WILLIAM, 82, CHALLENGES THE KING

William dared to challenge the King

Kenworthy News Media, 16 September 2016

SOURCE

Not many Swazis dare to criticize Swaziland’s absolute monarch openly, but 82-year-old William Mkhaliphi did, to the monarch’s face, last month. In response to this, he now suddenly faces charges under that Public Order Act and for theft, writes Kenworthy News Media.

There were many complaints about an array of issues, ranging from to small grants for the elderly to cattle roaming the streets, at last month’s Sibaya People’s Parliament in Swaziland.

But the presentation of one man, 82-year-old William Mkhaliphi from Vuvulane, stood out. He actually dared to criticize the root of Swaziland’s problems, absolute monarch King Mswati III, and the land-, economic- and social policies that he dictates, that keep two thirds of the population in desperate poverty, in front of thousands of people and the monarch himself.

 ‘All lands and farms are for the king’
“Even today the king has everything to himself, all lands and farms are for the king,” Mkhaliphi told king Mswati and the thousands attending the Sibaya People’s Parliament last month – an event that, according to Swaziland’s constitution, is the “highest policy and advisory council” in Swaziland, and according to the monarch an important part of what he refers to as “Swazi democracy.”

“Where is the land for ordinary Swazis? We had an agreement with the late king Sobhuza II [Mswati’s father], but the current king has dispossessed us. People from Vuvulane [an impoverished part of Swaziland’s sugar belt] have been evicted because the Queen Mother has designated land for construction of a new town, people have had their water supply cut, which has destroyed the food crops,” he continued.

And he added impetus to his words by telling the king; “I fear no-one. Even if you kill me after this I am fine.”

Evicted from his land
Mkhaliphi has himself been evicted from his land, he told Afrika Kontakt last week, and has been falsely accused of stealing farming equipment belonging to the Royal Swaziland Sugar Company (RSSC) – the same company that facilitated the eviction of himself and others in Vuvulane that Mkhaliphi had complained about at Sibaya. He also faces charges under the Public Order Act for criticising Mswati during Sibaya.

In 2014, about 30 farmers and residents from Vuvulane learnt that land they had farmed and lived on for decades had been sold to the RSSC and that they had to vacate it or face forced eviction.

Mkhaliphi, and the other small-scale farmers that Afrika Kontakt spoke to, said that the RSSC has systematically bullied small-scale farmers in the region, amongst other things by closing down their water supply and refusing to honour agreements whereby the company would buy their sugar cane.

The small-scale farmers say that the reason for the actions of the RSSC is to enable the company to force them away from land that they have occupied and cultivated legally for over 50 years.

“Farmers were granted this land for cultivation of sugar cane by king Sobhuza II. But the ruling of the courts in this matter has been ignored by both the government and the RSSC, who continue to evict small-scale farmers from their land,” Mkhaliphi told Afrika Kontakt.

An old activist
William Mkhaliphi says he and the other small-scale farmers will not budge, and that they are organizing a march to Swaziland’s High Court to seek justice for the wrong-doings of the RSSC and the Swazi government. He insists that he is not afraid of any response from the government or the sugar company as it is not the first time he has tried to get the attention of them or the king.

In 2011, local newspaper the Times of Swaziland reported that the Vuvulane Farmers Association, led by Mkhaliphi and Mpisi Dlamini, had sought audiences with Mswati, and had generally resisted attempts to evict them from their land. At the time, the newspaper quoted Mkhaliphi of saying that “the king is our only hope in this matter.”

In 2012, Mkhaliphi had also complained to Mswati about the land evictions at Sibaya, wrote the newspaper, and had told him that he was “not comfortable with the fact that a king is capable of evicting people.”

Vuvulane is an impoverished area in Swaziland’s sugar belt where many locals are employed as casual workers in the sugar cane fields and paid between 400 and 600 rand a month, not enough for medicine, proper food or school fees for their children, the workers tell Afrika Kontakt. Many subsequently survive on food aid and many local children do not go to school.

American research NGO Freedom House ranks Swaziland as the least free country of the 15 members of the Southern African Development Community that Mswati have just assumed the chairmanship of, in regard to political rights and civil liberties, below countries such as DRC Congo and Zimbabwe. In 2013, Freedom House condemned “the unlawful arrests … [and] unlawful evictions” of farmers in Vuvulane. Swaziland is the only country in SADC where political parties are banned from taking part in elections.

See William Mkhaliphi’s speech at the Southern African People’s Solidarity Network Summit in August.

KING’S AIRPORT PASSENGERS FLOP

Fewer than 80 passengers a day on average flew out of the KM III International Airport in Swaziland during the three months ending June 2016, latest figures reveal.

