By Zweli Martin Dlamini

The media, as a fourth estate and an institution whose fundamental objective among others, is to demand accountability in the public administration, should not been seen promoting political segregation while legitimizing dictatorship and royal supremacy.

Indeed, the inclusion of the right to information in the Constitution of 2005 was meant to foster a culture of transparency, openness and accountability in line with democratic values and principles.

But as it is often said and I fully agree with this particular narrative, under the Tinkhundla undemocratic regime, some of the constitutional rights enshrined in the Constitution cannot be enjoyed by the citizens particularly because, the Constitution itself is a fallacy, it gives emaSwati their rights on the left hand and then, takes away the same rights on the other hand.

The Constitution is actually an improved version and/or duplication of the 1973 Decree that abrogated democracy and established an absolute Monarchy with absolutely no regard for human rights and the rule of law.

But I’m particularly concerned with the conduct of the State controlled media, whose reporting seems to be systematically promoting and legitimizing dictatorship under the King Mswati’s Tinkhundla regime.

One of the fundamental values and principles journalism is to act in the public interest while safeguarding and promoting human rights and of course, holding those in power accountable on issues of vital public interest.

Convicted pro-democracy Member of Parliament(MP) Mthandeni Dube was arrested merely for expressing his political views, calling for an elected Prime Minister and was then charged with terrorism only to emerge through his representative(lincusa) Justice Minister Prince Simelane kneeling down before King Mswati, asking for forgiveness.

The question is; if the MP was arrested and convicted fairly, where does King Mswati features in all this and why must emaSwati who expressed their political views apologise to him?.

Dube was painfully paraded but systematically, as a detterence seeking to discourage other MPs from speaking their minds in fear of being arrested.

As the media, we must never ignore this angle and be carried away by the mere kneeling down of a Prince before Mswati to ask for forgiveness from a dictator hell bent to suppress dissenting views.

I don’t blame Mthandeni Dube for apologizing, being in prison is a very painful experience, I was once arrested and spent only two(2) days at Lobamba Police Station after Princess Sikhanyiso unleashed the police to persecute me.

But in this country, it seems we have a serious problem, a whole MP was arrested for expressing a political view, assaulted inside prison and then paraded before the whole world after being reduced to dance ‘sibhaca’.

Tinkhundla is a very brutal regime that does not tolerate dissenting views and as the independent media, we won’t praise Prince Simelane for the staged royal rehearsed speech seeking to humiliate another fellow citizen merely for calling for an elected Prime Minister.

The State controlled media seems to be promoting political segregation where those who support the Tinkhundla system, are elevated as true and patriotic citizens while those who are independent minded and progressive are isolated as political outcasts.

But political segregation can exacerbate political polarization, leading to greater animosity and conflict between different political groups.

In this country, already those who support Tinkhundla perceive political activists as outsiders in their own country while those who are progressive, label Tinkhundla supporters as beneficiaries and pillars of oppression.

But in conclusion, it is of paramount importance to state that, when people are divided along political lines, this could erode social cohesion and trust, making it harder to address shared challenges and build a sense of community. 

As a result, the lack of interaction between emaSwati who hold different political views could lead to the reinforcement of negative stereotypes and prejudice.

It is therefore important to state that, arresting and forcing a citizen or an MP to apologize to King Mswati merely for expressing a political, calling for democracy or an elected Prime Minister does not only promotes political segregation but, elevates Mswati and his minority group of citizens who support Tinkhundla into a godly status where the ability to think and hold a different views is placed at the mercy of a dictator-King Mswati.

In light of the aforementioned, it is therefore important to state that, any democracy criminalizing and discriminating those with different views in the contestation of State power, either through democratic elections or a mere expression of a political view seeking to shape the democratic framework in the governing structure of a country, is partial and fragile democracy.