Religion and Leadership Problem: Swaziland's developmental bulwarks

Swaziland is a monarchial kingdom,the only one remaining in Africa.  It is about the size of a dot when looked on the map and is economically depended on the Republic of South Africa. In economical evaluation, it is a developing country with a disappointing growth rate of 0.02 %.  Swaziland is categorised as a lower-middle-income country. She is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).  She is also a member of the trading body known as the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and COMESA. Her main trading partners are South Africa, the United States and the European Union.

On the religious terrain, the mountanious kingdom boasts of about eighty-two point seven zero percent of Christians,making it the dominant religion. This is according to a report by the Religious Intelligence survey. Anglican, Protestant and Indegenous African churches, including African Zionist and Roman Catholics constitute the majority of the  Christians in the country.  Swazis are globally known as notoriously religious and in many instances take God for granted.  In the last six or so years,Swaziland was  designated the pulpit of Africa,either metaphorical or in the literal sense, only God knows. However,what one knows is that the pundits of the obtaining  Tinkhundla oligarchy have taken this prophesy literal to intensify their hold on power.

The objective of this paper is an attempt at essaying the various empirical ways by which religion and leadership problem have impeded development in the Kingdom of eSwatini. It behooves me, therefore, to preface this discussion by giving an insight to what development refers to in this context. Development implies continous improvement/ progress toward a better,higher and more advanced stage. It simply denotes change though change itself does not necessarily implies development always. In evaluating areas of development,it is paramount to consider their impact on human life,for every development should be to the betterment of every individual in that nation.  Therefore, development evaluation in this paper would tend to be based on the wider category of civil society-which in this context points to the establishment of institutions which maximises harmony, human's alienable rights, security and peace. Hypothetically, ,an ideal  civil society renders every individual the opportunity to pursue happiness and self-determination that hinge on fulfillment.

For the above to manifest ithemselves in every society,all institutions and spheres of human activity should be optimised. However,this  ideal will never be realised in a society where the bearer is constricted to think and act creatively . This ideal will also be threatened  by lack of equal possibilities for all, due to sex, clan and any other distinguishing human characteristic which are still chronic challenges faced by sive semaSwati, especially nepotism based on clan name (bomusa wabani). It remains crystal clear that development as refered to here should be witnessed in the medical landscape, education, reduction of employment, especially among the youth, life expectancy, political and economic systems, science/technology and industries.

Swaziland is a very ambitious country working (hard) on being perched among the developed nations of the world. However,as things are within this kingdom,this ambition may as well remain like that; an ambition. There is no contented effort on the part of the government that shows  Swaziland is serious about its vision 2022. The efforts are only in the talking. There are many factors that are seriously impeding national development within the Kingdom of eSwatini. Corruption, bad governance, recycling political leaders, nepotism, a non-people driven national budget and an extravagant and non-transparent royal emolument. However,it is not in the interest of this paper to elucidate on the above serious factors though reference may be made in passing or to emphasise a point.

Religion and a leadership problem remain two of the greatest bulwarks in as far as Swaziland's development is concerned.  For Swaziland, prayer,fasting and offerings are considered important activities in dealing with all national ills. This is no exxageration. One only needs to look back to Swaziland's worse economic years two years ago when SACU reciepts were drastically reduced, which makes about sixty percent of Swaziland's national budget.  Religious groups involving all churches led by the Swaziland Conference of Churches organised a mass prayer aimed at resuscitating the Kingdom's economy. The prayer was held at Swaziland's commercial hub,  Manzini at the Mavuso Trade and Exhibition centre. Government officials, including the Prime Minister Dr SB Dlamini attended in their numbers. This economic  case is not the only one. Swaziland has a high record of road accidents. Known roads prone to blood-curdling accidents include the Malagwane hill,  eLangeni (both on the Mbabane-Manzini highway) , Hhelehhele on the outskirt of Manzini on your way to the Lowveld region,  Mehlwabovu and the Nhlangano-Mahamba road. Many lives have been lost and the problem which cause such chilling accidents identified. But the Swazi government ignored this and happily hide under the quick reaction of churches that always organise a prayer.