If the statistics revealed by the Ministry of Home Affairs are correct this is down from 327 passengers a day that Swaziland Tourist Authority (STA) said departed the airport in January 2015.

The Ministry of Home Affairs in its first quarter performance report for 2016/2017 recorded a total number of 6,717 arrivals between the month of April and June 2016 and recorded a total number of 7,138 departures. These figures were published in the Swazi Observer newspaper on Thursday (15 September 2016).

The King Mswati III airport, named after the kingdom’s absolute ruler, has been mired in controversy since its inception. It was built in a wilderness at Sikhuphe and replaced Matsapha airport which was close to the kingdom’s capital Mbabane and its main commercial city Manzini.

KM III officially opened in March 2014 and since then there have been variously exaggerated claims about the number of people travelling through it and the number of airlines wishing to use it.

The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported twice in April 2015 that the Swaziland Tourist Authority (STA) said there were 10,138 passengers departing the airport in January 2015 and 6,592 passengers arriving, making a total of 16,730 passengers. If these figures were repeated each month of the year, 200,760 passengers would travel through the airport in a year.

But, Swazi Media Commentary exposed these statistics as entirely bogus. There are only three flights per day departing the airport and another three arriving. The airport serves only one route – to OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. Swaziland Airlink is the only passenger airline that uses the airport. Airlink uses the Embraer J135 aircraft which has a maximum seating capacity of 50.

If every flight was full a maximum of 150 people per day could depart the airport, which would make a maximum of 4,500 per month.

Despite the obviously fraudulent figures the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWACAA) Marketing and Corporate Affairs Director Sabelo Dlamini said in April 2015, ‘We are noting that the figures are rising and for us, it points to a brighter future in aviation. It is also an affirmation of the massive work the government of Swaziland has done over the past five years to do right in the civil aviation industry, in particular the construction of an airport facility travellers are happy with.’

The newspaper reported, ‘Dlamini further noted that the drop in numbers that had been projected by critics had not happened at all.’

The Observer, which was described as a ‘pure propaganda machine for the royal family’ by the Media Institute of Southern Africa in a report on media freedom in the kingdom, reported on 12 May 2015, SWACAA Director General Solomon Dube saying ‘only 70,000’ people per year used the airport. He did not give any evidence to support the figures. The 70,000 passengers represented 35 percent of the 200,760 claimed in April 2015.

SWACAA had previously said the KM III Airport would need at least 300,000 passengers a year to break-even.

The Times of Swaziland reported on 12 May 2015 that Dube also announced that Egyptair had offered Swaziland a 268-seater aircraft. The newspaper reported him saying, ‘the main objective of this initiative is to increase airplane passengers by up to 200,000’.

The Times reported, ‘Dube said courtesy of well-managed diplomatic relations between the two States, Swaziland had been offered to utilise services of one of Egyptair’s flights to transport passengers between Swaziland and South Africa for 10 hours a day. He said using the flight for at least 10 hours a day could translate to about five or seven flights to the neighbouring republic, on a daily basis.’

No Egyptair flights have taken place.

This claim from Dube was one of a long line of empty promises made about the attractiveness of the airport.

In November 2013, SWACAA said that the Swazi Government was ready to recreate the defunct Royal Swazi National Airways Corporation (RSNAC0) and would set about purchasing a 100-seater jet, at a cost estimated by the Times of Swaziland of E700 million (US$70 million). This compared to the E125 million budgeted for free primary school education in Swaziland that year. It never happened.

SWACAA said RSNAC would fly to 10 destinations in Africa and Asia. Observers estimated RSNAC would probably need a minimum of 10 aircraft to service the routes. For that to happen, Swaziland would have to spend about E7 billion on aircraft. Such a sum of money would bankrupt the kingdom. To put the cost in context the Central Bank of Swaziland has estimated the kingdom’s gross official reserves were E8.24 billion at the month ended November 2013.

There has also been constant misinformation about the prospect of airlines choosing to use the airport.

In October 2009, King Mswati claimed Etihad Airways from the Gulf State of Abu Dhabi was showing ‘deep interest’ in using the airport. Nothing has been heard since.

In May 2011, the Swazi Observer reported Sabelo Dlamini saying, ‘We have established possible routes which we want to market to the operators. Some of the proposed routes from Sikhuphe are Durban, Cape Town, Lanseria Airport in Sandton, Harare and Mozambique.’ Nothing happened.

In June 2012, he told Swazi media that at least three airlines from different countries had ‘shown interest’ in using the airport, but he declined to name them. He remained optimistic about the prospects for the future and said SWACAA was talking to airlines in other countries as well. Nothing happened.

