SWAZILAND NEWSLETTER 17


1. Letter to the editor: Swaziland's constitution is a step backwards. The
Star, August 12, 2005

2. Traditional laws and customs to be codified, 8 August 2005 (IRIN):
gender advocacy groups are wary as progress towards giving women a greater
say in public life could be reversed.

3. Swaziland a blot on southern Africa, Gulf Times Newspaper/AFP, 4
August, 2005: The constitution is a recipe for more disaster.

4. Economic abuse rising in weak economy, 3 August 2005 (IRIN): Sharp
increase in the number of employers refusing to pay outstanding wages or
benefits to retrenched workers.

5. Newspaper crippled by defamation judgment. Media Institute of Southern
Africa (MISA), Windhoek, 9 August 2005

6. Document (excerpt): Exclude Swaziland from International bodies like
SADDC, African Union, Commonwealth and the UN.
People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), July 31, 2005.

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1. Letter to the editor by Lucky Lukhele, Braamfontein: Swaziland's
constitution is a step backwards. The Star, August 12, 2005

On July 26 King Mswati III of Swaziland signed into law the controversial
new constitution. The "new constitution" is a scam. It has one purpose, to
kill the hope of our people for socio-political progress.

The Commonwealth Secretariat and the United Nation Development Programme
should be ashamed to be associated with a constitution which outlaws
multi-party parliamentary democracy, retains the status of the king as an
absolute ruler, enshrines a deceitful and meaningless bill of "rights",
allows capital punishment and gives the security forces the power to kill
Swazi citizens with impunity.

The involvement of these bodies in the constitution-making exercise is
extremely disturbing given their international standing as advocates,
promoters and protectors of democratic and human rights principles.

Both the Commonwealth Secretariat and the UNDP have welcomed the signing
of the new constitution into law as significant political progress.

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon, referred to the signing as
"a historic moment for the people of Swaziland and for the growth of
democracy in Southern Africa (Commonwealth Secretariat press release, July
26).

Contrary to this rhetoric, the signing of the constitution is in effect a
step backwards in the growth of democracy in Southern Africa.

On July 14, 2005, the International Crisis Group published a report on
Swaziland in which it observes that: As expected the king unleashed his
private armed killer squad on defenceless pro-democracy citizens on August
6 during the Swaziland Youth Congress anniversary rally in Mbabane.

The question is why the Commonwealth supports the despot and is
encouraging him to continue looting the country's resources at the expense
of the people?

King Mswati III is a dangerous dictator who is spoiling for a civil war,
and he will get it, thanks to the Commonwealth that continues to support
him against the voice of reason from other world organisations.

As always maintained, by the only credible voice of resistance in
Swaziland, the Peoples United Democratic Movement, Pudemo, King Mswati III
has never wanted to share power with the people of Swaziland. The reason
is simple; it's not in the interest of his family for him to forgo the
luxuries that they have enjoyed over the last 254 years.

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2. Traditional laws and customs to be codified, 8 August 2005 (IRIN)

MBABANE, 8 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - Women's rights groups in Swaziland have
warned that moves to codify traditional laws and customs could undermine
gender equality gains achieved in the recently promulgated constitution.

"We welcome the writing down of Swazi customs to avoid confusion, [but] we
feel that if these become codes they will take precedence over gains made
by women in the constitution in the field of equal rights," a source at
the Swaziland branch of Women in Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) told IRIN.

After years of protracted deliberations, Swazi women were finally afforded
equal rights in the constitution, which now reserves one-third of
parliamentary seats for them.

However, gender advocacy groups were wary about efforts to formalise
traditional customs, as progress towards giving women a greater say in
public life could inadvertently be reversed.

Prince Mangaliso Dlamini, who chaired the Constitutional Review
Commission, has allayed some of these fears, saying the process was
intended to benefit all citizens.

The constitution states that "a woman shall not be compelled to undergo or
uphold any custom to which she is in conscience opposed".

Mangaliso is expected to head the body overseeing the codification of
traditional laws and customs, and plans to travel around the country to
establish a consensus on what constitutes Swazi traditional law - other
than some observations in anthropological works, customs have not been
written down, resulting in a wealth of interpretation and much confusion.

Swaziland's highest traditional authority, the governor of Ludzidzini
royal village, hosts a popular radio show that answers questions on
customary issues such as marriage, the family, and local governance.

Some traditional matters, like the appointment of the king and chiefs, are
covered in the constitution.

King Mswati has emphasised the importance of having Swazi customs written
down to eliminate misinterpretation.

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3. ‘Swaziland a blot on southern Africa’, Gulf Times Newspaper/AFP, 4
August, 2005.

