST GO’
LAND
SCAM: TREASONOUS AND CORRUPT
KING
SHOWS HE IS ABSOLUTE MONARCH
PM ORDERS
MEDIA SILENCE ON LAND
SWAZILAND
PM IS A BOGUS DOCTOR