Then in February 2013 SWACAA Director General Solomon Dube told media in Swaziland, ‘We are talking to some including Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airline and various Gulf airlines.’ Nothing happened.

In March 2013, SWACAA claimed five airlines had signed deals to use the airport when it eventually opened, but an investigation by Swazi Media Commentary revealed that two of the airlines named did not exist. It also said Botswana Airways would use the airport, but it has not.

In October 2013, SWACAA claimed it had targeted small and medium business travellers to use the airport. It said low-cost airlines were interested in using it for business travellers who might want to fly to nearby countries ‘on a daily basis’.

AS recently as March 2016, Minister of Public Works and Transport Lindiwe Dlamini said Air Mauritius would fly from the airport.

In January 2016, the Swazi Observer reported Swazi Air was ready to fly to Dubai, Cape Town, India and Durban.

KMIII Airport was built in a wilderness in Swaziland on the whim of King Mswati, who rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. No research was undertaken to determine the need for the airport.

Critics of the airport argued for years that there was no potential for the airport. Major airports already existed less than an hour’s flying time away in South Africa with connecting routes to Swaziland and there was no reason to suspect passengers would want to use KMIII airport as an alternative.

During the 11 years it took to build, the airport was called Sikhuphe, but the name was changed in honour of the King when it officially opened in March 2014.

The airport cost an estimated E2.5 billion (US$250 million) to build.

In October 2013 a report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the airport was widely perceived as a ‘vanity project’ because of its scale and opulence compared with the size and nature of the market it seeks to serve.

Since it opened only one commercial passenger airline, Swaziland Airlink, which is part-owned by the Swazi Government, has used the Airport. The airline was forced to move from the Matsapha Airport, even though an independent business analysis predicted the airline would go out of business as a result.

No other airline has publicly said it wanted to use the airport.

See also

AIRPORT MOVE WILL ‘BANKRUPT AIRLINK’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/03/airport-move-will-bankrupt-airlink.html  

PROOF: KING’S AIRPORT POINTLESS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/02/proof-kings-airport-pointless.html

POLICE FIRE RUBBER BULLETS ON STRIKERS

Riot police in Swaziland are under fire for using rubber bullets and teargas against striking workers.

A strike at Swaziland Plantation has entered its second month amid clashes between police and workers.

Swaziland Agriculture and Plantations Workers Union (SAPWU) Chairperson Sibusiso Masuku told the Swazi Observer newspaper the police had taken a violent stance against the workers. 

On Wednesday (14 September 2016) the newspaper reported him saying, ‘During the strike, we the striking workers, saw rubber bullets fired at us by the riot police as well as teargas. We have also been chased away from the Plantation entrance where we had originally started our strike. Police have been arresting us for instigating violence and to add insult to injury, we have had seen some of our fellow workers being injured during the protest, it has been a bad time for us.’

The newspaper reported there had been renewed clashes on Friday (9 September 2016) between police and unarmed workers.

Masuku told the Observer, ‘The riot police are just pawns used by the Plantation Forest Company administration to fight against us, we feel safer when they are not present as we do not understand their way of thinking.’

In June 2015, Swaziland was listed as one of the top ten worst countries in the world for workers’ rights. It was grouped alongside some of the worst human rights violators on the planet, including Belarus, China, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. 

POLICE FIRE SHOTS AT WORKERS’ STRIKE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/08/police-fire-shots-at-workers-strike.html

UNISWA STUDENTS SLEEP IN STOREROOMS

Students at the University of Swaziland (UNISWA) are being forced to sleep in poorly ventilated storerooms as an accommodation crisis grows.

Students began a class boycott on Monday (12 September 2016) in protest. They also have a long list of complaints against the university and the Swazi Government. They want all students who were admitted to the university to receive scholarships.

They also want the university to scrap all debts owed to it by students. They have also made allegations of victimisation of students.

The Swazi Observer reported UNISWA Students Representative Council’s Brian Sangweni saying that the accommodation situation was so bad students were sleeping in storerooms which were not well ventilated. 

Sangweni said the storerooms were unfit for human habitation.

THE HUNGRY DEFY CHRISTIAN LEADERS

Hungry people in Swaziland defied Christian leaders and attended a Muslim ceremony, because free meat was being given away.

As part of the Islamic Eid-ul-Adah ceremony Muslims slaughter meat and give one third of it away to needy people.

When it was announced that free meat would be available, Christian leaders condemned the move and ordered their flocks to stay away.

President of the League of Churches Bishop Simon Hlatjwako was reported by the Times of Swaziland saying true Christians would not participate in the event and would not eat the free meat offered by Muslims.

‘True Christians should not dare set foot at the Muslim slaughtering ceremony,’ he reportedly said. He added, ‘Personally, I would not even bother myself; I do not care about their meat and ceremonies. Muslims worship their own god and as Christians, we do not go along with their god.’