In many political blunders and human rights disregard, the church has chosen to be mum. Except for the Swaziland Council of Churches which always condemn Swaziland's notoriety where human rights and bad governance is concerned. In 2012 ,Swaziland has to battle with one of the longest labour strikes organised by the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT). Among other things they were demanding other than pay rise was the firing of Swaziland's long-serving and bully PM, the incumbent and authoritarian Dr SB Dlamini. They were also demanding the transition of Swaziland into multi-party system of governance. While rightly justified in calling for these basic human necessities, some religious elements cropped up. SNAT administrators eventually organised a prayer. Prayer works, but where it does not, it fails dismally. The labour strike eventually lost vigour and disunit was the final nail on it.

Political ills and government maladministration can never be corrected nor worked out by prayer. What is needed is serious confrontation with the powers that be. As it is, this is unlikely to be the case for the reason that the king is also seen as a spiritual figure. Government resources are annually utilised to fund and make possible activities of the Christian religion which is widely practised. This is despite Swaziland's secular status as embodied in the kingdom's Constitution. As history has taught us, once the state and religion enjoy some sort of cordial mutuality, the populace suffers immeasurable. In the first instance,it is wrong for His Majesty's government to fund other religious sects and ignore some using taxpayers' money. That said, religion in Swaziland has cultivated the culture of complacency. Many Swazi Christians turn a blind eye to social ills and talk about the happiness that awaits them yonder this world! That God have stored for them a white robe.

The social responsibility of the church is not limited to preaching and taking offerings and tithes. Its far transcends that and include creating an enabling and conducive living space for its adherents. For one,there is nothing saint in living in a country where  the taxpayers' money is used to fund the lavish lifestyle of a certain clique. There is nothing orthodoxically when politicians are offered pay rise and bought top-of-the range BMW vehicles in a country where the majority die of many diseases due to poor health systems. However,this deplorable behaviour by His Majesty's government has gone without any castigation from the church. Like earlier alluded here, prayer, fasting and offerings highlights both the spoken and unspoken assumptions of Swaziland's religious people-that they have final answers to life and great social challenges. Professor Don Cupitt once said that final answers have the impact of removing the need for progress. It is, therefore, in this sense that religion has impeded our development. For,religion has produced many Swazi people who live as though protesting government is not only  wrong but even asking certain questions and making certain demands is wrong because governments are installed by God. Therefore, God's institutions are immune from demands, protests and criticism. Secondly, the church has created many people who look to divine revelation for guidance, therefore,they are constrained to invade the secular realm for answers. This kind of behaviour planted by the church has succesfully given rise to  sentiments but sadly produced sterility as their doctrines give birth to freaks.

People who are notoriously religious tends to be relatively comfortable and cosy since religion, once again in Prof. Cupitt's words,  ''produces potted answers to life's dilemmas'', and to greatest injustice too. Further, Dennis Nineham observed that religion impedes progress by its nature of constricting personal freedom. No plant grows well in a constricted space, the same cannot be overemphasised of the human species. As things stand, religion in Swaziland with its impositions is here to stay-not because it is the opium of the populace but because it is a winning tool of the Tinkhundla oligarchy. Again, because religion in its own right is a valid way of respecting and exploring the mysteries of life. It is also the greatest pacifier to many folks.

Moving on, one comes to the main issue; leadership problem. One must state on the outset that this area is so dangerous that one can be jailed. Swaziland lacks democratic principles and is not willing to embrace them. Even after losing AGOA, America's preferential trading treaty. Multi-partism is banned and political parties remain proscribed under the 2008 controversially Suppression and Terrorism Act. Dissidents and Mswati's critics are gaoled based on this act. It is this act jointly combined with unseen wielding powers (Labadzala) and Swaziland's disregard of international conventions and its own Constitution that has plunged it into the ungovernable position it is in. Politics in Swaziland are about egos.

Swaziland's political situation is detrimental to the stable foundations desired by foreign investors. The king is reportedly demanding at least ten percent shares in every investor who want to set up business in the kingdom.  This is what waters down the kingdom's effort to rise to greater heights economically. As one write, the king owns ten percent shares from Swazi MTN- a mobile communication that enjoys a politically protected monopoly. He also owns about forty percent shares at the Royal Swaziland Sugar Company. He is reportedly co-owning Salgaocar Swaziland-a mining conglomerate that set up business in Swaziland under unclear circumstances. This is quite different from royal token. This combined with other important factors such as high call rates, business monopoly in important sectors such as communication, and government's involvement in businesses do not auger well for the nation's business environment. Swaziland, therefore needs to improve her business environment through sound and meaningful reforms. The 2013 Ibrahim Index of Governance, for instance ranked Swaziland poorly in participation of human rights, as well as sustainable economic opportunity attributed to weak institutional capacity and a relatively rigid political system.

