Last month we learned with alarm and shock that the leader
of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions Jan Sitole had been viciously
bundled into a car boot and left in the middle of nowhere half naked and dazed.
We recalled that earlier in the year the same thing happened to His Grace, the
Most Reverend Lewis Ncamiso Ndluvu, the Catholic
Bishop of
Whoever is responsible for these heinous and cowardly deeds,
they are playing Russian Roulette with the future
stability of
Why? Because we have been saying for over 30 years now, the
King must be, and must be seen to be, above politics. No. They do not want to
know because honey is so sweet it seals your ears. So it is that the likes of
Prince Mfanasilili, Polycarp Dlamini, Mhanbi Mnisi etc., told King Sobhuza not
to listen us. Now everybody knows why, we knew why. No we have the Mambas and
their satellites and friends telling King Mswati not to listen to us. We know
why and now everyone knows why. The King must continue to listen to such people
at the expense of both the monarchy and the future of this beautiful country.
The solution to the problem does not include putting
religious and trade union leaders in car boots (a near death shock experience
so intended by the perpetrators).
What we do need and urgently is a democratic constitutional
change with the duty of the separation of powers and guarantees for the rights
of the individual citizens through the following checks and balances.
Only this guarantee shall make the Monarchy and King safe
and secure from future political turbulences. Turning the Monarchy into a
presidential style leadership like the King is doing now is playing with fire
on a windy day. Why? Simple, you put yourself up as in charge of a rotten
structure of government, you appoint corrupt ambassadors, you appoint corrupt
senators, police and prison commissioners etc... without
proper control of all these, you are in trouble because you have just appointed
yourself a sitting duck.
Example. It has just emerged that
some ambassadors appointed by the King even outside the Civil Service have
completely ignored Civil Service rules and regulations and helped themselves
with the monies of the Swazi Nation. Who is responsible? The
King.
Where do we go for redress? Nowhere.
How long can this continue and isn’t the King playing with fire? You Bet.
There is nothing to bit the child’s play case of Mr.
Clifford Mamba who was appointed by Mswati III (fresh from school) on nothing
more than his close friendship. Mr. Mamba was neither a Civil Servant nor trained
for the job of
Clement Dumisa Dlamini
The Human Rights Defence Fund