The newspaper also reported Bishop Steven Masilela, President of the Conference of Churches, saying as they were the body of Christ, they were not allowed to eat everything.

But the Christian leaders went unheeded. The Swazi Observer reported on Tuesday (13 September 2016) that more than 500 people queued for the meat at Ezulwini.

The newspaper said they were driven by hunger. At least 300 1kg parcels of meat were distributed after about 15 cattle were slaughtered. About 200 people returned home empty-handed.

The Observer found many people who were critical of the Christian leaders. One who did not want to be named said, ‘What better deal do Christian leaders have to offer to alleviate hunger if they do not want Muslims to help the needy?’

ORDER BILL BLOCKS POLITICAL PARTIES

The committee appointed to pilot Swaziland’s Public Order Bill has said it would not allow political parties to be legalised in the kingdom.

At present Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati III who is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. The King appoints the Government. No members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people. Political parties are not allowed to contest elections and are to all purposes banned in the kingdom.

International pressure for Swaziland to democratise has forced the kingdom to review a number of laws. The Public Order Bill 2016 is presently being discussed in Swaziland’s Parliament.

The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported on Wednesday (7 September 2016) that the portfolio committee announced it had ‘no intention of allowing political parties to exist’.

The committee is led by Member of Parliament Thuli Dladla, who was not elected to the House of Assembly, but appointed by the King.

The Observer said that the portfolio committee’s report said the Swaziland Constitution, ‘did not provide for political parties’.

The newspaper said, ‘The portfolio committee’s report said the constitution, instead of providing for political parties only made reference to political associations or organisations.’

The Observer made no reference to the fact that a ‘political party’ is a type of ‘political association’.

‘BLAME KING FOR PROBLEMS’- DUBE

Swazi criticism of government at ‘people’s parliament’ is misplaced

Kenworthy News Media, 8 September 2016

SOURCE

The recent criticism of the Swazi government from many Swazis is misplaced. They should be blaming the country’s absolute monarch, who recently assumed the chairmanship of SADC, says exiled political activist Sonkhe Dube, writes Kenworthy News Media.

How can there be democracy in Swaziland, when parliament treats the country’s absolute monarch King Mswati III as a god and when the whole cabinet and several member of parliament are elected by the King? And why do Swazis blame parliament for the country’s ills, when Mswati clearly has the last say on everything?

These are questions that Sonkhe Dube, the International Secretary of the banned Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), says he keeps asking himself about his native Swaziland, a country where two thirds of the population languishes in poverty and where political parties are in effect banned and their members harassed.

And a country that Sonkhe fled for fear of being arrested and tortured by the police, as he has been on several occasions because of his fight for democracy and social justice.

Blaming powerless parliament is misguided
“The Swazi population came out guns blazing against the government at the Sibaya Forum [a People’s Parliament where Swaziland’s absolute monarch summons his subjects to the royal cattle byre to discuss pressing issues]. But the repeated calls for the axing of the Prime Minister and his government were misplaced. Parliament in reality have to serve the hand that appointed them before they serve the people, so removing the government is like cutting tree branches and hoping that the tree will be uprooted,” says Sonkhe Dube.

He believes that his fellow Swazis fear the monarch too much to dare criticize him in public. According to international NGO’s such as Freedom House and Amnesty International these fears are certainly not unfounded.

According to Freedom House, who speak of Swaziland as a country where “elected members of parliament have no oversight or influence over setting government policy, making laws, or adjusting spending levels,” the population of Swaziland is one of the populations in the world with least political freedom. Amnesty International describes how “repressive legislation” and “politically motivated trials and laws that violate the principle of legality … continues to be used to suppress dissent.”

Tell the King the truth
But Sonkhe Dube nevertheless believes that Swazis must confront the true root cause of their woes if they are to transform Swaziland from an absolute monarchy that benefits few to a democracy. After all, over half the Swazi population highly disapproves of the current form of government and less than a fifth believe their country to be fully democratic according to opinion polls from Afrobarometer.

“The king should be told the honest truth about the chaos caused by his absolute power without fear or favour. A person with a rash caused by a certain blood disease cannot stop the rash with an ointment, without taking care of the disease in the blood.”

Sonkhe Dube is a teacher by profession. He is the International Secretary of the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), and is currently living in exile in neighbouring South Africa due to his pro-democracy activism and affiliation to SWAYOCO. He has been arrested, detained and tortured on several occasions by King Mswati’s police. He cannot go back to Swaziland, he says, because he fears the response of the brutal Swazi police.

