ANOTHER PAPER BAN IN SWAZILAND?

Get ready to see another South African newspaper banned in Swaziland – officially or unofficially.

The Sowetan newspaper today (13 August 2010) runs a profile on King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, that is far from flattering. Not the kind of thing the Swazi Observer would publish.

Headlined Swazi king a baffled soul, the article begins, ‘King Mswati III is really a piece of work. From his wobbly stomach to his puffed up cheeks, he is not a sight for sore eyes.’

But it’s not all abuse. It makes the point that King Mswati is a traditional African when it suits him (having 14 wives, for example). But he also wants the comforts and benefits of ‘modernity’.

The king was educated in England and while there is said to have enjoyed playing darts, swimming and rugby. ‘He also developed a taste for sumptuous cuisine and luxury foreign-made cars.’

Last weekend they banned the City Press from the streets of Swaziland after it ran reports about a sex scandal involving the Swazi Royal Family. Now, we shouldn't be surprised if they ban the Sowetan also. But they can’t touch it on the Internet: read the full article here.

‘SOWETAN’ ON ACTIVIST KILLING

This is how the Sowetan newspaper in South Africa reported on the death in a Swazi jail of Swaziland democracy activist Sipho Jele.

The report appeared on page 12.

Swazi dies in custody

7 May 2010

THE People’s United Democratic Movement (Pudemo) of Swaziland has blamed the security police for the death of a member in police custody.



The organisation said in a statement yesterday that Sipho Jele was last seen alive when he was picked up by security police in Manzini on May 1.



“Police on Tuesday told his grandmother that he had committed suicide in custody. A lot of Swazis have died at the hands of police and fictitious stories fabricated,” the statement read.



Pudemo also alleged that police had tried to force Jele’s family to bury him the next day. It further said the government gave the impression that Swaziland was a peaceful country with political freedom.



“But a political activist was killed for wearing a Pudemo T- shirt and attending a Workers Day event. These are the same tactics that were used during apartheid in South Africa to silence political activists.



“The international community, especially the SADC, must take up the issue of Swaziland. How many innocent people must die before the regional leadership condemns the Swazi regime and demand democratisation?”



Pudemo’s youth wing, the Swaziland Youth Congress, condemned the incident.



General secretary Thabile Zwane said: “We remain committed to the cause of democracy. We will never be shaken by the brutality we are exposed to. The blood of our comrade will surely nourish the soil for democracy.”

BAD NEWS FOR SWAZILAND’S KING

Unsurprisingly, King Mswati III of Swaziland has ignored calls from democrats in South Africa not to attend the inauguration of Jacob Zuma as president of South Africa today (9 May 2009).

Calls have come from trade unions, civil society and at least one political party for the king not to be invited because he is the last absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa and there is no democracy in Swaziland where political parties are banned, parliament has very few real powers and the king makes all the important decisions.

The Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by the king, reported yesterday that the king is ‘not worried’ about calls from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) for the boycott of the king and his entourage.

The Observer showed itself to be no more than a propaganda sheet for the king when it stated in what purported to be a news story, ‘COSATU, which is not new to meddling in Swaziland’s affairs and rubble-rousing about border blockades, released a statement to media outlets including the South African Press Association (SAPA) making unsubstantiated and disparaging remarks about the Swazi delegation.’

The Observer quoted Bheki Dlamini, Chief Officer in the King’s Office, saying, that the country’s activities and movements are not dictated to by COSATU or its ilk.

It went on in similar vein when it said ‘Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Lutfo Dlamini lamented that COSATU and its ilk were relying on lies, hearsay and deliberate distortion of facts by elements that are against the peace and progress in Swaziland.’

And so on and so on. King Mswati and the Observer can huff and puff all they want but opinion internationally is against the king’s visit to South Africa. The line being taken is that as dictator in his own kingdom, he has no place at the inauguration of a man who was democratically elected.

South African newspapers, in particular, have been reporting opposition to the king’s visit. Among reports that I saw are from the Star, the Sowetan, the Independent, the Cape Times and the Dispatch.

Opposition has carried beyond South Africa. The international news agency AFP, The Morning Star, UK, AllAfrica.com and the Tribune of India have also reported on the opposition.

Meanwhile, news comes through that the regular Friday protests for democracy in Swaziland that have been taking place at the Swazi embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, since February are gathering strength. At least 100 people turned up yesterday even though it is reported that King Mswati tried to put pressure on South African authorities to have it stopped. A South African court declared the protest legal and it went ahead.

The king seems to have forgotten where he is. He gets away with turning his state police on progressives in Swaziland but he can’t get away with it in a democracy.

SWAZI KING WATCHES HIS OWN BACK

Last Week the Swaziland media were heaping praise on King Mswati III for the tremendous role he played in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) efforts at mediation in the Zimbabwean elections impasse.

Quite what he is supposed to have accomplished is beyond me since the meeting he chaired in the Swazi capital Mbabane broke up in disarray. They will start again today (27 October 2008) in Harare.

The Sowetan newspaper in South Africa was equally confused. But unlike its counterparts in Swaziland the Sowetan doesn’t have to pretend that King Mswati is all-knowing and infallible (the worst that the Swazi media will ever say against the king is that he was ‘ill advised’).

The Sowetan (22 October 2008) wondered aloud about the king and the ‘curious idea of having that beacon of feudalism, Swaziland, as the venue where discussions pertaining to returning Zimbabwe to a democracy took place.

‘Even the arch despot, King Mswati III, found a moment from his busy schedule of shopping or finding young brides to lecture the Zimbabweans about how they should go about finding national peace and stability.

‘How rich, coming as it did from a man with a penchant for looking the other way as his own subjects die of hunger and Aids while he and his wives frolic merrily in the shopping capitals of the world.’

The Sowetan misses the point. King Mswati is an obvious choice for these talks which involve one illegitimate leader (King Mswati) finding excuses to allow another illegitimate leader (Robert Mugabe) to cling to power. Sometime in the not too distant future the king of Swaziland will need similar help himself.