LAZWIDE HOSTS THANKSGIVING DESPITE CHIEF’S OPPOSITION

SIPHOFANENI – As over 5 000 celebrated Siphofaneni Member of Parliament (MP) Nomalungelo LaZwide Simelane’s by-elections victory, her umphakatsi’s traditional authorities were not part of the event.

The Times SUNDAY learnt that the chief of the area, Prince Mshengu was against hosting  the event at God’s Grace Miracle Point International Church premises after it was ‘forced’ out of the inkhundla centre. It was revealed that Chief Mshengu vehemently opposed the event and LaZwide had to go against his wishes to host it at the church premises. It transpired that LaZwide was called into a meeting in the early hours of yesterday morning, just before the event began to give answers over the change of venue and the reason they moved out of the inkhundla centre.

KaMkhweli Bucopho Council Member Thami Sibandze narrated that they were called by Chief Mshengu’s Indvuna Ben Ngcamphalala in the morning, to clarify the reasons behind the change of venue. He said they received a call just when they were about to call the indvuna for a discussion on how the event would be handled. Sibandze explained that they had made an attempt to meet the indvuna on Friday, only to be told that he was indisposed. “Just when we were about to call the indvuna yesterday morning, we received a call that the chief wanted to see us over news that the event has been moved to the church. When we arrived we found the chief with other council members and assistant station commander and he first sought clarity on why the event was moved from the inkhundla centre. We explained in detail how everything happened. We told the chief that we were told to move the event out since the MP had invited the whole nation to the event. The chief then questioned the MP on the matter and she explained that she was supported by many people during her campaign and she intended to thank them during the event,” said Sibandze.

reasons

He further narrated that the chief questioned the real reasons behind the venue change and said the he was not convinced that they did not do anything wrong. Sibandze said the chief told them that he was going to investigate the reason behind the inkhundla ban. He said the chief emphasised that there was no reason enough for the event to be moved from the venue, since the MP was now a key member of the inkhundla and therefore all her events should be held at the inkhundla. “The chief made it clear that he does not accept the fact that the event was now going to be held at the church. LaZwide explained that since preparations for the event were already at an advanced stage, she was not able to cancel. She told the chief that her main worry was that if she cancelled the event; it would spark another social unrest. She explained that there was potential that the people would be chaotic if she decided to cancel, since they had already arrived. She was very respectful and explained that she would rather be at the mercy of the chief than to have people injured in her name,” said Sibandze. Sibandze explained that there was no one representing the chief and umphakatsi in the event because the chief made it clear that he was against the event and did not want it to happen.

lenient

He further highlighted that the chief was going to be represented during the event if it was held at the inkhundla centre, just as they had invited all the other imiphakatsi. He further said it was not possible for the event to be cancelled at taht time, therefore they chose to apologise and hope the chief would be lenient in dealing with the issue. “We are grateful that the event is going on and we will be approaching the umphakatsi to apologise further, since we  believe that our action was in the utmost good for everyone. I was personally excited at the fact that even the inkhundla council was able to support the MP at such a time. It was not promising, but we had to stand together and support her for the world to see that we are all one. As KaMkhweli Bucopho, I hope our chief will be able to forgive us for going ahead with the event since we were considering the best of the situation at hand,” he said. The umphakatsi was not present and Indvuna Ngcamphalala, who usually represents indlunkhulu (the chieftaincy), was also not present on the day. Worth noting was the conspicuous absence of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) in the event. Yet it is the norm for police presence whenever there were public events which would see mass gatherings take place.

manned

There was no police officer in sight and the traffic was manned by marshals, provided by the people of Siphofaneni and some members of the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO). The event proceeded without any incidents until late into the night. When quizzed on the early events leading to the beginning of the thanksgiving celebration, LaZwide requested not to comment and said the event went well and anything else was going to be dealt with later. When contacted for a comment, Indvuna Ngcamphalala said he was not part of the meeting and was not sure what was discussed. He said he was in hospital and could not attend to issues from the royal kraal. “I am not aware of whether they met the chief or what they discussed since I have been sick. I cannot even confirm whether they reported the change of venue or not and therefore I am not able to assist you with the information you are asking,” said Ngcamphalala. An attempt to call Chief Mshengu was made at around 8pm yesterday and the number he was called on could not go through.

no malicious intent

Addressing the audience through a phone call, SWALIMO President Mduduzi ‘Gawuzela’ Simelane thanked the chief for the guidance and said there was no malicious intent in hosting the event at the church premises but it was the only place they could think of at such short notice and they viewed  it as a safe space. “I know that as a chief of the area we might have gotten you into troubling by bringing  the event to the church premises but we want to assure you that there was no malicious intent but only for the thanksgiving to go ahead. We are grateful and I want you to know that I am not against you or anyone, in fact I love you as my chief but I cannot stop telling the truth when the truth is the only thing that is needed,” said ‘Gawuzela’.

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