PLOTS, INTRIGUE AND THE SWAZI KING

King Mswati III of Swaziland must be a very worried man at news that court papers relating to a treason trial held in secret shortly after he came to the throne have come to light after 23 years.

The papers, which were deliberately removed from Swaziland after the trial in 1987 and have been unearthed in Namibia, could contain details about the plotting that surrounded King Mswati’s rise to power. The papers might also remind the King’s subjects that he is really only where he is today because of political intrigue. Put simply, a political group plotting within the ruling elite of Swaziland supported him. Does he owe his position and wealth to them – and who knows, if today that same group wanted to withdraw its support, what happens next?

Unlike in many societies that still have monarchs, in Swaziland the eldest child (often only the son is eligible) of a deceased monarch doesn’t simply become king once the reigning monarch dies. In Swaziland, the king is said to be chosen in accordance with Swazi law and custom. But the part of Swazi law and custom relating to the selection of a successor to a king is unknown to a majority of ordinary Swazi.

The story of how King Mswati, who was known as Prince Makhosetive as a child, became the monarch goes like this, according to one biography.

‘King Sobhuza II had deftly managed to hold rivalling power factions within the royal ruling alliance in check, and so his death in August 1982, left a power vacuum.’

At this time Makhosetive was 15 years old and a schoolboy at Sherborne in England.

‘In keeping with tradition, Makhosetive’s appointment by his father was not publicly announced. Before his death the King had chosen one of his queens, the childless Princess Dzeliwe, to preside over the monarchy as regent until the prince turned 21 years of age.

‘It was in keeping with tradition that she be childless, so that she would not involve herself in a factional struggle to advance the position of her own son. Factional quarrels broke out into the open, however, in the interregnum period, while the prince was [at school] in the United Kingdom.

‘Continuing disputes led members of the Liqoqo, a supreme traditional advisory body, to force the Queen Regent to resign. In her stead the Liqoqo appointed Queen Ntombi, Prince Makhosetive’s mother, who initially refused to take up the position.

Further disputes between royal factions led to his coronation as King Mswati III, in April 1986, three years earlier than expected.

At the time, the King was the youngest monarch in the world.

‘Observers saw the early coronation as an attempt on the part of the Liqoqo to legitimate the usurpation of Dzeliwe and consolidate their gains in power. Prince Makhosetive, now King Mswati III, acted quickly however to disband the Liqoqo and call for parliamentary elections.

Another biography takes up the story.

‘In May 1986 Mswati dismissed the Liqoqo, the traditional advisory council to regents, which had assumed greater powers than were customary. In July 1986 he dismissed and charged with treason Prime Minister Prince Bhekimpi and several government officials for their role in the ejection of Queen Regent Dzeliwe, though he eventually pardoned those who were convicted.’

Another biography of King Mswati says,

‘King Mswati’s first two years of rule were characterized by a continuing struggle to gain control of the government and consolidate his rule.

‘Immediately following his coronation, Mswati disbanded the Liqoqo and revised his cabinet appointments. In October 1986 Prime Minister Bhekimpi Dlamini was dismissed and for the first time a nonroyal, Sotsha Dlamini, was chosen for the post.

‘Prince Bhekimpi and 11 other important Swazi figures were arrested in June 1987. [Prince] Mfanasibili, [Prince] Bhekimpi, and eight others were convicted of high treason. Eight of those convicted, however, were eventually pardoned.

‘In early 1989, rumors circulated to the effect that Prince Mfanasibili had attempted to orchestrate a coup while in prison. Other rumors suggested that Mfanasibili was planning an escape from prison for the purpose of mounting a coup. After Mswati's coronation, royal infighting and intrigue remained very much an aspect of Swazi governance.’

According to the Times Sunday, an independent newspaper in Swaziland, the court papers that have just come to light relate to the trial of Prince Mfanasibili, Robert Mabila and George Msibi, three of the men convicted of treason. They are now said to want redress from the present Swazi Government. Mabila had been sentenced to eight years imprisonment and Prince Mfanasibili and Msibi were given 15-year jail terms. They were released after an order from King Mswati III in 1988.

I doubt if it is entirely a coincidence but on 15 January 2011 Prince Mfanasibili called his family together for a private meeting in which he is said to have given his version of the events surrounding the treason case. Some details of the ‘private’ meeting were reported in the Times of Swaziland yesterday (24 January 2011).

Until now the treason court judgement has remained secret. If the three men seeking redress from the government press their case, it is difficult to see how the details can remain secret much longer.

SWAZILAND KING IS RUNNING SCARED

The Swazi traditionalists have been quick to put the boot in following reports that the Imbokodvo National Movement political party was to reform.

