SWAZILAND NEWSLETTER 29
PUBLISHED BY SOUTHERN AFRICA CONTACT (DENMARK)

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1. Editorial: Desperate times in Swaziland

2. Bulldozers against informal settlements. King to extend his home.
(IRIN) 31 January 2006.

3. Justice delayed, justice denied. Bail hearings of 16 detainees
postponed until 7 March.
From statement by People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO)
International Office, January 29, 2006.

4. Fire bomb attack on police camp. Sapa/AFP 4 February 2006.

5. Information Minister sues 'Times Sunday' for defamation. Media
Institute of Southern Africa (Windhoek),
February 3, 2006

6. The future of the Swazi language. Are Swazis set to lose their tongue?
(IRIN) 19 January 2006.

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1. Editorial: Desperate times in Swaziland

Without urgent democratic renewal, Swaziland will face further decline,
and perhaps even death as a nation. In July 2005, the International Crisis
Group issued a report on the country’s long, steady slide toward
implosion.

“The monarchy can still save itself if it moves quickly to support
meaningful limits on its powers, but both the royal family and the
international community have to realise that the days of absolutism are
numbered in Swaziland”, according to Suliman Baldo, director of Crisis
Group’s Africa Programme.

As almost in a caricature of absolutism, the king, Mswati III, is given
over to conspicuous consumption, not least of innumerable luxury cars,
choosing a new bride every year, now thirteen in all, building new palaces
for each of them, evicting the people from the land, and selling off the
assets of the nation. The eldest daughter of the king, Princess
Sikhanyiso, adds further to the absurdities of absolutism, recently
stating that “The biggest problem in Swaziland is the dress code…I love
mini-skirts. I will wear them and no one will stop me”. On her way to Los
Angeles, she went on to praise her father: “My father is progressive. He
understands the changing times and he has no problem with me or anyone
putting on a mini-skirt”.

A constitutional document, signed by the king in 2005, upholds a ban on
political parties, and prevents the High Court from presiding over cases
that have a bearing on the institution of the monarchy. The king retains
the right to dissolve parliament and the cabinet, dismiss and appoint
judges, and act as head of the police, the correctional services and the
army.

In the meantime, the Swazi people slide further into hunger and disease,
despair and anger. More than 69% live in absolute poverty. An estimated
42% of adults between 19 and 49 are infected with HIV/AIDS, decimating the
ranks of farmers and agricultural workers, of transport and construction
workers, and the civil service. The number of orphans and of children-led
households has risen dramatically. More than 260 000 people, over a
quarter of the population, are dependent on food assistance from
international aid organisations. Life expectancy has declined to 37.5
years, from 65 years in 1991. Drought and crop failure, declining foreign
direct investment, falling exports, closures and redundancies in the
textile and sugar sectors are further aspects of the crisis. Decline and
death are stalking the land.

The struggle for survival is today an all-consuming struggle in Swaziland,
also influencing the nature of the political struggle as such. Many of the
organisational weaknesses of the democratic movement stem from the
desperate conditions of life of the majority of the Swazi people. The
international solidarity movement must address this issue. Increased
outside pressure is needed to support the democratic movement within the
country.

At the same time, the royal regime seeks to maintain its legitimacy
through an appeal to traditionalist ideology. Desire for democratic change
is termed un-Swazi, ‘imported ideas’ will only serve to disunite the
people. The oppressive use of a traditionalist interpretation of Swazi
culture, coupled with the means of oppression of a modern state, is a
central feature of the royal regime.

Abuse of the people in the name of tradition is becoming more and more
intolerable. Anger and impatience are growing. During the past year, a
series of petrol bombings has hit government offices, police stations,
courthouses and the homes of police and government officials. A wave of
arrests has swept the country. Among those detained is I.B. Dlamini,
general secretary of the People’s United Democratic Movement. The wife of
one of the detainees died after interrogation by the police who described
her attitude as uncooperative. Amnesty International has issued a call on
the government of Swaziland to “take immediate and visible steps to
prevent the torture and unlawful killing of crime suspects and political
opponents by the police” (AI Index: AFR 55/001/2066, January 2006).

The slide into violence will continue. A destructive potential is becoming
more and more evident in Swazi society. Icreases in the number of
suicides, in drug abuse and violent crime are also part of this. The
challenging alternative is to integrate this potential, and not least, the
mounting anger of Swazi youth, into a broad movement for the
democratisation of society. A mass movement for democracy can both
neutralise the violent potential of the regime and channel the anger and
desperation of the people into a social, economic, political and cultural
regeneration of Swazi society. The very survival of the Swazi nation would
seem to be at stake.

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2. Bulldozers against informal settlements. King to extend his home.
(IRIN) 31 January 2006.

The bulldozers are set to move in this week to clear a string of informal
urban settlements as the Swazi government and local authorities clamp down
on unplanned housing.

