‘OBSERVER’ STILL PROPAGANDA RAG

We should not believe the recently-appointed editor of the Swazi Observer when he claims his newspaper refuses to be anyone’s lapdog.

Thulani Thwala reckons the Observer publishes ‘news and information to assist [readers to] make informed decisions’.

Writing in his own newspaper today (22 December 2010), he makes the outlandish claim that the Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, is ‘getting closer and closer to our target of being the best read in the country’.

Nonsense. It is impossible to get official figures about the number of newspapers the Observer and its rival, the Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily in the kingdom, sell each day. But anyone in Swaziland with eyes to see and ears to hear knows that the Observer sells a fraction of the number of copies of the Times. And the reason for this is simple: people in Swaziland see the Observer for what it is: the mouthpiece of the king and ruling power in the kingdom.

Thwala should talk to his boss Musa Ndlangamandla, the Observer Chief Editor. Ndlangamandla was proud to state in March 2010, ‘... our collective stand as a newspaper is that the integrity of Swaziland as a democratic State and His Majesty King Mswati III as the legitimate leader of the Swazi nation, must never be compromised in any way.’

Thwala himself stated, in his article ‘We are a proud watchdog for King and country and refuse to be anyone’s lapdog.’ He is so wrong, the newspaper shouldn’t be a watchdog for the king, it should be a watchdog for the people.

If Thwala wants the Observer to be an independent newspaper that publishes ‘news and information to assist them make informed decisions’, let him publish details of the Swazi Royal Family sex scandal from August 2010 that was reported around the world but not in Swaziland.

Let him also explain to his readers how it is that King Mswati has a personal fortune, estimated by Forbes in 2009 to be US$ 2 million, when seven in ten of his subjects have to exist in abject poverty, earning less than US1 a day.

Once those reports appear in the paper we can believe the Observer is independent. Until then we should continue to see it merely as a propaganda sheet for the king.

TRUTH ABOUT SWAZI KING’S GREED

Swaziland’s politicians are behaving as if the kingdom is on the brink of war and want to make sure their own bunkers are full of personal wealth before it starts.

That’s the verdict of one of the most active apologists for the Swazi elite, Musa Ndlangamandla, who is editor-in-chief of the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

Ndlangamandla, writing in his own newspaper, criticises the ‘orgy of looting, gobbling and self-enrichment by politicians in recent times’.

He writes, ‘When a country prepares for war – I am told – people hurriedly harvest the fields for storage in underground bunkers away from reach of enemy fire, money is withdrawn hastily to be stashed in ‘safe’ places, land is grabbed (the Mbabane style) by politicians for their own good and there is a general atmosphere of self-enrichment at the expense of taxpayers and the poor.’

He goes on to say that some people tell him that ‘some of our leaders are behaving as if they have another country to which they will go when Swaziland is in total ruin’.

I’m sure that many people would agree with Ndlangamandla about the politicians, but he misses one vital person in his analysis of why Swaziland is close to ruin: King Mswati himself.

In his article Ndlangamandla talks about the politicians ‘amassing prime land in exclusive suburbs in the capital at half the market price.

‘The dust has hardly settled on yet another act of looting where the politicians awarded themselves hefty perks that will see some of them take home over E1 million in golden handshakes when their controversy-laden term expires.’

He says Swaziland ‘is crying out for astute and exemplary leadership from government’.

Ndlangamandla says, ‘Moreover, we need to convince the poor – by action and deed – that we are all in the trenches with them by avoiding grandiose lifestyles in the face of abject poverty in most parts of the country. Our politicians should also lead by example and accept substantial slashes not only of their allowances, but also their overall perks.’

This is a tale of corruption and greed, but why should we be surprised that government ministers and MPs behave in this way when the King of Swaziland is the greediest of them all.

Why doesn’t Ndlangamandla ask how King Mswati managed to amass a huge personal fortune, estimated by Forbes to be 200 million dollars?

Can he not tell us how many personal bank accounts the king has outside of Swaziland?

King Mswati is the beneficiary of two funds created by his father Sobhuza II in trust for the Swazi nation. During his reign, he has absolute discretion over use of the income.

Why does the king live such a lavish ‘grandiose’ lifestyle with at least 13 palaces when 70 percent of his one million subjects lives in abject poverty earning less than one dollar (E10) a day?

And it is not just the King: his ‘Royal Family’ is estimated to cost the Swazi taxpayer E300,000 each and every day.

