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PM RUSSELL A SENIOR PASTOR

05/11/2023 16:44:00 Mfanukhona Nkambule

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LOGOBA – During the People’s Parliament, emaSwati advised His Majesty the King to appoint a God-fearing prime minister.

Joana Vilakati, the mother of newly-appointed Prime Minister (PM), Russell Dlamini, says her son is a senior pastor. He leads a church at Nhlambeni, outside Manzini. The church is called Africa Faith Mission (AFM). He is not just an elder of the church or assistant clergy, but Russell is a senior pastor. Actually, he leads the church. Asked how she felt about the appointment of her son, Vilakati said there was a hand of God in this royal appointment. The 77-year-old woman said His Majesty King Mswati III carried the mandate of God when he appointed Pastor Russell as prime minister. “God used King Mswati to appoint Russell,” she said.

She then congratulated the head of State on appointing a PM of Russell’s calibre. She said a human being was bound to make mistakes in life, but she was happy to see the King appointing God-fearing leaders like her son, Russell. Vilakati said Russell and all her children grew up knowing two important pillars for life – education and Jesus Christ. “I used to organise a weekly children’s church service in my home. It was specifically meant for my children. During the service, I got the opportunity to dedicate all my children to God,” she said.
The retired clerk of the Central Transport Administration (CTA), said the PM went to Bible School to study priesthood. She pointed out that Russell ‘is a natural hardworking man’, indoors and outdoors, mainly in the fields (ukhutsele).

She said her son would clean a house as if he was a cleaning specialist. “You can say the fridge, floor or kitchen sink has been cleaned by a woman when in fact Russell did,” she said.
She said it was befitting to associate her son with decency or neatness. “He’s a very smart guy and dresses nicely,” she said. She said the premier is a responsible man. “I would wake up in the morning to find that Russel has baked some buns for his younger sibling and put them nicely in a lunchbox,” she said.

initiative

Furthermore, she mentioned that her son did not need to be reminded to do something or participate in household chores as he often took the initiative. Asked if Russell came to check on her after he was appointed as prime minister by the King on Friday, Vilakati said he made a phone call to tell her of what happened at the cattle byre on Friday. “I was in bed taking a rest by the time the King appointed him. I was awakened by calls from relatives telling me that Russell has been appointed as prime minister,” the PM’s mother narrated, adding that he oftentimes visited her on Sundays after church services. Russell’s father, Stephen Sipho Dlamini could not have the privilege to honour the King for appointing his son as the next PM, as he sadly died two years ago. Stephen worked for the King’s Office, serving both King Sobhuza II and King Mswati III.

The prime minister is married and has two children. Vilakati explained that she taught her children to abstain from sexual intercourse until marriage. She said she advised them against having children outside marriage. She is happy that they obeyed her instructions. She also revealed that Russell is a former teacher. He was a teacher at Masundvwini High School. He also went to the same school until Form III,then went on to do his senior secondary education at St. Mark’s High School in Mbabane. The PM’s mother said her son Russell and daughter, Thobile, were pursuing their PhDs. “I know they will pass because they work hard,” she said, adding that the others were also doing well in their diverse disciplines. The PM has seven siblings – Thuli, Human, Muzi, Obed (deceased), Nqobile, Thobile and Sicelo. Russell is a member of the extended royal family. His home is built on land given to his grandfather by royalty. This newspaper cannot disclose the location of the home for security reasons. Vilakati does not recall the precise age of Russell. The woman may be forgiven as she said she was sickly and old age has caught up with her.

project

She estimated that his son could be in the age bracket of 48 or 50 years. Russell is yet to take an oath as a member of the House of Assembly. There were no worshippers when we visited his church yesterday morning. Neighbours said Christians came on Sundays to worship God. It looked like the church has embarked on a project to build a new sanctuary, which is so big that it can accommodate about 4 000-5 000 people. The church has a preschool and some staff houses. Reverend Zachariah Mthethwa, the Director of Voice of the Church, described the newly-appointed PM as a strategic thinker, one who leads from a strategic perspective. The pastor mentioned that the PM is a courageous man, fearless and focused. He wrote this tribute in the PM’s LinkedIn page. Scott John Morrison, who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022, is also a pastor. In 2021, Morrison asked a national conference of Christian churches to help him help Australia, while revealing his belief that he and his wife, Jenny, were called upon to do God’s work. It is worth mentioning that the prime minister met former USA President Bill Clinton, while he was working for World Vision in Rwanda.