Forty homes have been earmarked for demolition in the Madonsa settlement,
a tract of peri-urban land bordering the central commercial town of
Manzini, 35 km east of the capital, Mbabane.

A further 100 homes at Ludzidzini royal village, 20 km east of Mbabane,
also face destruction. The Ludzidzini residents are to be evicted to make
way for an extension of King Mswati's home, to accommodate his growing
number of wives and their children. The king now has 13 wives.

Residents did not challenge their evictions, and hoped they would be
provided with a resettlement allowance. But no promises were made to them
by the royal authorities, and the evictees face stiff competition for new
homes in the housing crisis gripping the Mbabane-Manzini corridor.

The Madonsa community, however, has taken the Swaziland National Provident
Fund (SNPF) to court to stop their evictions. The SNPF is a government
parastatal responsible for low- and middle- income housing construction.
SNPF CEO Mathokoza Mtetwa said the Madonsa land was part of a farm
purchased by the fund, and earmarked for housing construction. Residents
countered that they purchased the land by paying gifts to the area's chief.

Swazi chiefs derive their power from their authority to grant land,
increasing the number of their subjects. By custom such land grants are
for rural plots, enabling a family to live as subsistence farmers, plant
crops on a small field, and graze a small herd of cattle on communal land.

Increasingly, chiefs are selling plots adjacent to urban centres, giving
rise to unplanned townships that have created a ring of informal
settlements around Mbabane and Manzini. There are no roads, sewage,
electricity or water connections, and pose a health risk to residents, the
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has declared.

Mbabane and Manzini city authorities have announced plans to evict
residents of informal townships in areas that are flood prone. Plans are
underway for other informal settlements in urban areas to be developed
with infrastructure put in place, under a housing ministry initiative
partly funded by the World Bank.

However, city councils have no authority to address runaway unplanned
housing growth under the supervision of chiefs that are beyond urban
boundaries. Eighty percent of Swazis live on communal Swazi Nation Land,
and 20 percent are urban residents

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3. Justice delayed, justice denied. Bail hearings of 16 detainees
postponed until 7 March. From statement by People’s United Democratic
Movement (PUDEMO) International Office, January 29, 2006.

On January 20, 2006, the office of the Director of Public Prosecution
(DPP) succeeded in delaying the bail hearing for the sixteen political
activists facing high treason charges in Swaziland. The hearing was
rescheduled for March 7, 2006 after the DPP argued that it was unable to
proceed because the South African-based prosecution team was not ready.

The prolonged detentions constitute severe punishment against citizens who
have as yet not been convicted of any crime. By delaying the case, the
state is abusing the court process to inflict as much pain as possible on
the detainees. The detainees are held in degrading conditions with
appalling sanitation facilities.

At the Big Bend Remand Centre, where PUDEMO's Secretary-General is held,
70 prisoners share one toilet which is often blocked because of overuse.
Buckets are then used in overcrowded holding cells as alternatives. There
are also reports of continued beatings in detention. PUDEMO
Treasurer-General, Vusi Mnisi, was granted a rare visit to the Big Bend
Remand Centre. Detainees there told him that they have no clean drinking
water; they are being denied access to medical services and are exposed to
life-threatening diseases such as malaria.

Some of them have injuries sustained during torture and have not been
taken to a doctor for more than a month. Prison officers have refused
offers from relatives and friends to bring clean drinking water and food
to the detainees. By delaying the bail hearing, the government is able to
force the detainees to serve another month in inhumane conditions.

Lawyers representing well-known PUDEMO activist, Mphandlana Shongwe,
complained at the Manzini Magistrate Court during a remand hearing that
their client is being held in solitary confinement at the Matsapa Maximum
Security Prison (see Swazi Observer, January 26, 2006). They expressed
serious concerns about Shongwe's health and requested the Court to issue
an order to have him removed from solitary confinement. The prosecution
pretended to be ignorant and used the usual delaying tactic by requesting
more time to investigate this issue. Magistrate, Nondumiso Simelane, ruled
in favour of the prosecution and rescheduled the matter to 2nd February.
Meanwhile Shongwe remains in complete solitary confinement in a very small
holding cell. According to The Swazi Observer (Ibid), prison authorities
claim that Shongwe is a security risk because they suspect that he might
incite a prison revolt.

In essence, the regime is carrying out a sentence on the detainees without
ever having the case heard in court. Furthermore, we believe that the
detainees are suffering psychological torture in many respects, including
the indefinite nature of the detentions and the way in which the regime is
able to abuse the judicial system with apparent ease. Denying detainees’
access to medical services, clean drinking water, exposing them to health
hazards and holding a person in solitary confinement is inhuman. It is
premeditated cruelty and degrading treatment intended to punish the
detainees.
-------------------

4. Fire bomb attack on police camp. Sapa/AFP 4 February 2006.

Mbabane - A police camp in Swaziland was fire-bombed early on Friday, in
the latest in a series of attacks against government outposts and the
homes of officials close to Africa's last absolute monarch.
Two homes on a new police base in Mbabane were damaged but no injuries
were reported.