BOTSWANA OPPOSITION REJECTS KING

The main opposition political party in Botswana has rejected King Mswati III’s appointment as Chair of SADC because of the restriction on democracy in Swaziland.

The King was appointed Chair at the Southern African Development Community Summit of Heads of State at the end of August 2016.

The Botswana National Front (BNF), which is seen as the senior partner in the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change, said in a statement, ‘Currently, there is no constitutional democracy in Swaziland. Political parties remain banned in that country. King Mswati and his Queen mother Ntombi have absolute authority over the judiciary, legislature and cabinet.’

The Weekend Post newspaper in Botswana reported BNF saying, ‘several trade unionists, journalists and others have been harassed, tortured, beaten, arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned and some without trial and worse some killed under mysterious circumstances with no action being taken against the known security agents.’

BNF called on all local progressive trade unions, media houses and the general civil society to condemn the appointment of King Mswati.

See also

ABSOLUTE KING TAKES CHAIR OF SADC

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/08/absolute-king-takes-chair-of-sadc.html  

‘DICTATOR KING NOT FIT TO CHAIR SADC’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/08/absolute-king-takes-chair-of-sadc.html

KING’S NEW UNWORKABLE UNIVERSITY

It took King Mswati III of Swaziland less than one day to make his first unworkable promise as Chair of SDAC.

The King, who rules the impoverished tiny kingdom as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, said he would create a new university of University of Transformation within a year to serve the whole of the Southern African Development Community.

King Mswati became Chair of SADC on Tuesday (30 August 2016). The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported him saying Swaziland would pay for 300 students to study at the university in its initial intake. 

The Times of Swaziland, the only other daily newspaper in the kingdom, reported the King saying, ‘This initiative will give new hope and opportunity to our youth and women.’

The King and the media in Swaziland that enthusiastically and uncritically reported his statement, gave no indication of where the money would come from for the project, who would teach at the university, what academic programmes it would run, and how programmes would be administered.

The University of Swaziland (UNISWA), the kingdom’s largest and oldest university has been unable to start teaching this academic year because students are protesting against cuts in scholarships. The Government, whose members are hand-picked by King Mswati, say they can only afford to fund 500 new students this year. About 1,500 had expected to get scholarships.

Later, King Mswati announced the University of Transformation would initially be housed at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Swaziland. Limkokwing is a private university. Many will see the King’s decision as a snub to UNISWA, where he is Chancellor.

According to its website, Limkokwing in Swaziland only offers ‘associate degrees’ which are at a level below Bachelor degrees and in many universities are known as diplomas.

In June 2012, Bandile Mkhonta, Head of Human Resource for Limkokwing in Mbabane, Swaziland, told local media that of 53 professional staff at the university; only one had a Ph.D doctorate. A Ph.D is usually considered by universities to be the minimum qualification required to be given the rank of senior lecturer.

The Swazi Observer reported Mkhonta saying Limkokwing had fewer Ph.Ds because it was a ‘non-conventional’ university whose curriculum was mainly based on practice than theory.

Limkokwing in Swaziland had no staff at professor rank and no record of conducting scholarly research.

THE NOT-SO-GENEROUS SWAZI KING

The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, got a little over-excited in its reporting of its patron and the Reed Dance.

On Monday (29 August 2016) it gushed that the King, who rules the tiny kingdom as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, gave many of the maidens who danced before him half-naked new sneakers.

The Observer reported, ‘His Majesty the King, yet again, spoiled maidens with comfortable sneakers - not only to be worn for walks but one could even dress smartly on a casual Friday and still look absolutely fantastic in them. 

‘The maidens, too, wasted no time, as soon as the sneakers reached their hands they put them on and were quick to comment saying “kute umuntfu lositsandza njengeNgwenyama” loosely translated “no one loves us more the King”.’

The editors at the Swazi Observer have short memories. On 24 August 2016 the newspaper reported the Taiwan Embassy in Swaziland had donated more than 60,000 pairs of sneakers worth E7 million (about US$500,00) to Reed Dance organisers.

Thomas Chen, the Taiwan Ambassador in Swaziland, was reported saying, ‘This is just a token to show our support for the Swazi culture as it is unique, beautiful and it is what makes the country shine and rise above the rest.’

See also

DISPUTE OVER REED DANCE SAFETY

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/08/dispute-over-reed-dance-safety.html

 

SWAZI MAIDENS LEARN POLITICAL SONGS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/08/swazi-maidens-learn-political-songs.html

NEW SADC CHAIR ‘EXPLOITS CHILD LABOUR’

King Mswati III of Swaziland who has just taken the Chair of SADC has been revealed to exploit child labour on his fields. He has been named in an international report on the trafficking of people.

