King Mswati’s blasphemous use of God to save face will not deter freedom fighters. The despotic King of Swaziland never ceases to amaze some of us, the World and indeed his most enlighten citizenry of this beautiful country. The dictator can feel the pressure to democratize; he can recognize nation states of Africa making strides in deepening democracy, where the will of the people is periodically unleashed within the context of the multi-party elections. He recognizes that his 1973 Tinkundla system designed by his father Sobhuza [another dictator] where political parties were stifled and delegitimized is now depleted of its moral sanctity to the Swazis. His historical oracular stature as a politico-traditional Monarch [above the Constitution] has progressively mutated from being an irritating pantomime to a desolate schizophrenic societal malady that triggers sporadic social unrests and other forms of upheavals with the result that many activists are in prisons and exile. The King has lost the face not only in his country that he rules with iron fist but has lost the legitimacy and reverence of South African ruling party, its allianceand society; he may still be accepted in African multilateral institutions when they have meetings, but he has no face in SADC and African Union and the many head of States. He represents an embarrassment to Africa for suppressing politics in that land. In this day and age, an unelected leader of the state in Africa is no different to a rebel leader like in Central African Republic [CAR] or in Egypt after ousting of Morsi recently. Such a leader is illegitimate so long as he controls government and state power. With the above lost grounds in mind, lo and behold, the King of Swaziland now tells the World that god has paid him a visit [through a vision] during unseasonal thunderstorm recently and told him Swaziland is a Monarchical democracy.Typical of his ilk, he thinks this declaration will make him recover some grounds, and get acceptance in the nations that have nurtured democracy as a system to all its facets of their social progress. How mistaken the Swazi King in this cheap propaganda strategy of attempting to beautify the beast? The Swaziland’s outdated system of governance dominated by unelected chiefs who determine its cause, superintended by the King himself, buttressed by compromised legal Court systemwith amenable judges, cannot reform itself from within. Inside its belly and womb, no democracy can be given birth. It is a system built on the foundations of everything that is ugly and pernicious. It is a system that is an anachronism of the past that deeply lingers in the present thereby compromising social progress, economic advance and diversification of that country to catch up with the developing states of the Africa and the World. Young people’s destinies are trapped from achieving the status of being the colossus by this outdated and abhorrent system. And so, the only solution for Swaziland is to dismantle and destroy this system so that real democracy is built on solid foundation; a foundation which is not foregrounded by vestiges of its carcass. Like Britain, Lesotho and in South Africa, the Swazi Monarch must be made to retreat to the customary laager and be emasculated from political and administrative powers except culture and ceremonial attendances. He must descend down from the status of vetoing the Constitution and be subjected to it like everybody. Politicians through political parties in a democratic system must run the country. Progressive forces of Swaziland like PUDEMO, SWAYOCO and the Communist Party of Swaziland must affirm this stance of non –cooperation, non- participation in any form to the sham electoral processes like those staged for 20 September 2013 as this will lend some form of face-saving, quasi legitimacy to this sordid system and Monarchy itself. Progressive forces must be firm in asserting the fact that destroying the system through various means available [including but not exclusively diplomacy and negotiations if that window opens] would be the most appropriate way on the basis of which Swaziland question can be resolved. No amount of propaganda including the blasphemous act of using Gods name as a spin to mobilize public opinion will salvage the King from the shifting sands he is standing on. As I have said before, our South African government must grapple very strongly with this Swazi question as a liberator country with untrammelled record of freedom fighting history.One way or the other South Africa cannot escape the reality that by its geo-location it occupies a prime position to catalyse changes in Swaziland so that African multilateral institutions like AU and SADC can put their foot down. We can strongly tell Swaziland to democratize and legitimized political parties. In circumstances of resistance, the possibility of smart sanctions to the ruling clique may be one possible approach than all and sundry given the conditions of ordinary Swazis. He who is on the last top of the ladder step endures more pain when falls back than the one who is on the first step of the ladder closer to ground. Swazi people deserve better and the internal revulsion need to be supported, inspired and be complemented in various platforms across the World. Khaye Nkwanyana is the SACP Provincial executive leader in KZN; works with ANC Communication team in KZN and is involved with SSN work in South Africa.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 12:18:12 +0000
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