EZULWINI:Chief Sifiso Mashampu Khumalo has been once again accused of forcefully grabbing land from poor families in King Mswati’s name,this include widows,Orphans and Vulnerable Children(OVCs).
Latest developments suggest that, the Chief who doubles as the Attorney General(AG) allegedly sent his Libandla(Traditional Council) to visit various homes around Somnjalose High School and grab the land.
Ezulwini residents are forced to pay over twenty thousand Rands(R20,000.00) if they aspire to construct rental flats or establish any business within their own land inside their homes.
“Members of the Chief’s Libandla are visiting various poor homes, grabbing the land, they alleged that the land is wanted by the King”, said the resident.
A questionnaire was sent to the Ezulwini Chief,however, he had not responded at the time of compiling this report.
When asked by this Swaziland News to clarify if the King was part of the land grabbing at Ezulwini, King’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane clarified that the Mornach does not operate like that.
“The King does not operate like that. He does not send those who are capable of it to make his people lose their land illegally.If the land loss in question is illegal,then we have no reasons to believe the king is involved”,said the King’s Spokesperson.
Reached for comments by this publication,Brian Sangweni,the Spokesperson of the eSwatini’s main and largest political party, the People’s United Democratic Movement(PUDEMO)said,land grabbing has become a norm in many Chiefdoms under the Tinkhundla system.
“This is a long standing attitude of many traditional authorities under Tinkhundla system, the land grabbing from the poor including children and widows is happening almost countrywide and the most painful thing is that those whose land has been grabbed find no recourse in our courts,more so because those who are presiding over the courts both traditional (bondabazabantu) and formal courts are traditional authorities who are carrying out the same violations where they reside. Even if you can try the fallacy of laying complaints to the King,you will still find people like Khumalo controlling access to that”, said the PUDEMO National Spokesperson.
The PUDEMO Spokesperson further described the land grabbing as a well organized grabbing scheme adding that,the only thing that can help Emaswati “is the total transformation of the system of government” which he said,will in itself include the transformation of land ownership to the benefit of the people, in particular,the poor.
“Under PUDEMO led government, land will be controlled by the democratic central government for the benefit of all people who will access it in accordance with a universal and impersonal procedure that will reflect the people’s will,their right to ownership will be guaranteed under the law”,he said.
Chief Sifiso Mashampu Khumalo.