Communist Party of Swaziland calls for support for NAPSAWU

The Communist Party of Swaziland expresses its full solidarity with the National Public Servants and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) in its landmark court victory and the battle for its full implementation, commencing this Friday 12 December, to upgrade the pay of hospital orderlies.

The case involves money squirreled away by the Mswati regime for its own use instead of being used as was stipulated to meet the pay requirements of about 1 000 hospital orderlies – some of the lowest paid public sector workers – for whom NAPSAWU had won a pay scale upgrade from A2 to A4.

This union had scored an important victory in improving the pay of hospital orderlies, from a paltry E2 500 to nearly E 6 000, a more civilised living wage (though only just). In addition, the workers were to receive a larger housing allowance of E601, up from E325 a month, plus an occupational health allowance because of exposure to infectious diseases at work.

The package also came with a deal that future recruitment of all non-academic and non-specialist jobs in the health service would be open to existing staff – a welcome concession that would see more varied positions, such as ambulance driving, being occupied by women.

The pay package was supposed to have been implemented from January this year. But the government reneged on the deal and has refused the pay scale upgrade. It now owes the workers millions in unpaid wages.

The wider context is a familiar and simple one. The toxically parasitic Mswati regime is continually squeezing cash from the state budget to sustain itself.

This is one of the main reasons why crucially important parts of the public sector – education, health, basic services – have been pared down until they are barely able to function. Charity and overseas aid is used to fill some of the gaps, but this is ineffectual, lopsided and not subject to any policy coherence.

In the area of health, this is also a main reason why Swaziland has the world’s worst rates of HIV and TB. Treatment is piecemeal, which is why many Swazis regularly flee to health clinics in South Africa to get ARVs and other drugs. Thousands of Swazis die every year needlessly, and solely because the Mswati regime refuses essential public spending. This is a crime of genocide pure and simple.

The regime has lost no time in attacking the NAPSAWU and trying to dislodge its President, Quinton Dlamini, including by threats to his family. Mswati is furious that the union is using his courts to try to reinstate the workers’ pay rise. His stance is part of his unrelenting efforts to crush or emasculate the trade union movement in Swaziland.

We therefore call for widespread solidarity with the NAPSAWU, and that unions and union federations everywhere closely monitor the situation. The regime is bound to come down heavily on the union and on the pickets planned to protest for better pay and conditions for health workers.

Long live NAPSAWU!

Justice for public sector health workers!

Long live working class solidarity!

Break the chains of oppression in Swaziland!

Contact

Kenneth Kunene

General Secretary

+27 72 594 3971

Remembering 9 - 10 December 2007; When University of Swaziland burned down

This week I recall 9 December 2007, the night when we, students of the University of Swaziland (UNISWA), scored a memorable victory over the historically all-powerful UNISWA Senate, the University Council and the government of Swaziland. At that time I was not a member of the Student Representative Council (SRC).

The day was a Sunday, but it was clearly not a normal Sunday. The whole week the weather had been unkindly hot but for some reason on this particular Sunday the drizzling rain decided to pay us a little visit.

[ALSO READ: Ten steps towards being the Perfect Revolutionary]

By this time we were collectively known as the ‘Choir.’ All students belonged to this ‘Choir.’ The 9^th of December is not a story about the day of 9 December per se. It is a story that shall always remain a point of reference and inspiration to many in so far as student activism is concerned. The broader mass democratic movement of Swaziland can also learn important things such as utmost commitment, and the importance of resolutely sticking together and forging ahead notwithstanding vicious attacks from the enemy in order to attain the desired goal. 9 December 2007 is therefore about a story of the people of Swaziland.

To bring everybody on board it is important to briefly trace the events that led to the all-important day of 9 December, 2007. When we came to register for the 2007/08 academic year in August 2007 we discovered that the university Senate had willy-nilly imposed a concept called ‘semesterization’ on all students, even to those on whom the semesterization concept was extraneous. The worst thing was that they had done it without consulting the students. The Senate had imported wholesale a concept they had seen working in other countries without bothering to analyse how those international universities were implementing that programme and thereby see the best way of implementing it in Swaziland. No consultation whatsoever was ever conducted.

For these reasons we started protesting against such tyranny. It was always believed that when the Senate had decided on an issue, no one could ever overturn it; all was decided and all was final, so said some of the cowards! But this breed of students was just about to rewrite the books of history. A court case was even launched with the High Court to force the Senate to consult us. Countless court journeys were made, but we were unsuccessful in a case presided over by Maphalala, J, who told us that we should go back and exhaust internal remedies. We strongly disagreed with the judge. It was a wrong decision. By the time judgment was passed the university premises were already controlled by the police. Riot police with big bullet-proof tankers had already set up camp with an order to violently deal with the students if the need arose.

Despite disagreeing with the Judge’s decision, we nevertheless respected it because of his statement that we must sit down with the Senate and resolve this issue. At this stage we had managed to mobilise the majority of students to such an extent that no classes took place when we had a students’ meeting or protest action. Such unity had never been seen probably since the early 1990s.

We were shocked by the narcissistic and egocentric Senate’s egregious decision to continue with the implementation of the programme despite the court’s order for the reconstitution of the consultation table. This move enraged us. We instantaneously resolved to continue with class boycotts, and that we were not going to write examination unless proper consultation took place. I remember very well that even the signing of continuous assessment marks became the most evil thing to be done by any student. Signing them simply meant that you were finally giving in to the Senate’s dictatorship, thereby a traitor.