King Mswati is the one who is acting as if his kingdom is on the brink of war. His police, army and ‘security forces’ are being primed for a fight against ‘terrorists’ (that is, anyone who speaks out against the king and his regime) and once civil unrest starts, as it surely will, he will suppress it with brutal violence.

If Ndlangamandla wants to warn the people of Swaziland about the impending doom he should be honest and tell the truth about the king.

‘OBSERVER’ ALSO COVERS UP SCANDAL

In the interest of completeness (and also fairness) I should report that the Times of Swaziland wasn’t the only newspaper in the kingdom to hide the truth from its readers about the sex scandal presently rocking the Swazi Royal Family.

The Swazi Observer, the only other daily newspaper in Swaziland, took the same line, reporting exactly what Barnabas Dlamini, the illegally-appointed Prime Minister, wanted it to about the sex affair between Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ndumiso Mamba and Nothando Dube (also known as Inkhosikati LaDube), the 12^th wife of King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

As with editorial executives at the Times, I know this blog is read by their counterpoints at the Observer, but I won’t repeat my request to be told about the newspapers’ story selection policies.

We know that already: the Observer is in effect owned by King Mswati himself and editor-in-chief Musa Ndlangamandla, is on record saying that his newspaper would never publish anything that puts the king in a bad light.

NOW IT’S DOCTOR KING MSWATI III

King Mswati III of Swaziland has became a doctor. Or so he’d like us to believe.

Yesterday (2 August 2010), the king, who is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, was given the title by Taipei Medical University, Taiwan, for (hang on to your hats now) ‘outstanding leadership and profound contribution in the promotion of health and wellbeing’.

The Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, thought this was so important it devoted the front page to the story.

The Observer went on to say that the doctorate comes a few days after Ma Ying-jeou (who, the Observer doesn’t say, survived a lengthy corruption trial to emerge as winner of the presidential elections in Taiwan) described 'His Majesty as a visionary leader, who went to all lengths for the improvement of the lives of his people’.

The report was written by Musa Ndlangamandla, editor-in-chief of the Observer, who is on record as saying it is the duty of his newspaper to stress the integrity of the king, called the award of the doctorate a ‘historical recognition’.

Without a hint of irony Ndlangamandla says, ‘the University leadership is also impressed with His Majesty’s role in the promotion of peace’. Tell that to the progressives in Swaziland who are being terrorised by the king’s police.

No one, apart from the king’s hangers-on is fooled of course. Just as we weren’t fooled when Barnabas Dlamini, the man the king illegally-appointed as Prime Minister of Swaziland, was given a bogus doctorate by the University of Swaziland (Chancellor: King Mswati).

Ever since that happened the Swazi Observer has dutifully referred to the Prime Minister as Doctor Dlamini. What on earth will they call the king from now on?

Wouldn’t ‘Doctor King’ be too precious?

'SWAZI OBSERVER’ ON ACTIVIST KILLING

The Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, is shall we say, a little ‘economical with the truth’ with its reporting of the killing of democracy activist Sipho Jele.

As I reported earlier today, Amnesty International has issued a public statement that is highly critical of the Swazi Government and its treatment of people who are campaigning for democracy in Swaziland, which is ruled by King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

In its statement, Amnesty recalled that Jele had previously been detained and tortured by police. Jele said that while in custody he was beaten around the head causing long-term damage to his hearing, a claim that Amnesty was able to prove with independent medical evidence.

Jele also alleged that he was subjected to suffocation torture while forcibly held down on a bench by six police officers at Sigodvweni police station. Some of his co-defendants at the time (2005) made similar allegations of torture by the police.

Amnesty also criticised the way the Swazi state was using the Suppression of Terrorism Act to silence legitimate political dissent.

In its report of Amnesty’s statement, the Observer gnores all this and manages to make out that Amnesty International has in fact praised the Swazi state. The Observer makes reference to the fact that Amnesty ‘praised’ the Prime Minister for establishing an inquest into Jele’s death.

As for Amnesty’s legitimate concerns about the way King Mswati crushes dissent? Not a word.

The report in the Observer was written by editor-in-chief Musa Ndlangamandla.

As I reported in March 2010, Ndlangamandla is on record saying that the Observer group of newspaper in its reporting would always ensure that King Mswati III ‘ must never be compromised in any way’.

Ndlangamandla is true to his word.