By Zweli Martin Dlamini

Mswati messed-up this country the day he issued an order to shoot and kill dozens of protesting civilians, merely for demanding democratic reforms.

But he did not end there, he arrested pro-democracy Members of Parliament(MP) Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube and then ordered his warders to assault them with the sole intention of killing them.

Now, Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo has described the ongoing bombings of national structures as terrorism, this will continue to happen as long as citizens who protest peacefully are killed.

We can decide to brand it terrorism, arson or petrol bombings but the future of the country would be determined by our collective commitment to resolve the crisis through a dialogue instead of searching for scapegoats.

As the situation stands, people are slowly getting used to the culture of resolving conflicts through the burning of structures, shooting and killing, it might take time to unlearn that.

You can’t shoot and kill dozens of civilians and then mislead the world that everything is normal.

Does this mean the relatives of the deceased will just sit down and be happy with King, the police officers and soldiers who massacred their relatives?

King Mswati has been delaying the political dialogue hoping that the political unrest would fade away like a mist when the sun emerges from the east, but unfortunately,the political unrest is slowly entering its second wave.

It is clear that this Government is only concerned about structures not the people, when PUDEMO President Mlungisi Makhanya’s home was bombed by the State, there was no statement from Government describing that as terrorism.

Then the question is;if Mswati’s Government divides the Nation by being a Government for bo-Mangololo with no regard for the lives and properties of  citizens with different political views, what do we expect to happen in this country?

The only solution here is the release of the incarcerated MPs and a political dialogue that seeks to usher the country into a new democratic dispensation.

As Swazis, we had all the time to sit down and talk but Mswati opted to host events and make political appointments.

Furthermore, Mswati demonstrated arrogance and is slowly introducing a culture of burning structures, shooting and killing as a way of resolving political conflicts.

We cannot turn a blind eye to the conduct of the police and soldiers who killed civilians, even if government can try to shift the blame to the pro-democracy movement, Swazis witnessed with their own eyes security officers killing people with impunity.

Once the political tension escalates, no one will feel safe in this country, at least Mswati long planned for this by buying private jets, I am not sure about Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo and others.