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NORMALISING THE ABNORMAL

13/06/2022 15:21:00 Vusi Sibisi

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For government it is business as usual with no compunction about getting to the bottom of how and why dozens of emaSwati were slaughtered during last year’s pro-democracy protests - almost a year later.

But while government is on record grudgingly acknowledging that police killed some of the protestors, it has never taken responsibility by ordering a full-scale investigation into the circumstances of the fatalities, to the extent that none of the families who lost their relatives have found any closure to their losses. But it is not only the affected families who deserve to know what happened; the nation at large deserves accountability from those it entrusted with the political stewardship of this country under whose watch these atrocities were committed.

Representatives

Regrettably the people’s elected as representatives in Parliament have been pathetic and unhelpful. Even when nudged by the Human Rights Commission, at the conclusion of its verification tour that revealed 46 people were killed and hundreds more injured, to order a full-blown investigation, Members of Parliament (MPs) have still not obliged and done the right thing. Does this mean they too are condoning the murders like the rest of government institutions charged with maintaining law and order as well as the political leadership? Perhaps, ostensibly, because none of them lost a relative in what could now be safely said to have been State-sponsored killings. Why, they could also not follow up on their demand for Housing and Urban Development Minister Prince Simelane to withdraw his ‘fight fire with fire’ sabre-rattling statement. That alone speaks volumes about the calibre of our lawmakers who probably put more value on their stomachs than on human lives.

Apparently referring to the bloodletting on the day – Army Day - he was confirmed to the position, Army Commander General Hulumende Mashikilisana Fakudze - then a Lieutenant General - the assault on civilian protestors, he said, was an operational decision between him and national police commissioner as envisaged in the enabling legislation, the Police Act, which allowed the army to be enlisted in maintaining law and order. This law, the Police Act, appears to have such sweeping powers that include licencing the killing of protesting civilians in the name of maintaining law and order, that can be invoked by bypassing the line of command was passed by our capable legislators. If the army commander’s interpretation of this piece of legislation is correct, it is a dangerous law not only to the civilian population but the leadership as well. Notwithstanding, a fortnight or so later the army commander was elevated to a full four-star general.

Dialogue

As I see it, there can be no national dialogue unless and until there is accountability for those killed and maimed during the pro-democracy protests, at least for their surviving families to find closure. It cannot be that they simply became statistics in the line of fire of those sworn to serve and protect and are now forgotten. No, the lives of emaSwati, whatever their political cue, matter. This brings me to the second instalment of today’s article, the fate of next year’s elections. Thus far there is nothing to suggest anything will change to the extent of impacting the elections. That can mean only one thing and one thing only, that if and when a national dialogue is convened, it would merely be for cosmetic purposes because it will change nothing. Like PW Botha in 1986 when he was hugely expected to cross the Rubicon but chickened out at the last moment by digging himself into the laager, and by the same stroke authored his own ouster three years later, government and the leadership are not prepared to dialogue for a win-win outcome but want to maintain the political status quo whatever it takes.

As I see it, the expectation of a peaceful environment as a precursor to a national dialogue is far-fetched and unrealistic because there is empirical evidence that the State is perpetuating violence against civilians, especially those who identify with proponents of multi-party democracy. Nowadays we are reliving the era of apartheid South Africa where, at the infamous John Vorster Square, a police precinct, captured freedom fighters would routinely commit suicide when in fact they were murdered by the police. Such cases are gaining traction in this country, which does not project a positive outlook from the authorities for preparedness for a genuine and productive national dialogue.

Actions

Additionally, the posture and actions of government and the leadership, including not taking the nation into their confidence over the terms of reference that had been crafted and served by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), is instructive on the slated national dialogue. The fact of the matter is that government and the leadership are planning a dialogue of loyalists wherein they will be required, in unison, to sing the praises of and endorse the Tinkhundla Political System and its leadership while damning and demonising multi-party democracy and thereafter be rewarded with tinkunzi.

Regrettably, in the face of the strategies being employed by the status quo, including persecuting and prosecuting pro-democracy MPs, the leaders of political parties are at each other’s throats, some already claiming to be first among equals apropos the spoils of victory. Such puerile behaviour is unlikely to augur well in progressing calls for a pluralistic body politic when proponents of multiparty democracy are busy besmirching each other and questioning the credentials and legitimacy of their opponents. Evidently these are not servant leaders but individuals who believe it is their turn on the feeding trough. It is not about serving the people who evidently are being used as a means to an end, just like the obtaining polity. As I see it, with little or no external pressure on government to hold a genuine national dialogue, and proponents of multiparty democracy in disarray, next year’s elections will most likely proceed still under the banner of Tinkhundla political system, unless proponents of multiparty democracy wake up and smell the coffee, unite and speak in one voice.