The Swaziland Attorney General has told one of the kingdom’s independent newspapers it must stop publishing articles from Mario Masuku, president of the banned People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO).
In a veiled threat Majahenkhaba Dlamini, the Attorney General, has told Innocent Maphalala, the editor of the Times Sunday, he will face jail time for supporting a terrorist if he doesn’t stop publishing the articles.
In a letter to Maphalala the Attorney General says the Swazi Government cannot understand why the Times is supporting terrorism.
He writes, ‘This is the same PUDEMO which was declared a terrorist entity last year. The entity or anybody on its behalf has never denied or challenged the declaration.’
The Attorney General went on, ‘And there you are, giving all the publicity and support as if the entity or its members are legitimate persons. In any effort to deal with the entity or member of the entity, you and your newspaper cannot avoid being identified with the entity or its member (s).’
He said he had no doubt that the newspaper was fully aware that promoting or giving support to terrorists remained a crime in this country.
This is a reference to the Suppression of Terrorism Act which makes it illegal for anyone to offer any kind of support to terrorist organisations. If charged and found guilty of such an offence the editor could face up to 25 years in jail.
Maphalala said he would stop publishing Masuku’s articles for now pending consultation on the matter.
Be afraid, be very afraid. The Swazi press is whipping up rumours that al Qaeda terrorists are hiding in Swaziland.
It’s not the first time we’ve been fed this nonsense.
This time we are told that 10 ‘Asians’ are living ‘undercover’ in various parts of the kingdom.
According to the Swazi News, an independent newspaper in Swaziland, ‘This should undoubtedly trigger a cause for concern to the nation as the New Year unfolds, as such signs could signal an imminent attack that could most likely to first strike at our security lacking airport.’
The newspaper gives no evidence of who these ‘Asians’ are and why they should want to attack Matsapha Airport beyond saying, ‘that the terrorists may have chose Swaziland for its quietness and enabling environment to work on their targets without hindrance’.
The news media are playing into the hands of the Swaziland political elite that has clamped down on dissent in the kingdom since Barnabas Dlamini was illegally appointed Prime Minister in 2008.
Now, the police will use the ‘terrorist threat’ to further clamp down on legitimate protest in Swaziland.
The Swaziland Police spokesman Vusi Masuku let the cat out of the bag. He told the Swazi News, ‘These allegations are to receive the serious investigation they deserve and cannot be taken lightly. Terrorism is a global enemy, threat to innocent human life and economy.
‘We shall cast our net to the length and breath of this country with the aim of exploring all avenues of our investigation in order to probe and verify the existence of such allegations.
‘We appeal to people with information on the matter to volunteer such to the police through their channels of convenience’.
We’ve been here before. In February 2009, the Swazi Observer,the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III,sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, reported that al Qaeda terrorists may be in Swaziland disguised as secondhand car salesmen. The newspaper reported that ‘sleeper cells’ may already be in place ‘and ready to act’.
Although we might be tempted to laugh off the newspapers’ claims, there is something more sinister going on here. Since October 2008 with the illegal appointment of Barnabas Dlamini as Prime Minister, there has been a clampdown on free speech in Swaziland (there was never much to begin with) and a Suppression of Terrorism Act has been implemented to ban organisations critical of the government and the non-democratic structures in Swaziland.
The actions of the Swazi Government have caused outrage both inside Swaziland and in the international community for being heavy handed and anti-democratic. In response the government has said it needs to do these things in order to save Swazis from terrorism.
As I reported in February 2009, the Swazi people are not alone in being duped about the dangers of al Qaeda. A convenient mythology about the group has grown since the World Trade Center bombings in 2001 as a fear of a phantom enemy has been allowed to grow by politicians desperate to maintain their power.
A documentary on al Qaeda shown by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 2004 concluded that al Qaeda ‘is not an organised international network. It does not have members or a leader. It does not have “sleeper cells”. It does not have an overall strategy. In fact, it barely exists at all, except as an idea about cleansing a corrupt world through religious violence.’
The top Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force commander is operating above the law and may be a danger to the kingdom.
He disobeys legitimate court orders and acts outside the law.
If he is capable of doing these things what else might he do?
These are the concerns of the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper.