"It is true that two flats at the police camp were bombed, and we really
do not know who is behind this," Superintendent Vusi Masuku of the Royal
Swaziland Police (RSP) told AFP, appealing for help from locals in
identifying the culprits.
Masuku said the petrol bombs had apparently been thrown through broken
windows in the homes.

Eyewitnesses told AFP that the flats had been occupied at the time of the
attack, and that at least one person had suffered mild burns.
In December 16 people believed to have links with a banned democratic
opposition group were charged with treason over a series of firebombings
on government offices and the residences of senior government employees.

Two schools were also targeted in arson attacks last month in the small
mountainous country wedged between South Africa and Mozambique.
The leadership of the banned group, the People's United Democratic
Movement, has distanced the organization from the bombings but said they
could be a sign of Swazis' anger at the way the country was governed.
The movement has called for an end to the autocratic rule of King Mswati
III who lives in luxury with 13 wives while most of the population
struggles with abject poverty, food shortages and high rates of HIV and
Aids.
---------------------

5. Information Minister sues 'Times Sunday' for defamation. Media
Institute of Southern Africa (Windhoek)
February 3, 2006

The "Times of Swaziland Sunday", Swaziland's independent weekly newspaper,
is being sued for US$198,000 by the Minister for Information, Themba
Msibi, for alleged defamation.

The minister has filed papers at the Swaziland High Court claiming the
"Times Sunday" defamed him by publishing an article in which he was said
to be in serious financial debt.

In November 2005, the "Times Sunday" published a copy of the minister's
pay slip which reflected a net income of zero. Accompanying the pay slip
was a detailed article claiming that the minister was deeply endebted,
mainly to the government which, as a result, was deducting the money owed
from the minister's monthly salary. Ordinarily, a minister's salary is
pegged at over US$3,300 per month.

Subsequent to the story, the minister threatened to sue and has filed
papers claiming he was defamed. He claims the publication of his financial
standing was not only defamatory but also an invasion of his privacy.

"Times Sunday" editor Mbongeni Mbingo told the Media Institute of Southern
Africa (MISA)-Swaziland that the newspaper has been served the court
papers and has alerted its lawyer. Mbingo said that the newspaper's staff
believed the minister was trying to intimidate them and that they stood by
their story.

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6. The future of the Swazi language. Are Swazis set to lose their tongue?
(IRIN) 19 January 2006.

Educationists are concerned about the future of the Swazi language as the
school examination pass rate in SiSwati as a subject continues to fall.

"If the 2005 Junior Certificate examination results are any yardstick,
then the SiSwati language is gradually being eroded," opined the Times of
Swaziland when it reported this week that nearly a quarter of the students
sitting the exam had failed the test.
In contrast, 92 percent of students taking the crucial exams in 2005
passed English - a total of 10,235 students, up from 9,159 who succeeded
in 2004. English is a "must pass" subject, while SiSwati is not. But this
was not the reason for declining performance in SiSwati, educationalists
told IRIN.

"Most teachers do not wish to teach SiSwati because it is difficult. The
speaking and comprehension aspect is no problem, because SiSwati is the
students' language, but grammar and written SiSwati is difficult," said
Simangele Mmema, head teacher at Mangwaneni Primary School in the capital,
Mbabane.
The time devoted to teaching English, a second language at Mmema's school,
is double that spent on SiSwati: 15 class periods to eight.

"Historically, students were never permitted to speak their language in
schools. During colonial times, students were not even allowed to use
their Swazi names - they were given English names ... That has changed ...
more SiSwati is spoken in schools, but it has not improved language
skills, as reflected in the test results," said Thandi Gama, a secondary
school teacher in Mbabane.

For decades school textbooks were printed in IsiZulu, the language of the
large Zulu ethnic group in neighbouring eastern South Africa, which is
similar to SiSwati. However, IsiZulu has been phased out since the 1970s
and textbooks are now printed in SiSwati, but few other books are
published in the local language.

Mmema pointed out that SiSwati had failed to evolve and grow. The
language, unlike Xhosa and Zulu in neighbouring South Africa has failed to
modernise itself. For the lack of a single term in SiSwati, Swazis often
settle for "iAids" to refer to the disease rather than use "umcamulajuca",
meaning "the thing that cuts you down completely". Similarly, "icomputer",
is more common than the SiSwati description, "umcondvemshini", meaning
"the machine that thinks".

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Support the democratic movement in Swaziland. Donations can be made
through the MANDELA FUND: BG Bank, Norre Voldgade 68, 1358 Copenhagen K,
Denmark. SWIFT-BIC: DABADKKK. Registration Number: 0274. Account Number:
3327000. The MANDELA FUND is a registered national collection in Denmark.
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