The nation's political system which when it was introduced by the late king Sobhuza ii was nothing but an experiment strives on secrecy. There is lack of transparency in the use of government's money. Swaziland's spending priorities are in conflict with capacitating the citizenry through creating employment and empowering its youth to venture into business. The army takes a budget of nearly a billion while the health and education sectors are finding it hard to survive. This in a nation that has prioritised health and education. DNA Economics consultant Frank Flatters accused, rightly so,  Swaziland's misuse of funds recieved from SACU. He said that the government budget is bloated through high wages . He forgot to add,  ''politician and committee wages''.

These paper has given an account of how religion and leadership problem jointly impede  national progress in Swaziland. The author believes Swaziland can achieve more if the secular world can be painstakingly invaded for solutions engulfing the kingdom than looking for divine guidance. Further, a people driven political system can help a long way in being a panacea to Swaziland's political ills that are grossly hindering development . Divine revealed systems such as the  ''God-given Monarchial democracy'' are letting down Swaziland's capability to soar.

Khayelihle Simelane is a BA holder in Humanities obtained at the University of Swaziland. He majored in History and Theology and Religious Studies. He is also a former contributing writer at the Times of Swaziland newspapers, an independent paper.

Swazi bully PM outwitted

'Interesting' seems to be the right word to point out to what is steaming up in the volatile Swazi political pot. Swaziland's long time serving Prime Minister,a very close man to the king,is  finally getting the taste of his own medicine courtesy of Justice Minister, Sibusiso Shongwe. Known for his bullying tendencies and rotten if not barbaric language, Mswati's right-handman is getting more than what he have bargained for.

To the uninitiated, it all began with the controversially Estate policy. This is a policy that the Justice Minister brainstormed and later made  into law on how estate of deceased should be distributed. In terms of the Swaziland Constitution, the minister erred in sidelining the legislative house and subsequently, he was asked to nullify the policy and follow the right procedure. The Prime Minister, Dr Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini ordered Shongwe to withdraw the policy within thirty days. Further, a parliament committee has been set up to find reasons why the Justice Minister should not be charged. The ultimatum from the Premier exarcebated things. It has subsequenyly thrown the  government into a deep political turmoil while with the judiciary jumping in to rally behind their own - the head honcho, Minister Shongwe.

The obtaining scenario is genuinely fascinating. So because the chairman of the Judicial Commission and Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi, Minister Shongwe and the Premier are known to be close friends who have rallied behind each other during Swaziland's worst judicial crisis in the past two years. They supported each other in every unpopular decision they took. Today here we are.

Many were taken aback by Minister Shongwe's defiance to the Premier. Many who have stood against this ageing bully lost their jobs. He instil his fear through his use of hooliganistic and spine-chilling words such as  ''sitjepeza''-a sharp-edged knife like a bush-knife that could behead one in an eye's twinkle. He is also known for calling on the use of bastinando on dissenting peoples and opponents of the monarchial democracy-a system which King Mswati iii claimed was revealed to him by God. Mswati is not new to his divine revelations. On or around 2001,the Swazi king claimed that while watching television in one of his many luxurious palaces, a TV remote placed at the centre of a table mysteriously fell on the floor. He told the voluptious Swazis that God was communicating a message. This in a population whereby over sixty-five percent live on less than a dollar a day. Able-minded peoples ask themselves what kind of a god who can reduce himself to doing such trivialities when many are living in grossly embarrasing poverty. This showed to all and sundry how religion is used to cement the rule of the despotic Dlamini clan. Once in Swazi history,the peoples were told by a senior prince that they ( royal family) were closer to God than any other person.

