Monarch’s nepotism on chieftaincies boosts pro-democracy groups
Sechaba ka’Nkosi
Rural communities in the tiny kingdom of Swaziland may – for the first time – join protests against their king’s rule. The country is bracing itself for confrontation between the government and the pro-democracy movement as tensions between the two sparked public protests this week. While the pro-democracy movement was preparing for a two-day stayaway from Monday, the government tightened security measures, bringing back the Makhundu Order – an emergency regulation that gives police power to deal with politi-cal and industrial unrest by detaining opponents and journalists for up to 60 days without trial.
The government has also instructed its intelligence agencies to start surveillance of the leadership and offices of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) and the Swaziland National Association of Teachers – both members of the Swaziland Democratic Alliance. In an impromptu state of the nation address on Wednesday, Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini said the Makhundu Order would come into effect next week until all demonstrations have been crushed. Dlamini also threatened treason charges against public servants who attended last weekend’s pro-democracy meeting in Nelspruit. Human-rights activists say this is probably the first step towards banning the union movement, the People’s United Democratic Movement (Pudemo). Last month the government banned all political meetings. The protests were sparked by the deposing and eviction of the Kam-khweli and Macetjeni chieftaincies last month in favour of King Mswati III’s older brother, Prince Maguga. Chief Mliba Fakudze fled to South Africa and Chief Mtfuso Dlamini is in hiding. Other members of the Dlamini family are living in tents provided by the Red Cross. Paullina Dlamini, the chief’s sister-in- law, painted a picture of an angry, frustrated and traumatised community which wants to go back home. “We have lost everything, our clothes, our furniture, our being and our pride because of a difference with Mntfwana [Maguga],” she said. “We sit here and worry about everything from the weather to our safety. Ever since we were dumped here last month, no government official has come to say anything to us. Yet we do not pose any threat to anyone.” The plight of the Macetjeni and the Kamkhweli communities has raised angry questions about the role of the monarch in tribal affairs. Swaziland is the only absolute monarchy in sub-Saharan Africa. Central to the pro- democracy campaign’s demands is the revoking of a decree in 1973 banning opposition parties and trade unions in the kingdom.
Bheki Makhubu, editor of the alternative The Nation magazine, says the question of whether Maguga is entitled to the chieftaincies has become irrelevant. Makhubu says the problem is more with the king’s style of ruling and the Swaziland Administration Order, legislation which gives the king powers to depose chiefs at will and prohibits courts from ruling against him. “The success of these evictions relied heavily on the strong-arm tactics of the army and the police,” he notes. “How many times the commanding officers execute such brutal acts without having to risk confronting their own chiefs – and by implication their own wives, relatives and children – remains to be seen.” Many Swazis believe the real test of the struggle for democracy will come at the Incwala – a gathering where the king meets his subjects. Usually, every Swazi attempts to visit the royal palace to reaffirm allegiance to the king. But this year many young Swazis – who are at the forefront of the call for multiparty democracy in the kingdom – are not sure they will participate in the Incwala. “We have served the king with utmost
loyalty for years,” says Zodwa Dlamini, one of the deposed chief’s relatives. “But he has failed us by taking sides. How then can we really go and say he is one of us?” “There is a lot of empathy for the monarch
in this country, even among the progressives,” says Nomthetho Simelane, a senior lecturer at the University of Swaziland. “But if monarchical powers are used to control resources to the extent of deciding who gets what then the whole institution has degenerated.” In rural Swaziland most people do not seem to care much about politics, instead offering unquestioned allegiance to the king. But commentators say this may not last.
Many say it is squabbles within the royal family and Mswati’s attempt to appease his brothers that may see the fall of the monarchy.
“The communities of Kamkhweli and Macetjeni are just victims of the clashes in the palace,” says student leader Sive Manana. “The king knows there are people who are more influential than he is in the royal palace. To keep them under control he has to dance to their music.”