Times Of Swaziland: BILL COULD CLASH WITH SWAZI TRADITION

BILL COULD CLASH WITH SWAZI TRADITION
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 BY THEMBINKOSI MAVIMBELA on 14/11/2017 04:14:00


LOBAMBA – Will the Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence Bill, 2015 be
Swaziland’s dual system litmus paper?
Some senators yesterday raised concern about the long awaited Bill and how it
related to the country’s traditions. This was raised in Senate where the
senators briefly debated the Bill before moving that it be further deliberated
with the Deputy Prime Minister’s Portfolio Committee.
While most senators unreservedly supported the passing of the Bill, Deputy
Senate President Ngomuyayona Gamedze, Senator Vuka Masilela and Senator Chief
Kekela had some reservations. This is not to suggest that they did not support
the passing of the Bill.
Gamedze wanted clarity from the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Paul Dlamini on the
definitions of some key clauses of the Bill which included abduction, flashing,
incest and stalking. Gamedze was concerned that the House would pass the Bill
without clearly understanding the clauses.
He pleaded with senators to apply themselves as they debated the Bill. He said
definitions were an important aspect of moving forward with the Bill as without
full understanding of them, people might be wrongfully arrested or violate the
legislation without knowing.
“Please understand me well, Ngomuyayona Gamedze likes this Bill, but we should
understand it,” said Gamedze.
Gamedze opined that people needed to be educated about the Bill in order to
avoid undesirable results. He mentioned that some people were not aware that the
age for marriage consent for women was now 18 years instead of 16.
He emphasised that there was need to clarify what flashing was as some people
made noise when police arrested a number of women for committing the offense.