Prime Minister Dlamini,to prove how bully he is, recently ordered chiefs to strangle two unionists who according to him sneaked to the United States to embarras the king during the United States-Africa summit held in New York. He said this inside parliament and Swaziland's dumbest parliamentarians saw nothing untowards with the bully's statement. Bullying is the only way the current PM gets things his way. Many would remember how he bullied the Swaziland High Court back in November 2001 when he told judges that his government was not going to abide by courts rulings. This was during the Macetjeni/kaMkhweli chieftaincy dispute. He got the full back-up of his boss, Mswati iii. He also bullied the spirit of the 2005 Constitution by giving the Lesotho-born judge an indefinate contract after his initial contract signed in 2008 expired. According to the spirit of the Constitution,  a Swazi CJ was supposed to take over. However,clandestine moves whose master was the PM were hacked to prevent fired judge, Thomas Masuku from taking over.

Fast forward to 2014 ,political events suggest a somehow fascinating scenario. The old bully might have lost its sting or have been outwitted by an equal,poisonous bully. The Justice Minister is the man of the moment. His foothold seems to be well-put on the pedal. He is unshaken by the bully many a man have been scared of. In a recent breakfast monthly meeting with editors, the PM asked the media to cover his back while he was responding to questions surrounding the deepening judicial crisis. He said that he was afraid of being charged with contempt of court. It seems Shongwe is the man in charge. While many expected a reshuffle or worse, Shongwe's firing from cabinet, nothing has happened. Everything remains as usual. Now there are circulating reports by one daily newspaper to the effect that the PM might be investigated for corruption. We are waiting to see.

Can Swaziland's long time serving politician bully be finally chowed?  Is this  ''chess master player'', as the Swazi Newspaper's Editor, Phephisa Khoza calls him,be made to feel the medicine of his own taste?

Religion is alive,God is not

Religion predates many of the known existing socialisational phenomenons. Religion and culture goes together. Religious scholarship asserts that it is only through the lenses of culture that an ethnic's religion can be understood. There is a general consensus among  scholars that religion is by and largely shaped by culture. For over three thousand  years, religion has not ceased to be an opium of the human species. While religion has succesfully convinced a majority of the world's population that above the sky, somewhere up there,lives a super-all knowing,all present being, doubts about that cannot be ignored.

The questioning of God's existence has its root in the birth of an era called Enlightenment. This is a period that marked remarkably progress in education in medieval Europe. This period coincided with the rennaissance era which witnessed a growing enthusiasm in arts, literature and philosophy. For the first time in chronicled history,religion felt the  scathing launch  of missiles rooted in dialogue and rationale thinking than on military crusades. Germany boasts of great known philosophers who even introduced historical methods of biblical study. Never in it history has the Bible been subjected under heavy scrutiny as was the case  with the dawn of these eras. Traditions of antiquity have placed great protection on religious tenets and myths. The twist however, came with the questioning of God's existence.

The Church as a religious institution was soon confronted with a new predicament altogether. Every known dogma was interrogated objectively. New names came to connote pionners of such virginal undertaking, sometimes wrongly percieved. Heretics, anti-Christ and satan's agents were labels used. It was all an exercise in futility. Today the world has seen great men and women who publicly confessed their disbelief in God or any gods. This is especially dominant in the west. There are many known atheists there,some who were once evangelised. 

God! Coming from a hyped religious background in Swaziland,I can attest that almost all Swazi families believe in God's existence. Children are indoctrinated through the passing of missionary teachings that God love them. He sent his only Son to die for their sins. I never got to escape these teachings too . At home,school and Sunday school. They are entrenched across the Swazi social life,cutting across every spectrum. In Swazi societies, the social theme and expectation of the people is total submission and acceptance to cultural trends, traditions and traditional structures, submission to indegenous and Christian beliefs without questioning. So, as we grow up in terms of age and academical strides, we face a strange battle: questioning beliefs and traditions than worshipping them. I faced my own battle at university.  All the tales about a speaking serpent, language confusion in the building site of the Tower of Babel and many senseless biblical  stories began to resemble a sculpture. A stone curved image with no breaths. Then it was the antithetical anthromorphosis attributes of God! They began to make a huge joke on the deity I grew up knowing. God caused misery to mankind in the Old Testament. He is self-craving and highly demanding, wanting all the attention like a small child. Failure to do that is punished by misery and suffering, as the capture of the Israelites privides a grandiose kaleidoscope . Professor Dawkins justly put it in his work,  ''Religion is a poisoner'' when he sees God as a  ''misogynist, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, megalomaniac and a malevolent bully''. Of course this could possible be the potraits of religious fanatics who created God. I say so because,like one atheist reasoned, it makes more sense that humans created God than the other way round. Religion is what is alive, not God.
It is the mighty of religion that has made an impact on human lives than the mythical objected power of God. It is through religion that relative social tranquility has been realised. However,that is not to say peace is un-attainable in the absence of religion. It is not the intention of this paper too,to say it is not possible to attain the apex level of morality without religion. Every atheist and humanist worth of his or her values would attest to this.  I have seen religion drives people to lend a helping hand on social developments than the hand of God. Some social ills have been perpertuated and committed under the wielding power of religion,than the power of God. In Swaziland,religion have been used to cement the authority of the monarch, not the voice of God.

