FAMILY ACCUSES MP OF USING PARENTS’ DEATH TO CAMPAIGN

MANZINI – Amid mourning their parents’ untimely death, a Khumalo family’s focus was diverted to fighting an alleged ‘opportunist’ Member of Parliament.

Sandleni Member of Parliament James Simelane was accused of taking advantage of a family from Mooihoek in the Shiselweni region. The family is said to have lost two members, their mother and father in a space of a day.
According to the deceased’s firstborn child, Mancoba Khumalo, Simelane, through the Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Service (SBIS), said the family was destitute and in need of assistance to help bury its two members, who died from undisclosed illnesses. Khumalo said the family had never engaged the MP requesting for his help in burying their parents. He said the family was surprised to learn from the SBIS evening news bulletin that they were unable to raise funds to bury their parents. He said what further shocked them was the fact that Simelane was the one who reportedly confirmed the news without even consulting them prior to the report.

The news report also revealed that the wife died on Friday while the husband died the following day when mourners had gone to convey their condolences to the family. Khumalo said this information was false as their mother passed away on Sunday evening, while their father died the following day in the evening. After the news broadcast, Khumalo said other family members and relatives were agitated and phone calls streamed in, where they (children) were questioned why they had gone to the media when their father was a well-off person with livestock and other sources of funds since he had recently retired. Furthermore, Khumalo said all four of his siblings were employed and able to take care of the funeral expenses. “What surprised us the most is the fact that Simelane is not even our Member of Parliament and also that he never consulted with us before disseminating the information to the media,” said Khumalo. Further, the dejected siblings said they entertained Simelane only as a pastor of the church their late mother attended.

“When he came to see us on Tuesday, he asked what we needed and since everything was almost taken care of, we only requested that he assists us with more chairs because we expected more people to attend the funeral,” he said.
Khumalo accused Simelane of taking advantage of their bereavement in advancing his political gains. He said when Simelane was confronted on the matter, he apologised and claimed he was contacted by a Shiselweni-based reporter from SBIS and that he directed the journalist to the family. He said SBIS was contacted to set the record straight and the news editor apologised. “She apologised and said a statement would be run on air,” said Khumalo.
However, Khumalo said the family wanted the retraction to be made in the news; the same platform that was used to disseminate the information. “We wanted the correction to be made in the same platform that was used to communicate with the rest of the nation so that everyone would know the truth,” he said. He added that should this not be done, legal action would be taken against Simelane and the broadcasting station.

When sought for comment, SBIS Director Martin Dlamini said he was not aware of the matter and therefore referred questions to the News Editor Ncamsile Matsebula. Matsebula said she could not comment on behalf of the company, as this was the prerogative of the director.

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