'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?
Toboshwa.
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