I think this whole thing about God had been blown out of proportion. It has delayed developments and supported tyranns. I know many people say God speaks for himself. I disagree. They do the talking for him. If he ever lived, He is dead by now. I do not want to think He is incompetent or rather, too busy to notice the hell humanity is going through. It cannot be His will.

In Swaziland,God is taken for granted. Four months ago, a terrible road accident occured at Malagwane leaving the rest of us reeling in pain. The solution to this, it was agreed was prayer. On or about 2011 ,the kingdom experienced some economic meltdown. The churches of Swaziland organised a prayer. This was an insult to able thinking Swazis because our economic problems are man-made. Again,religion was used to disguise the maladministration of government. People who should have lost their jobs, worse, take a detour to prison escaped through religion.

This paper intends to assert that God does not live. It is only the pious imagination of uncontent people who created all this. If He lives, let Him prove himself to this generation that is trying hard to find an evidence that he lives.  It is not enough to hear from Christian apologetics such as St Paul, the disputed apostle ranting about seeing the Lord. What happened to the Old Testament belief that anyone who sees God does not live to tell the tale?

By Khayelihle Simelane

The question asked in a report by the BBC was: why do thousands of Muslims visit Mecca every year?

And my answer to the above question is based on critical thinking. Some religious people will probably label it as misguided and lack comprehension of the nature of god, however I stand by these words. Without fear or favour. I would like to point our that I'm not a religious person but I do believe in some of the messages being taught in all the major and minor religions of the world.

Without going any further my answer to their above question is, they were groomed up to believe what they believe, god is not s person he/she cannot occupy one portion of the globe an neglect others. The parents had influence the n their children and the society too. They where made to believe that there is a god that commands worship from them. of course this is an incorrect assumption if we are to think critically about this matter.

god can not be a human being with human attributes, that is to say I do not expect god to have feelings such a jealousy, envy, desire for power. we tend to look at god in anthropomorphic terms and this is incorrect. those are han attributes that shows our weakness as human beings. so in that case this was a way for the prophet, Muhammad to consolidate his power as a religious figure. to do this he had to centralise Islam around one place, his place of birth in Mecca.

According to Donald Goldman, the bible is not a book for children. Why is that so? This is because children are at either the concrete stage of cognitive development. One can not expect a child to read the bible in an abstract way. They are at that point in their lives where they take everything literally or give it nonsystematic interpretation. However, I believe this scholar also failed to mention that people of certain IQ score shouldn't be allowed either. How do you rationalize killing thousands of people all in the new of religion but this is what terrorists groups justify terror activities, they take Qur'an interpretation literally like children in their pre-operational phase of moral development. Further, how just is the issue of enriching pastors by poor congregants. This issue is so prevalent these days.

Religion just like any other substructure of the society is no t a perfect system. One needs to pick what is important while discarding what is dangerous to han existence.

Values in all religions and Misuse of religion

I would like to point out that I'm not a religious person. However, that doesn't mean there is no lesson to be learnt from religion. I mean all religions of the world. Whatever religion you may belong to, I it is important to learn from others. This is not only important for our peaceful coexistence as people of different backgrounds and religions but  we also develop mentally and spiritually.

My idea of a god is different from most people ever since I started being a student of all religions. I don't not see god in the anthropomorphic terms most people see god. Further, critical thinking has led me to the conclusion that there is neither hell nor Pearly  gates of heaven. This is as a result of people's desire for permanence. I learnt that from the enlightened Buddha. Since god is no man I do not believe he could have a desire to be worshipped.