In a profileof Lieutenant General Sobantu Dlamini, Army Commander, the Times says it is ‘tragic that in the last few weeks, the emerging trend has been that the army lives in its own world, with its own rules, disciplinary procedures and general way of life’.
The newspaper continues, ‘A few weeks ago, this very newspaper reportedthat three junior army officers were making attempts to go back to work.
‘Mpendulo Mngomezulu, Nkosikayikhethi Nxumalo and Vusumuzi Hlatshwayo were arrested a few years ago for allegedly stealing government fuel.
‘The matter went to court because the army realised the alleged act was criminal and the police had to be involved.
‘The court cleared the trio and ordered that they return to work.
‘The Army Commander, probably after consulting his own deputies, came back with his own verdict: The three men stole the fuel and were caught red-handed. They cannot go back to work!
‘Sobantu hinted, when our reporter raised the issue of a Court Order, that such documents were not enough where the army was concerned.
‘The question is: why did the army opt for the legal civil route if it was not going to adhere to the ruling?
‘Then again, what if the court had sentenced the soldiers to, say, three years in jail each?
Would Sobantu have come out to say, “No, actually these soldiers should not go to jail. We do not care much about rulings in the army?”
‘Sicelo Shongwe’s matter is another case in point.
‘Arrested in 2002 for attempted murder, he was cleared by the courts, which automatically meant he had to go back to work.
‘Shongwe had been arrested and charged after he borrowed a home-made gun from a resident in the northern Hhohho to shoot an alleged dagga dealer who was trying to smuggle the illegal herb into South Africa.
‘The bullet from the gun ricocheted, hitting one of the people at the scene.
‘He was cleared of the charge of attempted murder because he had no intention to harm the person who was ultimately hit by the bullet.
‘This is a 2002 incident but still, he is not at work. Army authorities do not want him back.
‘The last story appeared in the Times of Swaziland on Wednesday, two days before Christmas (2009).
It is the sad story of one Sandile Dlamini, who built a big house in Logoba, near Matsapha but could only watch while it was demolished this past week.
‘Sobantu Dlamini allegedly ordered the demolition - verbally.
‘There was neither any court nor eviction order.
‘Sandile is said to have built the house on land that belongs to the king.
‘His claims, to the effect that he got it though the customary kukhonta and has witnesses to prove it have fallen on deaf ears.
‘Sandile is taking the matter to court but if past scenarios are anything to go by, does he have any chance, whether he wins or loses?
‘How many have taken Sobantu to court and came back to claim victory?
‘Will the Army Commander abide by any ruling the court could make on the matter?
‘What if he doesn’t?
‘Will it just be another day in good old Swaziland?
‘Questions, questions but the most important one of all is: If the Army Commander will have no regard for our courts, what else is he capable of?
‘If he will verbally instruct his subordinates to go and demolish a man’s house without following a legally laid down procedure, what else could he send them to do?
‘If he is capable of giving off-the-cuff orders to his juniors and they are capable of taking those instructions without any qualms or further prodding, what else will he instruct them to do – now or in the future?
‘If the courts are useless establishments to the army, what mechanism is there to rein in the fallible-as-everybody-else commander when he breaks the law?’the Times concludes.
Vusi Sibisi, the columnist for the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, recounts the story of the doctor who worked in a Swaziland hospital but had no qualifications.
Sibisi writes that the doctor was so inept he had to keep referring to books when he was treating patients.
Eventually the doctor confessed that he wasn’t qualified and he returned to his West African home to pursue studies to become one.
To read more of Sibisi on Swaziland’s health care and his analysis of the kingdom in 2009 click here.
Soldiers demand up to E30 (4 US dollars) from each person who wants to make the illegal crossing.
This was revealed by a man who appeared at magistrate’s court charged with being in Swaziland illegally.
The man said soldiers had created a special place under a tree where they round up illegal immigrants and then charge them up to E30 to enter Swaziland.
He said the soldiers made a lot of money as scores of people crossed the border daily.
According to the Times of Swaziland,the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, the magistrate said the soldiers should be brought to book.The accused and another man, who said they had never been to school and did not understand what immigration meant, were sentenced to 60 days jail with the option of an E500 fine.