The Trafficking in Persons Report 2016, issued by the United States Department of State stated that Swazi chiefs, who are directly accountable to the King, ‘coerce children and adults—through threats and intimidation—to work for the King’.

It added, ‘Swazi boys and foreign children are forced to labor in commercial agriculture, including cattle herding, and market vending within the country.’

King Mswati was at the centre of an international controversy in January 2015 when it was revealed that schools in Swaziland, where he rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, were forced to stay closed after Christmas so children could weed the King’s fields. As many as 30,000 children were thought to have missed schooling as a result. 

In Swaziland chiefs do the King’s bidding at a local level. People know they must obey the chief because their livelihood depends on his goodwill. In some parts of Swaziland, the chiefs are given the power to decide who gets food that has been donated by international agencies and then the chiefs quite literally have power of life and death in such cases with about a third of the population of Swaziland receiving food aid each year. 

The Trafficking in Persons Report 2016 also stated that Swaziland was a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour. 

It added, ‘Swazi girls, particularly orphans, are subjected to sex trafficking and domestic servitude, primarily in Swaziland and South Africa. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has contributed immensely to the increasing number of orphans and other vulnerable children at risk of exploitation through trafficking.’

It added, ‘Mozambican boys migrate to Swaziland for work washing cars, herding livestock, and portering; some of these boys become victims of forced labor. Traffickers use Swaziland as a transit country to transport foreign victims to South Africa for forced labor. 

‘Traffickers reportedly force Mozambican women into prostitution in Swaziland, or transit Swaziland en route to South Africa. Some Swazi women are forced into prostitution in South Africa and Mozambique after voluntarily migrating in search of work.’

See also

SWAZI GOVT MISLEADS ON CHILD LABOUR

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/swazi-govt-misleads-on-child-labour.html

DISPUTE OVER REED DANCE SAFETY

Organisers have said 98,000 ‘maidens’ were transported in 80 buses to attend Swaziland’s Reed Dance where they would dance half-naked in front of King Mswati III. But newspapers and social media have disputed the figure.

Innocent Maphalala, the editor of the Times Sunday, one of the kingdom’s few independent newspapers, wrote this would mean each bus would have carried 1,225 girls on each journey or each bus would have to make 15 trips.

Newspapers reported each of Swaziland’s four regions was given 20 buses. The main Reed Dance ceremony took place on Monday (29 August 2016) at the Ludzidzini palace.

Reed Dance Overseer Hlangabeza Mdluli was reported in the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, saying that ‘safety was made a priority for the maidens’.

The SABC in South Africa quoted Mdludi saying, ‘We used buses to transport the girls this year, this shows that things have changed and we want our people to be safe.’

The emphasis on ‘safety’ followed a tragedy at last year’s Reed Dance when 13 women and children died when the open backed truck they were travelling was involved in a collision. The dead were thrown clear of the truck.

The number of dead was disputed, with the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) putting the figure at 38.  

Photographs later revealed the maidens were being transported like cattle. The girls were forced to stand up in the back of an open truck cheek-by-jowl. There was no space to sit down or even to turn around. Photographs showed that at least sixty children were squashed onto the back of a single truck. Many of the trucks that transported the girls were usually used to move building materials. 

Tens of thousands of young girls from across Swaziland are forced to travel in similar trucks to attend the Reed Dance where they are expected to dance topless in front of Swaziland’s King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Media in Swaziland routinely describe the girls that dance for the 48-year-old King as ‘virgins’ or ‘maidens.’

See also 

SWAZI MAIDENS LEARN POLITICAL SONGS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/08/swazi-maidens-learn-political-songs.html

POLICE FIRE SHOTS AT WORKERS’ STRIKE

Riot police in Swaziland fired shots over the heads of striking workers who were protesting for an increase in pay of the equivalent of 35 US cents per hour.

Two shots were fired by the Royal Swaziland Police (RSP) when workers demonstrated outside the Plantation Forestry Company.

The strike has lasted more than nine days. Chairperson of the Swaziland Agriculture & Plantations Workers Union (SAPAWU) Sibusiso Masuku said workers demonstrated in front of a group of police. 

The Swazi Observer newspaper reported on Wednesday (25 August 2016) that one police officer fired two shots into the air, ‘which caused panic amongst the workers’. However, no one was hurt. 

The newspaper reported Masuku saying, ‘We were shocked by the gunshots but we are not backing down. It seems our complaints are not being heard by the administration. First we were told that we cannot hold our legal strike inside our work premises so we were forced to demonstrate along the dangerous road. 

‘Then we were allowed to picket inside the Plantation Company premises but now we want to take the strike to our work stations.’

Police in Swaziland regularly intervene on behalf of employers in industrial disputes. 