Disagreements on how god should be worship has led to the Jihadist groups such as ISIL, Boko Haram, Al Sha Bab that have terrorised the world all on the name of religious interpretation of the Qur'an. The little knowledge I have on Islam is that the word literally means peace, for this reason I believe individual ambitions, gullibility and struggle for power is the cause of this extremism, not Islam. People sheepishly follow those they deemed superior to them without question. This is where the vital role of logical thinking comes in. We need to question things as human beings... if you believe that there is a higher power. That higher power wouldn't give you something you don't need. Reason is such gift we should be utilising in our daily lives everyday.

I wouldn't be doing justice to this article if I made this just a Muslim problem. Many Christian are just as guilty of this. I'll make an example of "Prophet" T.B. Joshua and many others like him. They are an ever growing trend in modern Christian faith. What fair and just god would condone these pastor who take from the gullible and desperate masses and enrich themselves. It doesn't make any sense to me. Hundreds of his congregants died in his "holy hostels". The "holy man" failed to predict that this was going to take place, Why? If indeed he is closer to god than the rest of us. He has made millions trading this so-called salvation. This reminds me of post medieval era Catholicism, where the rich could by their salvation while they continue with their unscrupulous ways.

There misinformation of religious beliefs has cost many lives. Further, it has contributed to irresponsibility of the rich, who now believe they could do as they please. Why not? They can go to church and pay tithe next Sunday.

Inyoka Makhandakhanda: A living philosophy and thriving indegenous belief than a case of Swazi primitiveness

Summer presents various significances to Swazis down south in sub-saharan Africa. For all countryside dwellers, it signals the farming season. The royal bird, Ligwalagwala herald this auspicious ancient activity by it musical voice interpreted to means  ''phezukomkhono'' (on your arm). It will be hard work and less play till April, the end of the farming season. To traditional Swazis it means more than that. For them summer calls for all obedient Swazis to refrain from spilling water haphazardly as that offends the god of light and thunder. People need to refrain from standing on doorways and children to stop playing soccer within home compounds. These are all religious tenets embedded within the wide-cutting social indigenous religion of Swaziland and largely Africa.   

Summer means something more than what u grew knowing, observing, practising and what has been cultivated within me in my tender years. It evoke the deep-seated curiosity that has been awakened by academic strides in my two final years at the University of Swaziland. It steams my appetite that no western scholar with his scientific explanation have succeeded to quench.

Sadly, no African scholarship has made an attempt to research about. Available literature is vague. It means the story of Inyoka Makhandakhanda returns. Since my childhood, a stormy rain is attributed to this religionised creature. Destroyed buildings and washed away crops remain the manifestation of the seven-headed mystical creature.   According to Swazi traditional dictates, a pseudonym should be used in reference to the monster. Direct name call aggravate it. As far as I recall, it has never been portrayed as an animal great in mercy. It reputation spits that of the Old Testament deity. That is not to say good tales have not been told of it. Traditional healers attest to have been trained by it under water for at least seven years. Children disappear around water ponds and tradition would say that the snake took him. There are many forwarded reasons for such, and it does not mean that healing training is always the objective.  

The issue of Inyoka Makhandakhanda is not a belated one in academic discipline and research endeavors. Rather, it remains one of the fertile place for research. Swazis across all the regions would agree with no doubt that this mythical creature lives. Sadly, no one possess any graphic evidence. This is an area upon which western scholarship has dismissed this as a myth. This is scholarship injustice. We have no graphic evidence that God exist,only chronicled histories of the Israelites affirming His existence.   Of course it is not enough for me as a scholar to say this creature lives, and everybody say so and end there! What empirical evidence exists that gives weight to this Swazi belief? There are many. Religious rituals such as praying in the ponds in rivers have given rise to the existence of Inyoka Makhandakhanda. Sacrificial offerings in the form of money and animals remain as outstanding testimonies.