PM on LGBTQI+

Meanwhile, the prime minister, if a letter from the LGBTQI+ is anything to go by; holds strong views about homosexuality or rather transgender. Melusi Simelane, the Founding Executive Director of Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities, said the prime minister should have a meeting with them to discuss issues of inclusitivity. He said the comments that he made about homosexuality did not go down well with them. Resultantly, he said they wrote a letter of complaint to Themba Masuku, the former Deputy Prime Minister. The letter was dated September 1, 2020. Following a post that he shared on social media and WhatsApp, requesting people to sign a petition advocating for decriminalisation of same-sex intimacy between consenting adults, he said Russell expressed very hateful and offensive remarks, using language meant to undermine the lesbians, gays, transgender, queer or intersex, asexual and others (LGBTQI+).

Simelane said he asked Masuku to intervene because the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), where the prime minister was a CEO, fell under the DPM’s jurisdiction. He attached some screenshots on his conversation with the former NDMA CEO to the letter. “I am wondering how on earth were Africans convinced to accept butabani (homosexuality) and reject polygamy,” reads one of the messages, which Simelane attributed to the now premier. “Mr Dlamini (Russell) knew exactly where he was taking this conversation. When probed by the group of peers in the platform, whose link is a benefactor of our past work, he fired back. This time he used the old and tired narrative of religious extremism and fanaticism – the old ‘abomination’ narrative,” reads the letter written for the attention of the DPM’s Office.

The now premier, according to the attachments in the letter, also advised as follows: “Polygamy by all means is easier to understand and accept but being gay is not acceptable in most African cultures and faiths. It is considered an abomination.”

“When Mr Russell refers to my sexual orientation as an abomination, not only is he condemning me in religious terms, he is further purporting that my existence and that of many who are like me causes disgust,” the founding executive director said. Simelane, the Executive Director, raised concern that if Russell was allowed to carry on unchallenged in his audacious, ill-informed and malicious sentiments, they were actually painting a picture that was bleak and very hurtful for the young LGBTQI+ people. The now premier then summed it up in this fashion: “Finally, emaSwati are tolerant, we live with LGBTQI +’s in harmony. Please, refrain from advertising it. For your own information, I have a friend of mine, a former classmate who is gay, but educated and civilised. We have discussed the subject at hand and remain respectful friends.” It could not be immediately ascertained how the DPM’s Office handled the matter as it was specifically given to Masuku to look into it. However, Masuku, the ex-DPM, could not be sought for comment last night as he was no longer representing the interests of government.

policy

At 8pm, the prime minister had not responded to questions texted to him. Alpheous Nxumalo, the Government Press Secretary, said the prime minister was not bringing with himself his personal views into office as government policy. Even then, he wondered how the prime minister’s views on this particular community would be considered a threat to them. Nxumalo said the subject of LGBTQI+ was under discussion worldwide and has been a subject of litigation in recent months in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The government press secretary said views did differ and all people in the universe held different views. He said the difference in opinion should be acceptable to LGBTQI+ community without being hoodwinked by them into landing blind support for their existence. “The prime minister will not impose his personal views in office, but at the same time, he is entitled to them like the rest of us,” Nxumalo said.

On another note, the prime minister served as the chief executive officer of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA). The King appointed him to lead government business in Parliament during the official closing of the People’s Parliament – Sibaya. This happened at Ludzidzini Royal Residence, the Queen Mother’s residence, which is considered as the country’s traditional headquarters. He succeeds Cleopas Sipho Dlamini who held the office for two and half years. Cleopas had succeeded Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini who died in December 2020.

On another note, the prime minister also worked for Virtue Consulting, an entity that assists development agencies, government departments and businesses to realise their goals.
He led a company that provided strategic consulting, including business plans and strategy development, development of innovative projects, resource acquisition, and providing project management support. He was responsible for mentorship and leadership support to individuals, developing businesses and organisations, and also ensuring sustainability of local economic development and agribusiness. He also worked for World Vision International, where he was an interim national director from June 2010 to September 2010 and also served as an integrated programmes director from October 2009 to June 2010.