In the context of the current political situation in this country,anyone who opts to lie to Mswati,saying the people love him and that,the institution of the Monarchy is still strong actually hates the King and is an opportunist.
Eswatini has about 70% of the population living below the poverty line,even at family level,we have people who pretend to love us because poverty forces them to pretend so they can get something to eat or any other benefit,that’s the nature of Liswati.
A poor citizen who comes to you begging for food or anything,will tend to do anything to please you, he/she will tell you,people love you, you wearing beautiful clothes, you are handsome but,behind your back,that individual will truly express how he/she feels about you.
It is for these reasons,a secret ballot during elections is regarded as the true will of the people not traditional royal gatherings or political rallies.
Tinkhundla loyalists will always say “The King enjoys support” but when you suggest a referendum to substantiate this,they will disappear because they fully understand that, the Tinkhundla system political following is a actually staged political comedy.
Mswati has been ‘surviving’ with outright lies for all these years, those around him were busy telling him “people are happy about your leadership Your Majesty, bantfu bayayitsandza iNkhosi”, he was shocked to see the people rebelling against him during the recent political unrest.
Now, the King hardly conclude his speech without warning against lies and this,means he is tired of those who lie to him and these sentiments suggest that,the King might be missing the truth because almost everyone around him is an alleged outright liar.
But it is cowardice of the highest order to conclude that, people who attend cultural events are supporters of the current Tinkhundla system.
I used to attended cultural events and when I come back,I will attend some traditional events that does not clash with my religious beliefs,I have all the traditional attire because I’m a Liswati but as a citizen, my political beliefs cannot be influenced by my culture.
Politics or national governance is a completely different structure that should be governed through democratic principles.
As Liswati, if I can visit Ludzidzini or meet the King somewhere in a traditional or royal family meeting, I cannot call him “Mswati” but I can refer to him as “Ingwenyama” to demonstrate respect for his position as “Ingwenyama”.
But as long as he is involved in politics, as the editor,I will sometimes call him “Mswati” because in politics, we don’t worship leaders but we hold them accountable as per the principles of public administration.
Calling the King “Mswati” might sound as being disrespectful and of course, in our culture, you don’t call elders by their names but in politics, we can call you Cyril,Masisi,Russell, Mswati, Makhosetive, depending on the context of what we are communicating.
Times editor Mfankhona Nkambule is missing the point,demanding democracy does not mean we hate the King,Mswati has an option to exist in the new democratic dispensation as a Constitutional Monarch that is if he listens to the will of the people and surrender Executive powers.
EmaSwati existed before without a ‘King’ after the scramble for Africa and, they assisted in liberating the institution of the Monarchy from colonialism, they will continue to exist and they have the power to remove the King and destroy the Monarchy if it continues to represent poverty and oppression.
Between 1921 and 1968,Sobhuza was not a King but a Paramount Chief after being demoted by Colonialists.
It is important to state that,by being a Paramount Chief, Sobhuza was an ordinary citizen and of course, with some minor powers as the Head of Chiefs,bekayi-Ndvuna yeTikhulu noma uMphatsi weTikhulu.
My grandfather Prince Mgungu was born in 1917 and he told me a story about how Boers were treating them in this country,he said during the Second World War, he was supposed to join his friend Mpophoza Mkhonta,a senior eZulwini citizen who recently died but, the Boers instructed had him to look after sheep in the Mountains when the other boys were recruited for war hence he survived.
Colonialists were terrorizing our grandparents here and they even recruited them at a very young age to participate in the Second World War that had nothing to do with our country.
Sobhuza was here and couldn’t do anything because he had no powers as a Paramount Chief, he was just ordered to release Libutfo to go to war.
But despite the challenges our grandparents went through, they supported King Sobhuza II and in 1967 during the preparation of the first democratic elections ahead of the 1968 Independence Day,they voted for his Imbokodvo National Movement(INM) and those democratic elections resulted to King Sobhuza being promoted from being a Paramount Chief to a Constitutional Monarch.
The people supported Sobhuza because they were tired of being oppressed by Colonialists,my grandfather, as mentioned, was born in 1917 and he died in 2019, he witnessed all these things and I was lucky to be raised by him and received first hand information.
I cannot therefore,be misled by Times editor Mfankhona Nkambule about the institution of the Monarchy,the institution of the Monarchy might be strong on traditional values but politically,the people want democracy and freedom,their will triumph against any State sponsored propaganda suggesting otherwise.
The accurate information I received from my grandfather made me to understand that,our grandparents were oppressed by Colonialists but now,the royal family is doing exactly what the Boers and British Colonial rulers did.
In 1973,just five(5) years after Sobhuza became a Constitutional Monarch as per the 1968 Constitution,he banned political parties and assumed Executive, Judicial and Legislative powers,he did all this claiming to be protecting the people from foreign political ideologies that might divide the Eswatini Nation when in fact,he was elevating himself to be an absolute Monarch.
We cannot be mislead by Tinkhundla editors as if we don’t have the ability to think and analyze issues, Sobhuza, the founder of oppression in this country and absolute power that was subsequently inherited by King Mswati, undermined the will of the people through the 1973.
Democracy once existed in this country between 1968 and 1973 and Prince Makhosini was not an appointed Prime Minister(PM) but a democratically elected PM after his political party being Imbokodvo National Movement(INM) won elections.
King Sobhuza announced Prince Makhosini as the Prime Minister after a democratic process,that’s what we are calling for.
No one said Mswati is hated,the King must subject himself to democratic principles and if it’s true that,he enjoys a huge following, then he must unban political parties and allow democratic elections.
Once Mswati’s political party wins the elections,even if he can appoints Prince Sicalo or anyone within his family to be the Prime Minister as Sobhuza did,he will be doing that with the mandate of the people who would have voted for his political party.
Wearing a traditional attire(kuvunula) does not mean you are a supporter of the undemocratic Tinkhundla system of Governance,our culture does not belong to King Mswati.
I can only applaud the King for taking a lead in preserving our culture,he always looks good in his traditional attire and has inspired many emaSwati in this regard,for that he did exceptionally well and deserves an award.
But our culture does not belong to Mswati and we can wear a traditional attire and disagree with the King.
Therefore, anyone who thinks wearing a traditional attire and attending traditional ceremonies is a political barometer to measure the King’s political support,is actually a political novice.
It’s true,the King has an option to survive and protect the institution of the Monarchy even under a new democratic dispensation but,that would be determined by his atitude towards the transitional processes.
Power belongs to the people and once you undermine the will of the people,you will be deceiving yourself by ruling out the possibility of a second political unrest.
This country will eventually be democratized and the people will drive this agenda for a new democratic dispensation.
Editor Mfankhona Nkambule is entitled to his opinion but we expect journalists to have a better understanding of political issues, that is if his opinion article was not polluted by hidden political ambitions.
King Mswati.