In October 2015 police fired shots and teargas at protesting textile workers at the Zheng Yong Garment factory in Nhlangano. They were protesting against the behaviour of security guards.

In June 2015, Swaziland was listed as one of the top ten worst countries in the world for workers’ rights. It was grouped alongside some of the worst human rights violators on the planet, including Belarus, China, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. 

See also

SWAZI HUMAN RIGHTS WORSEN: AMNESTY

http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/swazi-human-rights-worsen-amnesty.html

SWAZI MAIDENS LEARN POLITICAL SONGS

The political dimension of Swaziland’s annual Reed Dance was at the fore this week as thousands of supposed-virgins were taught songs in praise of the kingdom’s autocratic monarch, King Mswati III.

The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King who rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, and is about to become Chair of SADC, reported on Wednesday (24 August 2016) that they sang songs congratulating him on his new appointment. 

In past years the maidens had been taught to sing songs denouncing political parties.

Swaziland is the only country within the 15-member Southern African Development Community where political parties are banned from taking part in elections. King Mswati chooses the government of his kingdom and none of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people.

The Reed Dance or Umhlanga is an annual event in which tens of thousands of bare-breasted ‘maidens’, some as young as ten, dance for the pleasure of the King. It is widely reported within Swaziland that the dancers are ‘virgins’.

Newspapers in Swaziland reported that 98,000 maidens had registered to take part in this year’s ceremony.

The Reed Dance, billed as Swaziland’s foremost cultural day, proved to be anything but in 2013 when 120,000 half-naked maidens reportedly sang a song praising the Kings then-recent pronouncement about his continued rule over his kingdom.

They praised the King for announcing that henceforth Swaziland would be a ‘Monarchical Democracy’. This was a new name for the already existing ‘Tinkhundla’ system that puts all power in the hands of the King. 

The King said he had been told in a vision to make this change.

The song included these words (loosely translated from the original), ‘Your Majesty Swaziland is well governed through the Tinkhundla System of Democracy and will be victorious through it.’

The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, reported at the time, ‘Royal Swaziland Police Superintendent Wendy Hleta who was the Master (sic) of Ceremonies together with Former Indvuna YeMbali Nothando Ntshangase noted that the maidens were seemingly pleased with the message conveyed by the new composition.’ 

The sinister nature of the Reed Dance was exposed in 2012 when about 500 children were ordered to sing a song vilifying political parties. This was part of a clampdown on dissent in the kingdom.

The children were taught a song to sing at the dance which had lyrics that when translated into English said political parties ‘set people against each other’ and said that if political parties were allowed to exist in the kingdom the King’s people ‘could start fighting each other’.

Political parties are banned in Swaziland, but there is increasing pressure from pro-democrats for this to change. Some traditional authorities also believe that support for the present system that puts them in control is on the wane. In Swaziland pro-democracy demonstrations have been attacked by police and state security forces.

See also

CULTURAL REED DANCE TURNS POLITICAL

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/08/cultural-reed-dance-turns-political.html

 

SWAZIS FORCED TO DANCE FOR KING

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2009/08/swazis-forced-to-dance-for-king.html

KINGDOM FAILS SADC DELEGATES

King Mswati III, the autocratic King in Swaziland and soon-to-be Chair of SADC, has been exposed for misleading the 15-nation community that his kingdom was capable of holding the organisation’s 36^th Summit.

Swaziland is so poor and lacking in infrastructure that is has been unable to find living accommodation for all those wanting to attend the Summit. A call went out this week for people to offer up spare houses to delegates.

King Mswati who has been a controversial choice as the next Chair of the Southern African Development Community has used the Summit as part of his campaign to convince his subjects that Swaziland will be a ‘first-world’ nation by 2022.

The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom where King Mswati rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, reported on Wednesday (24 August 2016), ‘a number of the delegates found themselves with no accommodation as most of the hotels and lodges along the Mbabane/ Ezulwini/ Manzini corridor are fully booked. It was gathered that a search for people who own houses that could be used to accommodate some of the delegates was instituted. 

‘A government official, who is part of the committee responsible for welcoming SADC delegates, said they were currently running around trying to get accommodation for the stranded delegates.’

The Times reported, ‘Director of the SADC Unit Chazile Magongo said it was the responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs to provide accommodation for SADC delegates.’

The situation on the ground contradicts the message that King Mswati’s supporters have been spreading in recent weeks that the kingdom was able to support such a prestigious Summit. Seven in ten of King Mswati’s 1.3 million subjects live in abject poverty with incomes of less than two US dollars a day.

The King has been a controversial choice of SADC Chair because Swaziland is the only one of 15 SADC nations where political parties are banned from taking part in elections. King Mswati chooses the government and no members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people.

