'MURDER JOURNALISTS', SAY PASTORS

A group of Christian leaders in Swaziland have hired a ‘hitman’ to murder journalists who exposed them as devil worshippers.

Three reporters have been targeted because they reported that a group of pastors had been worshipping the devil as a way to raise money.

According to a media report in Swaziland, the pastors have ‘enlisted the services of hitmen from South Africa to eliminate three journalists who apparently blew the whistle on them’.

The journalists are reported to be Channel Swazi News Editor Mhlonishwa Motsa, Ingwazi News Editor Lucky Ndzimandze and reporter Zweli Dlamini, also from Ingwazi.

According to the Weekend Observer, the a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, the pastors were exposed on a talk show broadcast on Channel S.

The newspaper reports that the pastors ‘met behind closed doors’ and they decided ‘that the journalists be assassinated for “meddling into our business”’.

This is not the first time Christian leaders in Swaziland have called for journalists they do not like to die.

In 2007 Pastor Justice Dlamini, a well known pastor and media figure, said he was praying for the death of two journalists from the Times of Swaziland after that newspaper published a report about Dlamini and an argument he had with another pastor about a clapped out car owned by Dlamini’s church.

I am happy to report that Pastor Justice’s prayers did not work and he just made a complete fool of himself.

I hope this latest case of Pastor Power proves to be just as ridiculous.

NOW THEY COME FOR THE PASTORS

First it was the journalists and now it’s the pastors.

Nobody in Swaziland is allowed to say a word against the king and if they do they get hauled before the traditional authorities to ‘explain themselves’.

The latest to feel the wrath of authority are pastors at the Swaziland Conference of Churches (SCC) who have been called before the ‘traditional authorities’ at Ludzidzini Royal Residence by acting Ludzidzini Governor (traditional prime minister) Timothy Velabo (TV) Mtsetfwa.

Members of the SCC executive had to explain why one of their pastors, Justice Dlamini dared to tell a congregation of 300 Christians that the Incwala ceremony was evil and witchcraft was practiced there.

The Incwala ceremony, which takes place each December is one of those national rituals (the Umhlanga Reed Dance is another) which traditional authorities claims unites the Swazi nation as they seek blessings from ancestors. It is also a time to renew the kingship of the nation which in practice means young men pay homage to King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

The SCC executive members were told to explain what the purpose of Dlamini’s comments was and why they allowed him to talk about the Incwala during the prayer service. When they were released they were warned they could be called back for a further grilling.

Mtsetfwa has previously said that he took Dlamini’s comments seriously and his ‘loose tongue’ was a serious cause for concern.

I don’t know what Dlamini’s game was, he is, I think many readers would agree, more than a little eccentric at the best of times, but that doesn’t stop him having the right to speak as he pleases.

The SEC members are not the only ones to be hauled in to be given a grilling by the state and traditional authorities. Mfomfo Nkhambule, an outspoken critic of the ruling regime was also taken to task for articles he wrote in the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper.

He was hauled in by Swaziland’s state police and threatened with torture if he continued to criticise the king. He was later dropped from his traditional regiment, threatened with banishment from his homeland, and his family was threatened because he refused to be silenced.