As is becomes clear that King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, can no longer be sure who his friends are, Sam Mkhombe, his Private Secretary and Mathendele Dlamini, a member of the King’s shady advisory council, Liqoqo,were hauled before a kangaroo court at Lozitha Royal Palace yesterday (11 January 2011) on suspicion that they were leaders in what traditionalists believe is a plot against the King.

The Board of Royal Trustees suspended both men from their jobs on full pay indefinitely. Dlamini has only been suspended as a member of Liqoqo and his duties on the committee and not from other responsibilities, such as his work with the African Union, according to the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned and edited by King Mswati.

The move came after a news report that meetings had been held to discuss the possibility of reforming the Imbokodvo National Movement. The party - a front for the Swazi Royal Family - was banned, along with all other political parties in 1973. All parties remain banned in Swaziland.

The swift move to act against the so-called plotters reveals how nervous the King of Swaziland is. Imbokodvo was not a party of the people. It was set up by King Sobhuza II and Liqoqo and wanted to keep power and wealth (including valuable mineral rights) in the hands of the King.

There is no suggestion that the reformed Imbokodvo would be anything but a slavish supporter of the present King.

However, King Mswati is under intense pressure at the moment and can no longer be sure who his loyal supporters are. Yesterday, I reported that Lutfo Dlamini, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, assumed to be among the most loyal of the King’s supporters, was involved in a corruption scam that may have netted him and his co-conspirators US$ 1 million that was intended for the King.

In August 2010, another of the King’s supposed friends and allies, Ndumiso Mamba, the then Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, was discovered in an adulterous relationship with one of the King’s wives.

The King is now watching his back and jumping at shadows. We haven’t heard the last of this.

HOW THE KING CONTROLS SWAZILAND

On Monday (3 January 2011), I reported on how King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, and his Royal Family were abusing their positions in Swazi embassies across the world.

The way the Royal Family dominates what passes for ‘public life’ in Swaziland is insidious: it invades all parts of the kingdom.

In October 2008, I wrote the following report, which I think is worth digging out the files so that we can be reminded how the king keeps control of ‘his’ kingdom.

SWAZI KING KEEPS IT IN THE FAMILY

There’s nothing quite like a family business for making sure everyone pulls together.

In Swaziland the business of political repression is run by the Dlamini family with the monarch at the head of the family.

Last week we saw a Dlamini appointed head of government (Prime Minister) by King Mswati III. In Swaziland only a Dlamini can be Prime Mimister. There’s no law that says this and it certainly isn’t in the constitution, but that’s the way it is. That’s the way the ruling family holds on to power.

Last week the king also announced his choices for Senate (he chooses 20 out of the 30 places, MPs choose the other ten. None are elected by the people). Four of his choices are princes or princesses and another five are chiefs.

In Swaziland chiefs do the king’s bidding at a local level. People know not to mess with the chief because their livelihood depends on his goodwill. In some parts of Swaziland the chiefs are given the power to decide who gets food that has been donated by international agencies. The chiefs quite literally have power of life and death in such cases and with 65 percent of the population of Swaziland receiving food aid last year that’s some power.

The speaker of the House of Assembly is also a prince.

There have been new appointments to the Swazi National Council Standing Committee (commonly known as Liqoqo). This is the ‘advisory’ body to the king and is in effect the committee that decides the traditional law of Swaziland. And in Swaziland traditional law beats the constitution if ever there is a clash. It is also generally accepted (at least by Liqoqo) that it can veto any decision made by the Swazi parliament.

There are three so-called ‘royal committees’.

The Weekend Observer (18 October 2008) published the names of all three committees and they break down like this.

Liqoqo has 22 members, seven are princes / princesses, six are family Dlamini and three are chiefs.

The 15 members of the Ludzidzini Committee, which advises the Queen Mother, are four princes / princesses, two are Dlamini and four are chiefs.

The third royal committee, the Border Determination Committee, has 12 members, three princes / princesses, three from Dlamini and one chief.

The Times of Swaziland today (22 October 2008) reckons that in total at least 20 princes and princesses and 16 chiefs have been appointed to highly influential decision-making positions that they will occupy for the next five years.

We are still waiting for the king to appoint the cabinet.

With public life in Swaziland effectively carved up by the king to ensure that everyone is singing his praises (if you took away these posts from the family members what would they do all day?) is it any wonder that the kingdom is in the dire state it’s in today?

PLOT TO REVIVE SWAZI KING’S PARTY

We should not welcome the report that a plot is afoot to revive the Imbokodvo National Movement (INM) political party.

This is not a move towards democracy in Swaziland: in the past the INM was a front for the Swazi monarchy.