King Mswati had used the Summit to try to impress that his kingdom was a developed country.

Mbongeni Mbingo, editor-in-chief of the Swazi Observer, a series of newspapers in effect owned by the King, wrote as recently as Sunday (21 August 2016), ‘The King’s vision has always been about showing that we are capable of just like the bigger countries in the region, to stage as successful an event as them - and that we can also demonstrate that while we are quite small and have a stunted economy, we can be counted on to show that we are indeed a nation in progress.’’

He added, ‘Prince Hlangusempi informed the media, this past week, that Swaziland had always opted against hosting the Summit, when its opportunity to host came up. It was never ready, and His Majesty always felt that it was not the right time to do so.

‘However, when the opportunity availed itself this year, and His Majesty was to become the next chairman of the SADC, he felt the opportunity could not be missed again - or it could be another 14 or so years before we could host.

‘Therefore, he decided that it was time to accept this challenge. Since then, he has worked hard at ensuring that the country does not do an average job. This meant we had to get the facilities to match our ambition.’

See also

ABSOLUTE KING TAKES CHAIR OF SADC

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/08/absolute-king-takes-chair-of-sadc.html  

‘DICTATOR KING NOT FIT TO CHAIR SADC’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/08/absolute-king-takes-chair-of-sadc.html

KING TO PARTY WHILE SWAZIS GO HUNGRY

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/08/dictator-king-not-fit-to-chair-sadc.html

ABSOLUTE KING TAKES CHAIR OF SADC

Absolute monarchy assumes chairmanship of SADC

Kenworthy News Media, 16 August 16

SOURCE

 

Swaziland assumes the chairmanship of the Southern African Development Community for the first time ever on Wednesday, despite protests from Swaziland and abroad that the small absolute monarchy is not fit to chair the organisation, writes Kenworthy News Media.

The charter of the Southern African Development Country (SADC) clearly states that member states should observe basic human rights such as the right to strike and gender equality, and one of the main objectives of SADC is to support “regional integration, built on democratic principles,” something that SADC’s new chair Swaziland clearly does not.

Suppression, torture and lack of rights
In fact, American research NGO Freedom House ranks Swaziland as the least free country of the 15 members of SADC, in regard to political rights and civil liberties, below countries such as DRC Congo, Angola and Zimbabwe.

Swaziland is the only SADC country where political parties are banned from taking place in elections. King Mswati chooses the Prime Minister and government and has the last say on legal and financial matters. Nevertheless, Mswati told SADC leaders at a SADC Plenary Assembly Session held in June, that Swaziland was a “democracy.”

In their latest annual reports, Amnesty International speaks of Swaziland’s “suppression of dissent”, politically motivated trials” and “torture in police custody,” and Human Rights Watch of “draconian legislation” and “severe restrictions on civil and political rights.”

Protests against ‘stronghold of dictators’
The media in Swaziland are more or less being ordered to praise the “great achievement” of Swaziland leading SADC for the first time, as were the Swazi population at the recently held Sibaya “People’s Parliament,” where Mswati urged his people to be “respectful” during the summit and ordered that “Emanyeva” [thorns] should be uprooted before the summit so they did not “disturb” the SADC guests.

But several protests have nevertheless been voiced against Swaziland’s chairmanship of SADC and hosting of the 36^th SADC Head of States summit starting August 17. Both in regard to human rights issues and the reports of king Mswati spending in the region of 40 million rand on the summit while over a quarter of the Swazi population are affected by the drought and people are beginning to die of starvation, also due to the lack of drought relief financing by the Swazi government.

Lucky Lukhele from the Swaziland Solidarity Network told African News Agency that the last thing SADC needed was a chairperson who made the region “look like a stronghold of dictators” that would institutionalise dictatorship across the region.

Mario Masuku, the President of the banned pro-democracy-party the People’s United Democratic Movement said that they were lobbying SADC member states against Mswati and that there were plans to launch protests during the summit.

Abusing public resources while people starve
Swaziland took over the chairmanship from Botswana, a multi-party democracy and one of SADC’s more human rights friendly nations, and criticism of the Swazi chairmanship has been especially strong from here.

Both political leaders and union leaders have said that Swaziland’s king Mswati III should not have taken the chairmanship of SADC because he is “a dictator”.

It is “a matter on great concern to us,” Vice President of the Botswana Congress Party Kesitegile Gobotswang told the Botswana Guardian, “because the country [Swaziland] has thus far refused to embrace the values of democracy. This is an indication that the regional body [SADC] is not committed to democratic values.”

“Mswati does not qualify to hold that position at all … he is a corrupt leader who sees nothing wrong with abusing public resources while people starve,” added President of the Botswana People’s Party, Motlatsi Malapis.