MPUMALANGA BELONGS TO ESWATINI – SA PARTY

MBABANE – The historical land question that has bothered emaSwati for years has finally been answered.

This comes after a South African political party has publicly declared that part of the land in Mpumalanga belonged to the Kingdom of Eswatini.

The party, Freedom Front Plus (FFP), made the declaration in Mpumalanga on Tuesday, during the ongoing hearings on changing the South African Constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation.

According to the Sowetan newspaper, Ermelo, Warner Weber, who labelled himself as the spokesman for FFP on land, told the Joint Constitutional Review Committee that the land in Mpumalanga belonged to His Majesty King Mswati III.

The land in question is one that allegedly fell under the control of the Zulus at the time of colonial dispossession – a massive tract of urban and rural land in Mpumalanga.

Delegations

“I have received three delegations from the King of Eswatini. These three delegations agreed that the land in Mpumalanga was a property of emaSwati. The delegation agreed that the land was not stolen from the Eswatini people, but permanent settling rights were acquired by Hendricks Poetjiter through an exchange of 100 cattle in 1860, through the request of the King of Eswatini,” Weber was quoted saying by the newspaper and other media forums.

Furthermore, Weber went on to allege that land in the hands of whites was not stolen from black people. Instead, the party said it was black people who stole the land from the Khoisan.

“We did not steal the land and why must we sacrifice land that we were asked to come and settle in by the King of Eswatini. Now I have a counter question to you, when the black people 600 years ago crossed the Limpopo River, there were Khoisan here. The question is when you encountered the Khoisan, did you buy the land or did you negotiate with them or did you simply take the land?”  Weber allegedly asked to loud booing.

According to Wikipedia, the FFP is a national South African political party that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994.
Its mission, as on May 17, 2018, stipulated that it was irrevocably committed to the realisation of communities’, in particular the Afrikaners’ internationally recognised right to self-determination, territorial or otherwise; the maintenance, protection and promotion of their rights and interests, as well as the promotion of the right of self-determination of any other community, bound by a common language and cultural heritage in South Africa.

Its stated policy positions include a commitment to self determination in terms of Article 235 of the South African Constitution, amending affirmative action and land reform to protect the interests of Afrikaners and protecting the rights of minorities in an open democracy.

In March this year, the party launched a plan of action - called Fight Back South Africa - to stop expropriation of land without compensation.
The decision to hold public hearings follows a mandate by the South African National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces to ascertain whether a review of Section 25 and other clauses was necessary to make it possible for the State to expropriate land in the public interest without compensation.

Determination

The parliamentary committee will make a final determination after it has concluded its visits to the different provinces.
Since the hearings begun, South African media has reported that race relations between black and white people were discussed and took centre stage in the contributions made by members of the public.

According to News24, most participants echoed similar sentiments about land reform and its necessity, stating that black people were dispossessed of land since the arrival of Europeans in Southern Africa in the 1600s.
Called for comment, Chairperson of the Border Restoration Committee (BRC) Prince Guduza, confirmed that they were aware of the declaration as they were in attendance at the said meeting.

According to the prince, the committee was involved in the whole process that was currently taking place in the neighbouring country.
“We have been listening to all the submissions that had been made and we will present a comprehensive report when we return. There are a lot of other speakers who spoke on the issue, so we will have to prepare a proper report that will capture everything,” he said.

Controversy

The controversy regarding land in South Africa belonging to Eswatini has existed for years.
In 2012, the BRC, whose members included the late Fonono Dube, was reportedly considering reporting the neighbouring country to the United Nations (UN), for its lack of co-operation in negotiating a solution to the land dispute. Dube was quoted by local newspapers stating that they had resolved to take up the matter with the UN.

Interestingly, in 2013, Dube went on record saying the team had not achieved anything.
This was after he had abandoned it in fear for his life.

In his assessment, the committee had not achieved anything and if there was anything contrary to that, it should be tabled and declared publicly. However, before he died, the former army commander had indicated that Eswatini was preparing to follow up its land claim. He alleged that the committee was frustrated at having been stood up at the negotiating table by South Africa, which he said displayed a lack of courtesy.

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