A classic case is the dam of Manganganeni in the outskirt of Mankayane town in the Manzini region. It is known for the sole use of Pastors Bhekibandla and Khanyakwezwe Vilakati's Jericho Churches. We also have another dam of national Religious significance, the Mantjolo  dam overseen by the Mnisi clan. It history is well chronicled in Swazi literature especial regarding its sacredness.  This close attachment of dams and animals with sacredness is hardly an odd encounter because Africans are known to be religious. Religion exerts great influence upon the Africans worldview. It is the strongest element in traditional background. Religious sensibilities are conspicuously expressed in traditional ceremonies and custom, such as the dance of the first fruit, traditional known as Incwala. Animals feature abundantly in African religion, a feature that made western scholars view  African religion as an animated, barbaric and primitive thing. How wrong!    Dams, rivers, trees, caves and mountains occupy sacred position. The African try as much as he can to live harmoniously with nature.  It is unscholarly to dismiss the existence of the godly water serpent on lack of an image. Do western scholars have the devil's image. I would appreciate to have a copy.  Like a spitfire, once this creature makes a movement, like visiting a female,evidence remains. Some say it is immortal while others argue otherwise.

However,much evidence suggest it is mortal . Traditions stipulate that it changes it appearance shaped by a number of factors. It can change to floating money on the surface of the water or soccer balls. It can transform itself into a beautiful, sexy and curvecious lady.

All these depend on the thing it is targeting to woo, with an insight into that person's interest. Indeed, Inyoka Makhandakhanda is powerful.   How do you know a pond or dam house the seven-headed monster?  As a person who grew up  tending flocks in the countryside and swimming in river ponds, elders gave us signs of its presence. For instance, a pond that always has a rainbow,  a small one, signifies its presence. Moreover, a hanging mist-like-fog  is its sign. Then,  point hard to explain well was by observing the stillness of the water,the colour and the movement of the water.

In conclusion,the mistake African students make is to assume that through educational strides and civilization, the snake's existence is nothing but a myth. They argue so silly on why technology has failed to capture it. This mistake is not isolated to Africans. Western scholars have the same stupid mentality. It is as if African religion and beliefs can be reduced to simplicities that can be explained away by the use of a camera and technology.    

Khayelihle Simelane is a former BA in Humanities student at the University of Swaziland. He majored in History and Theology and Religious Studies. He is also a former contributing writer at the Times of Swaziland.

Nokwane Eviction: a Graphic Case of a Heartless Government

It is showcased as the new promise of Africa. It is described by those very close to the ruling elite as the peaceful kingdom in sub-sahara. This is none other than Swaziland,a little mountainous kingdom hedged between two economical towering nations, South Africa and Mozambique.

In 1973 ,the late King Sobhuza dampened the true spirit of democracy when he passed the decree that outlawed political parties. Since then, democratic reforms have been trifled by all means, most notably the politicisation of Swaziland's two annual ceremonies, namely ; umhlanga and incwala. It is through this monarchial decree that has made Sobhuza's son the absolute power-wielding king he is. And up to date, the elite's stranglehold has been tightened through the enactment into law the Suppression of Terrorism Act, 2008.  Through this piece of legislation, members of the fourth estate are languishing in the kingdom's prisoners, with relatives and members of society, especially known political activists barred from visiting them.

A recently concluded case that sent waves across the world is that of known human rights attorney, Thulani Maseko and The Nation magazine editor, Bheki Makhubu. These illustrates the irony preached by the ardent of the system and point to the never-ending humiliation the over 1.2 million people undergo everyday in Swaziland. 

Just this week, about twenty homesteads were demolished to give way to the multi-million Science and Bio Technology Park to be constructed in Nokwane. The evictees represents what i can call  ''Swazilised'' dalit/ untouchables-the people at the lowest social strata whose concerns and needs are way out of the government's priorities. The eviction went ahead despite a court order stopping it. In Swaziland courts have ceased to be courts in the literal sense. Rather, Swazi courts have been turned into government puppets. Judges are handpicked without abiding by the tenets of the Constitution, a document that was blessed by His Majesty in 2005 at the cattle brye-Swaziland's highest traditional parliament. Defying courts orders is not new in Swaziland.