Swaziland, ruled by Africa’s last absolute monarch, has the worst
government in southern Africa and a new constitution buttressing the
king’s sweeping powers was a recipe for disaster, an influential policy
group said yesterday.
Peter Kagwanja, the director of the International Crisis Group in South
Africa, told a seminar in Pretoria that the tiny mountain kingdom was the
“worst case of governance” in the region, the SAPA news agency reported.
He said that a new constitution signed by Swaziland’s King Mswati III on
July 26, which preserves his authoritarian powers and still outlaws
political parties, would worsen the situation in the country.
“The moment the constitution was signed, that was the beginning of the
crisis. The constitution is a recipe for more disaster,” Kagwanja said.
The constitution still bans political parties and does not allow the
courts to preside over cases that have a bearing on the monarchy and Swazi
traditional issues.
Mswati, 37, who ascended to the throne at the age of 18, has been
criticised for his lavish lifestyle and refusal to open up the kingdom to
democratic reforms. – AFP

Gulf Times Newspaper, 2005 ©
--------------------------------

4. Economic abuse rising in weak economy, 3 Aug 2005 (IRIN)

Swaziland's Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) has reported a drop in the
number of sexual and physical abuse cases over the past year, but says the
rise in "economic" abuse is cause for concern.

In a report released on Wednesday, SWAGAA argued that the rise in economic
abuse - mainly the withholding of money - had serious implications for the
already weak economy. The group noted a sharp increase in the number of
employers refusing to pay outstanding wages or benefits to retrenched
workers. "Employees and their families cannot live without their wages,
and it is cruel - particularly at the end of the month, after workers give
their labour all month; an employer will suddenly shut down his business
and move away or file for bankruptcy," said Janice Simelane, a social
welfare worker in Manzini.

According to SWAGAA director Nonhlanhla Dlamini, "That type of abuse was
once more commonly associated with the informal sector - small unlicensed
businesses would cheat workers - but this year we have had more businesses
in the formal sector doing this."

The concept of "abuse", previously understood as the maltreatment of women
and children, has broadened. "When you go to parliament and into offices,
people now have good things to say about fighting abuse. [Before,] men
said we wanted to prevent them from disciplining their children," said
SWAGAA chairwoman Faith Motsa. Swazi workers are refusing to go quietly
and a fair number have sought legal advice from organisations such as
SWAGAA, whose report noted the doubling and tripling of their caseloads
each year since the group started recording data in 1997. They attributed
this to an ongoing awareness campaign, better recourse by abuse victims to
the police and courts, and a greater number of counsellors.

"We still have recurring types of abuse: we are seeing women beaten up for
negotiating condom use with their husbands and lovers; doctors write to
us, worried that women patients who are taking ARVs (antiretrovirals) are
not telling their partners they are HIV [positive] ... out of fear of
being physically abused," said Dlamini. SWAGAA admitted that their efforts
to combat abuse could be improved by working more closely with men in the
community.

------------------------

5. Newspaper crippled by defamation judgment
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Windhoek, 9 August 2005

(MISA/IFEX) - On 29 July 2005, Deputy Prime Minister Albert Shabangu won a
staggering E750 000 (approx. US$116,000) in damages in a defamation suit
against the "Times of Swaziland" newspaper, following a High Court ruling.
The judgment is historical in terms of a settlement amount awarded in
Swaziland.

The alleged defamatory article was written by the late "Times Sunday"
editor
Vusi Ginindza four years ago. The deputy prime minister was alleged
defamed
and his reputation tarnished when the article inferred that he was a
card-carrying member of the Ngwane National Liberator Congress (NNLC), a
proscribed party in Swaziland as political parties were banned by a 1973
decree.

The incident has had a chilling effect on press freedom in Swaziland.
Among
others, media owners have expressed the opinion that the political
position
of the deputy prime minister might have had a bearing on the outcome of
the
trial.

BACKGROUND:
On 26 July, King Mswati III signed the National Constitution for the
Kingdom
of Swaziland. The Constitution allows for total power to remain with the
King and upholds the ban on political parties.

For further information, contact Zoé Titus, Programme Specialist, Media
Freedom Monitoring, MISA, Private Bag 13386 Windhoek, Namibia, tel: +264
61
232 975, fax: +264 61 248 016, e-mail: research@..., Internet:
http://www.misa.org

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6. Document (excerpt): Exclude Swaziland from international bodies SADDC,
African Union, Commonwealth and the UN. People's United Democratic
Movement (PUDEMO), July 31, 2005.

The King’s constitution does not meet the basic standards of the
International bodies on bill of rights, good governance and freedoms.
These organizations must give a clear and loud message to the King, and
his family and put pressure on him as follows;

To the Commonwealth of Nations we say:

Seriously consider the findings of the Commonwealth's Expert Team that
observed the 2003 electoral process.

Cease its support for the King and his royal project on the basis that it
was not democratically constituted and abandon its policy of "quiet
diplomacy" and take strong public action against the government of
Swaziland until it ceases violating the Commonwealth's principles of good
governance.

PUDEMO strongly recommends that the following actions must be taken:

That Swaziland be suspended from all Commonwealth programmes until there
is adequate evidence of compliance with the Harare Declaration. We call
upon the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to give this issue the
priority it deserves in its next meeting.

That the Commonwealth strongly considers imposing sanctions against the
regime of King Mswati III. We recommend that such sanctions must include:

Financial and diplomatic isolation of the regime including travel ban on
members of the ruling elite, and,
A freeze on their personal assets held in Commonwealth member states. We
believe that these resources are proceeds of corrupt practices, and we
recommend that they must be held in trust of the Swazi nation and handed
over to a democratically elected government.

It is our strong belief that these recommended actions will not only
assist the transition to democracy but it will, at the same time, help
stamp out the theft and misuse of public resources by members of the
regime.

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