The Times of Swaziland reported yesterday (31 December 2010) that ‘a prince, a member of the King’s Advisory Council and an employee of the King’s Office’ were ‘behind a plot’ to revive the party. The Times says all three ‘work very closely with royalty’.

According to the Times, the plotters say King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, supports the revival of the party.

The INM was formed by the king’s father King Sobhuza II and his advisory council, the Swaziland National Council (liqoqo), to contest Swaziland’s election in 1964, which was held prior to the kingdom’s independence from Great Britain in 1968.

The INM’s platform focused on assistance to peasants, labelled the other parties as ‘foreign’, divisive and hostile to Swazi ‘tradition’ and sought to keep traditional land tenure unchanged while vesting mineral rights, like land, in the hands of the monarchy.

The INM had considerable resources at its disposal, including the support of King Sobhuza and the power of the chiefs who were able to force their subjects to vote for the party. The INM also had the support of capitalist interests and was able to persuade the voters that the interests of the King and the survival of the nation were one and the same.

The INM’s victory was overwhelming and it won all eight seats that were available for election, gathering 85.47 percent of the vote.

King Sobhuza banned all political parties in Swaziland following the election of 1973 when his subjects dared to elect some members of parliament who were from opposition parties. That ban has been in force ever since.

The Times in its report says that the plotters are trying to recruit members of the public for the revival of the party ‘as soon as possible’ and several meetings were held last month (December 2010) with some people earmarked to be the ‘front of the party’.

The Times did not name the plotters, but promised more revelations to come.

I don’t know what more it has to tell us, but we should remember that however much democrats might want to see political parties in the kingdom this move to reform the INM is a diversion.

We don’t want ‘plotters’ for the king reforming political parties. As a first step toward democracy we want all political parties unbanned, a free media and freedom of association. That way we can start a proper debate on the way forward for Swaziland.

RETRACT JUDAS JIBE, KING’S MAN TOLD

The Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations (SCCCO) is demanding an apology from Prince Mangaliso-Logcogco, the chair of King Mswati III’s advisory council Liqoqo, following revelations that a US$5 billion deal to build a power station in the kingdom was a contrick.

In 2009, when the project involving Franken Mining was announced with great fanfare as a great coup for the king, SCCCO was among a small band that doubted the viability of the project.

For this, Bishop Meshack Mabuza, SCCCO Chairman, was branded a ‘Judas’ by Prince Mangaliso.

In a statement SCCCO now demands a retraction from the Prince.

Here is SCCCO’s statement in full.

COALITION DEMANDS RETRACTION FROM PRINCE MANGALISO FOR ‘JUDAS’ COMMENT

The Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations notes with relief that the proposed US$5 Billion Mine and Power Station project is now dead. It also notes that the reasons that the deal is dead was because it was simply a corrupt money laundering scheme that would never have brought a cent to the country.

In April 2009 when the project was announced, the Coalition took a little time to do some research and within a day knew that the project was never going to be viable. It compared how other African Leaders, especially President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, had negotiated their deals with western businesses. It looked at the way that this project was put together and came to only one conclusion. It was ripe for corruption from the start and should not be touched.

The Coalition set out a series of 20 questions that were designed to test the ability of this project to benefit the Swazi Nation. For these questions Prince Mangaliso, called the Coalition and its Chairman Bishop Meshack Mabuza ‘Judas’ for betraying the Swazi Nation. The Coalition thinks that it would be appropriate for the Prince to acknowledge his misjudgment and publicly withdraw that remark.

The Coalition also questions the assertion that no money has been spent. Who paid for the tendering process that appeared in the ‘Engineering Times’ last year? Does Professor [Frans] Whelpton work for free? Who paid for his trip to Germany and Switzerland last year?

Bishop Meshack Mabuza, Chair of the Coalition said ‘The Coalition was called terrible names for asking the questions that nobody else asks and shining a light into some unwelcome places. This is what a healthy Civil Society is supposed do. Because we do not seek power or riches, we can ask questions of those who do. It turns out that when they are too arrogant to answer us, and childishly call us names, it is because we were right. Ordinary Swazis know what happens when deals are done in the dark. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The real Judases are those who are betraying the Swazi Nation for their own thirty pieces of silver.’

See also

$5bn SWAZI POWER PLANT WAS A CON

SWAZI POWER ‘FRAUD’ RETURNS

SWAZILAND KING LOSES POWER

$5bn SWAZI ‘FRAUD’ MYSTERY DEEPENS

RAGE AT $5bn SWAZI ‘FRAUD’ REPORT

$5bn SWAZI FRAUD IN THE MAKING?