In 2002 ,the Prime Minister in line released a press statement that government was not going to respect courts judgements. This was in September, 28 over the kaMkhweli/Macetjeni chieftaincy disputes. This resulted in the enmasse resignation of judges. With the PM's return to politics in 2008 ,the judiciary lapsed into unprecedented level of crisis. No one from the ruling elite is willing to restore the dignity of the judiciary. Attempts by then Minister for Justice Reverend David Matse led to his axing. The Swazi judiciary is  a hot potato only on the laps of ordinary citizens, the Swazi dalits who only deserve to have their homes demolished. In Swaziland one do not remember years by date but by the year of the Kontjingila chieftaincy disputes that led to a blood-curdling war ; by the year the people of Macetjeni were deposed by government trucks to differents parts of the country; by the November 28 statement. And now, we will not remember Swaziland by the year a multi-billion airport was built on the flying face of poverty or the stealing of citizens' money through circulars but by the heartless  eviction of the people of Nokwane.

We will remember it by the silence of people such as MP Jan Sithole who ran his election campaign as the embodiment of liberal hopes. Yes, he ran as the embodiment of liberal electoral aspirations, and now he stands as the emblem of the limitations in those aspirations. 

The Nokwane eviction is a clear graphic case of how people not related to the monarchy are treated in a kingdom praised as the African pulpit. This incidence speaks volumniously of how the 1973 decree together with the coronation of King Mswati III have relegated the Swazi people to mere spectators of the political game.
The king is indeed a lion in the true sense and the people true subjects.  Swaziland connotes numerous meanings to the people at the lowest ebb of the social ladder.   Over the years, voices calling for regime change has increased. In retaliation, the government unleashed the security forces and the courts on alk dissenting voice. Two options await Mswati's critics inside gaol : life long sentence or death.

PUDEMO President Mario Masuku and SWAYOCO president are living testimonies of the scathing claws of the Swazi government. The Prime Minister in line, Dr Sibusiso Dlamini stated that the use of bastinado might be an answer to these people seen as the enemies of the state. He also urged chiefs to strangle them. There is no freedom in Swaziland. Journalists are threatened everyday and Judge Mpendulo Simelane, a novice and inexperienced judge, unconstitutional appointed has vowed to teach local scribes one or two lesson. I and my colleague expect the same treatment from his lordship.

Khayelihle Simelane, a former University of Swaziland student . He studied towards a degree in BA Humanities, majoring in History and Theology, Religious Studies.

Sub-SaharaPost author

Why religion matters and how it has been misinterpreted

I would like to point out that I'm not a religious person. However, that doesn't mean there is no lesson to be learnt from religion. I mean all religions of the world. Whatever religion you may belong to, I it is important to learn from others. This is not only important for our peaceful coexistence as people of different backgrounds and religions but  we also develop mentally and spiritually.

My idea of a god is different from most people ever since I started being a student of all religions. I don't not see god in the anthropomorphic terms most people see god. Further, critical thinking has led me to the conclusion that there is neither hell nor Pearly  gates of heaven. This is as a result of people's desire for permanence. I learnt that from the enlightened Buddha. Since god is no man I do not believe he could have a desire to be worshipped.

Disagreements on how god should be worship has led to the Jihadist groups such as ISIL, Boko Haram, Al Sha Bab that have terrorised the world all on the name of religious interpretation of the Qur'an. The little knowledge I have on Islam is that the word literally means peace, for this reason I believe individual ambitions, gullibility and struggle for power is the cause of this extremism, not Islam. People sheepishly follow those they deemed superior to them without question. This is where the vital role of logical thinking comes in. We need to question things as human beings... if you believe that there is a higher power. That higher power wouldn't give you something you don't need. Reason is such gift we should be utilising in our daily lives everyday.

I wouldn't be doing justice to this article if I made this just a Muslim problem. Many Christian are just as guilty of this. I'll make an example of "Prophet" T.B. Joshua and many others like him. They are an ever growing trend in modern Christian faith. What fair and just god would condone these pastor who take from the gullible and desperate masses and enrich themselves. It doesn't make any sense to me. Hundreds of his congregants died in his "holy hostels". The "holy man" failed to predict that this was going to take place, Why? If indeed he is closer to god than the rest of us. He has made millions trading this so-called salvation. This reminds me of post medieval era Catholicism, where the rich could by their salvation while they continue with their unscrupulous ways.

There misinformation of religious beliefs has cost many lives. Further, it has contributed to irresponsibility of the rich, who now believe they could do as they please. Why not? They can go to church and pay tithe next Sunday.