VISITING THULANI IN JAIL TIMES OF SWAZILAND 10/08/2014 09:03:00 BY Musa Hlophe On Wednesday, I was pleasantly asked by Muzi Masuku to tag along with him to Big Bend Prison, to visit one of the two most talked about prisoners of conscience in Swaziland today. This is Thulani Maseko, who was convicted together with Bheki Makhubu and sentenced to two years each, without the option of a fine. When we got there and having complied with all the necessary steps to facilitate our request to see this prisoner, we walked quite some distance (we had been asked to leave our vehicle outside the main gate) until we got to the place where prisoners are kept, gave the officers our document of visitation, and were then asked to wait our turn to be called in. We were following ladies who had also come to visit their incarcerated loved ones. We patiently waited, not so sure what we were going to see in Thulani! Was he going to cry on seeing the two of us or were we going to able to control our own anger and grief? All these worrying thoughts went through our minds as we sat there, waiting for our call to go in. Once called inside, I followed Muzi as he led the way to where Thulani was and, through a window, we saw him. There he was, in his new uniform of oppression, well dressed and smiling and laughing his lungs out. We sat down and extended our hands to shake his. He was so jubilant, it was unbelievable! Having shaken Muzi’s hand, he then took both my hands into his own, held me tightly and then said: “Mkhulu, please do not cry because you will depress me. I want to enjoy every bit of this moment with both of you here.” Still holding my hands tightly, he looked at me, and then released my hands to wipe off my tears. It was that heavy for me. How does one in such pain and degradation, so calmly handle himself as Thulani did? Could it be because of one’s faith in God or conviction that one is there because God has so decided that honest people like him and Bheki Makhubu should be in prison at this time in Swaziland’s history, as triggers meant to show the world how the Swazi political and justice systems are? Remember, when Justice Thomas Masuku was dismissed, under very questionable circumstances, the civilised world called this country’s political leadership to order but we were, as a country, able to defy those calls. Do not pay attention to what the likes of Walter Bennett have had to say on this case. Deep in their hearts, they know one, and only one thing: and that this time the whole thing has boomeranged in their faces and they have no place to hide. I totally agree with former Member of Parliament (MP) Robert Magongo, when he is quoted as having said Walter Bennett must just shut up. He has his own spooks to deal with. He is far from being a saint and he knows it. One is praying that the calmness we saw in Thulani Maseko be the same condition with Bheki Makhubu and their families. Such peace of mind and calmness can only come from God, who searches our hearts and avenges on our behalf, if we trust in Him. Thank you so much Thulani! You have given us reason to be optimistic and to trust in God that you are not there by mistake or by some evil wish of somebody. You are both there because, On God’s watch, you are the chosen ones to make this regime expose itself to the whole world, how despotic it is. Your case has exposed it beyond its imagination. Now, back to our story of the day: poverty. In 2000, I was with a friend and brother-in-law, then Minister Lutfo Dlamini. We were In Geneva, Switzerland, attending the ILO Conference. I think the year was 2000, if I am not mistaken. The minister had hosted a dinner for the national delegation. Only one member of the delegation absented himself from that delicious dinner at a Chinese restaurant. I cannot remember quite well how we came to discuss issues of poverty, except that of course, I was the one tackling him in his capacity as minister, as to how, as a country, we can justify the fact that after so many years of independence, we still have about 70 per cent of our population living in poverty. It also happened that the private sector, during that year, had to come to the aid of about 40 000 people living on handouts, while many in the Lowveld needed water supplies, which the private sector also freely provided, while others made huge profits out of that pain. The minister quoted from the Old Testament, in the Book of Deuteronomy15:11, which reads: “For the poor will never cease from the land...” The minister’s statement came as a shock to me because the first time I came to know Lutfo, he was always found alleviating social ills of whatever kind. My shock was based on that knowledge, and the question: Why now? What has changed? I lost that argument. Both Jinnoh Nkambule and Vincent Ncongwane can testify to this. We then spent the whole night talking about other issues beyond the poverty debate. With office demands mounting, and having to host a member of the Dutch Business who had been sponsored by our colleagues in Holland to come and assist the Swazi Business Community find unity of purpose, I totally forgot about searching for this verse. It was not until last year that I remembered to read this particular portion of scripture. What I found, though, was that the former minister had misread and misinterpreted the verse. He had only read the first portion of the verse and had not read it completely, hence quoting it out of context. Read fully, the verse states that: “For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying: You shall open your hands wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.” From this, we can see that God understood, in fact, he knew that people would not all be poor or all rich. Having known that, and He, being the God who loves justice, then commands that those who have plenty must open their hands to meet the needs of the needy. Elsewhere in the Old Testament, God actually commands that in meeting the needs of the poor, the giver must give in such a way that the poor or needy is put in a place where they meet their needs adequately. It is not just about giving a little here and there but putting the recipient in a position whereby the need is fully addressed! Therefore, it is wrong to say the poor are in that position because of their little faith in God, and that if they offer the church generously all they have, God will reward them with riches they had never dreamt of. This has now become a fashionable gospel of prosperity. Many of these fake apostles and prophets have come to fleece the poor and destitute. You only have to look at the lifestyles of these fakes, who never read from the New Testament but stay on the promises in the Old Testament, and even then quote those verses totally out of context. Now that we know what God says about meeting the needs of the poor and how and who must do that, shall we begin to see tangible efforts geared at meeting the needs of the poor in our society? Do not tell me about the joke of many years: that of dishing out funds said to be for regional rural development. Over the years, since these funds were budgeted for and dished out, there has been no positive impact by way of reducing the levels of poverty in the country. If anything, these funds are meant, or have been used, to buy political subservience, nothing more. Remember that I live in rural Lubombo and have not seen any evidence that these funds do benefit those who need them the most. Peace!
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 19:03:17 +0000
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