On the day of the June 29 massacre,the internet was switched-off,the Times and Eswatini Observer were ordered not to print newspapers as the army, the police and foreign mercenaries were busy killing innocent civilians.
We haven’t seen the journalists or editors filing complaints with international human rights organizations or explaining why the two(2) daily newspapers were ordered not to publish.
I remember receiving a call from a senior Manager of the MTN Group informing me that, as the mobile company,they wanted to release a press statement and clarify that,it was the Government through the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology(ICT) that ordered the internet shutdown.
This was after Themba Masuku,the then Acting Prime Minister and outright lier who is currently languishing in the political dustbin,lied that the internet shutdown was caused by the damage of national infrastructure including the mobile company’s network infrastructure.
Indeed MTN Group,through it’s South African Office sent the press statement to this Swaziland News clarifying the matter,that’s what a reputable company does to protect its brand or reputation.
But,there was no clarification from the Times and Observer why the newspapers did not print or were not in circulation on the day of the massacre and the Times has been trying to convince the people to take it seriously and regard it as an independent publication.
This should be an eye opener that,the Tinkhundla cruel and undemocratic regime has enablers even within the media and it’s very unfortunate, journalism is not about being in the good books of a dictatorship regime.
I am not in the good books of the Tinkhundla cruel regime that kills innocent people and I don’t need a political romance from this regime,in fact I want to see it overthrown as a matter of urgency.
Journalists who are expected to be the voice of the people were told to shut-up while soldiers,the police and Defense Principal Secretary Prince Sicalo’s alleged foreign mercenaries were killing innocent civilians like chickens in a butchery and with impunity.
I am particularly concerned with the conduct of the journalists and eager to know; what level of capture that allows a journalist to keep quiet while innocent civilians are being killed?.
Well,I remember when I started exposing SwaziPharm Director Kareem Ashraff regarding the health crisis.
One former Cabinet Minister who is a member of the royal family told me that; “Ashraff might bribe you to keep quiet” and I said “keeping quiet while patients die in public hospitals would mean I must just resign and leave journalism”.
Indeed and in my opinion, a journalist must be driven by a desire to be the voice of those powerless citizens who can’t speak for themselves and hold those in power accountable.
Clearly,we need an independent probe to ascertain why the Times and Observer were not in circulation on the day of the massacre,these newspapers were complicit in the killing of civilians and they owe the public an explanation.
As mentioned,MTN Group contacted this Swaziland News seeking to clear its name after the Tinkhundla cruel regime ordered the mobile company to switch-off the internet,what did the Times and eSwatini Observer do?.
The death of the innocent emaSwati who were killed during the 29th June 2021 massacre should not be forgotten without any accountability,members of the public deserve to know what happened.
I have high profile sources who were in the previous Cabinet, who told me how a meeting was held where a resolution was taken to direct the newspapers not to publish and this, was meant to allow the army, police and Prince Sicalo’s alleged mercenaries to kill the innocent civilians with impunity.
The question is; why did the editors or owners of the newspapers failed to release press statements and clarify who forced them not to publish?
We demand accountability regarding the killing of innocent civilians and of course without forgetting the assassination of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko who was killed within the premises of his home.
It is very unfortunate to see the captured media consuming the blood of the innocent civilians, in context,failure to expose the killings meant, the media was complicit.
Therefore, an independent investigation must be launched to uncover the truth behind these killings and, the investigation terms of reference must include the subsequent and ongoing extrajudicial killings.
Even those who were killed by the alleged Solidarity Forces,let there be a United Nations(UN) backed international credible investigation.
We demand to know how each and every Liswati died even if the pro-democracy movement was acting in self-defense as the regime was killing civilians,let that be confirmed through an independent investigation.
It is surprising to note that,we are now seeing the police hunting pro-democracy activists accusing them of being behind the killing of police officers, when are we seeing the arrest of those who switched-off the internet and subsequently killed over one hundred(100) innocent civilians?.
The lives of police officers are not superior in this country, the killing of innocent civilians by the same police officers must be investigated.
King Mswati thinks we are fools,if need be,the Tinkhundla regime must be taken to the International Court of Justice(ICJ) for an order directing the Government to allow an independent investigation into the killings.
Themba Masuku,the then Acting Prime Minister who was the Chairman of Cabinet during the massacre is getting old now, sick and allegedly urinating on himself as we previously reported.
This means the delay in launching the international investigation might deprive him an opportunity to appear before the international investigators,assist with information and of course, account for the killings as per the vicarious liability principle.
King Mswati.