PRONOUNCEMENT BY PRINCE MASITSELA

Sir,

I read with interest from one of the publications within the Kingdom of Eswatini wherein it is alleged that Prince Masitsela pronounced that multiparties will not succeed in Eswatini.
One would like to come up-front and indicate that I am both apolitical and respect the Eswatini thinking that when elders speak one does not challenge them. However, with regard to the latter I could not resist but felt such sentiments as expressed therein need to be probed.

One needs to state categorically clear that in the era that we are currently living, and even in the past, it is ideal that any sentiment that affects a particular people needs to be informed by research, and one wonders whether or not such a pronouncement was informed by same.  One has been made to believe that when political parties were banned in 1973, there were such parties. In essence, emaSwati have always strived to express their opinion, diverse as these may be, with the resultant of affiliation of some sort; be it political, religious, socially, economic or otherwise.

In our business world we already have organisations such as Business Eswatini and FESBC, and these are still emaSwati but have different affiliations. Should Business Eswatini or FESBC say the other entity will not succeed? One leaves that to the reader’s imagination. We have different religious affiliations; those who believe in ancestral worship, Christians, Muslims etc and as a Christian one is confronted with a myriad of religious affiliations.  Should those who are Muslims say Christians will not succeed? One could state that to his or her peril.

Congress

Back to the subject, one recalls in the early ‘70s that there were political parties such as ‘Sibhuluja’ led by the late K T Samketi of Vuvulane/Siteki, Imbokodvo led by the late Prime Minister Prince Makhosini, Ngwane National Liberatory Congress led by the late Dr A P Zwane etc. In essence, such a position or the manifestation of political parties has always been there in the Kingdom of Eswatini.  At school I read Zulu instead of siSwati, and there is an idiom that says; ‘Abantu abayi nganxanye bangewona amanzi’. In essence, the sentiments as expressed by one of our senior citizens, and revered for that matter, might need to be put to the test at some stage to determine the veracity thereof.

It is the author’s fervent belief that it is fair practice not to impose your views to other persons prior to allowing the individual(s) to exercise their freedom of expression too. One need not go very far to realise that such an expression as made in the publication is already being challenged. To date we have affiliations such as Sibahle Sinje, SWADEPA, PUDEMO, etc and such affiliations are the yearnings of some emaSwati for political affiliation.
What the author is saying is that the statement as alleged in the publication and attributed to one of our senior citizens in the land is one-sided. It would be ideal for anyone not to say anything with regard to political parties until or unless those parties are also asked to express their views too.

God bless the Kingdom of Eswatini

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