The Senate tried the old divide-and-rule tactic of shutting down the university and sending all students home, but it always failed this time. We always planned ahead for such eventualities and were able to mobilise students even when the university was shut down.

A few days before the 9^th of December we made a court application for an urgent interdict staying the illegal examinations which had been scheduled to commence on the 10^th of December. However, Justice Mbutfo Mamba dismissed our case. The decision was delivered without reasons on the 9^th of December 2007. We were not satisfied with this judgment too. In fact we were furious!  

We therefore resolved to have a ‘night vigil’ in one of the small classes. It was in this vigil that we resolved that there only people who would stop the exams was not the Senate, not the courts, not prayer, but the students themselves. It was clear to us all that unless we did something ourselves our future was doomed. Everybody started running outside and in about an hour the whole University was on fire.

In the morning of December 10, we made it impossible for first examination papers to take place. We stomped the gate and ensured that no one went in or out. The Senate later yielded to our demands and the December examinations were postponed indefinitely. We had won against the so-called mighty Senate of the University of Swaziland.

One of the most important lessons of December 9, a night which some of the students later called ‘A bright Sunday Night’, is that unity in action will always prevail over anything. Unity of boardrooms and useless meetings never works! This is why all the students who sacrificed everything they had in order to see semesterization dead will always have a special place in my heart.

Of course, after the burning down of the university many people suddenly woke up from wherever they had been sleeping and called the students many bad names anybody can think of. Times of Swaziland’s Managing Editor, Martin Dlamini, who happens to be King Mswati’s speech writer, even referred to us as barbarians, hooligans and bandits. This was so foolish for a respected man who had been silent all the time when the Senate was roughshodly imposing an academic system on the students, but only to wake up after the consequences. I could tell from the reading of his article that he was not thinking. If he was thinking then he was not thinking properly. Blaming a child for crying will not stop her or him from crying if you do not stop the violent adult who keeps assaulting her or him. 

Conclusion

As the UNISWA students of 2007 proved to all, there is no struggle that can ever be won by following the rules of the enemy. Some rules are so unjust that we must necessarily violate them. The Senate closed down the university every time we boycotted classes, hoping to dampen our spirits, but every time when we returned we continued with the struggle more fiercely than before. We went to the point of defying all court decisions, something which still needs to be assimilated into the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM) in the fight against the royal dictatorship of Swaziland!  

Back then we were united, but this unity did not fall from the sky. We had to build it. The struggle would not have been won if a tiny but resolute minority of students had not done serious mobilisation and conscientisation on a daily basis. I am proud to have been part of such group. In this group we met before and after any student body meeting in order to thoroughly analyse meetings and direction. Amazingly, none of us were even SRC members, but we were more influential than the SRC of that time. No students’ resolution was ever adopted without our endorsing it, and no students’ resolution was ever adopted without our giving input. We were effectively the unelected leadership of the whole university. This is one of the important factors that the Swaziland struggle lacks; the influential unelected leadership of the people! 

[ALSO READ: Umntfwana Longakhali Ufela eSwatini]

ANC Conflicted on Swaziland: Can it be trusted?

(By Pius Vilakati, writing as Mr Pius Rinto)

It is unfortunate, very unfortunate, that whenever we talk about Swaziland’s royal regime and its brutality on the people, particularly on the economic sphere, we must necessarily be forced to include the African National Congress (ANC) in that same hot pot. Sadly, some of our comrades, for whatever reason we are not aware of, always try to shut us down when it comes to this matter, when the fact of the matter is clear to us all that the ANC, wittingly or unwittingly, supports the regime, just like other imperialist forces. We can try to refute anyhow we want, but the ANC’s position in Swaziland is seriously conflicted!

We love the ANC, we support it, but this does not mean that we must agree with everything it does. When it comes to the Swaziland struggle, we will not hesitate to speak! This is a struggle which directly affects us every second! Some of us would rather remain poor forever than to bend principles and condone the ANC-Tinkhundla business venture at the expense of the oppressed! 

It is encouraging, however, that the voices against such positioning of the ANC are growing. An example is the statement of the Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS), dated 5 December 2014. It is reproduced in full hereunder with great approval:

CPS urges strong solidarity with Maloma colliery workers

The Communist Party of Swaziland expresses its full solidarity with the striking miners and colliery workers at the Maloma coal mine, in the Lubombo region of our country and denounce any pressures for brusque call off of the strike without meeting of demands.

We call on all workers and trade unions in Swaziland, South Africa and beyond to support the miners’ claim for better pay and conditions.

The posturing by the Mswati regime’s police force is typical of the dictatorship’s treatment of workers and unions: intimidation and the threat of violence, if not actual violence.

The miners are organized under the Mining, Quarrying and Allied Workers Union (MQAWU), an affiliate to TUCOSWA, the union federation proscribed by the regime.

The Maloma mine is 75% owned by Chancellor House, the in-house investment firm of South Africa’s African National Congress.

The other 25% is owned by Tibiyo Taka Ngwane, a billion-rand consortium. It is supposedly held in trust by Mswati III for the Swazi nation but in reality is one of the absolute monarch’s private income channels. In Maloma mine, such channels are watched over by Mswati’s brothers, Phinda and Themba Dlamini as directors.

The CPS calls on Chancellor House, as the principal owner of the mine, to come out strongly against police intimidation of and heavy-handed tactics against the miners. The Maloma management must oppose Mswati’s unwise ratcheting up of tensions by deploying heavily armed officers.

Pressure must also be put on the Maloma to behave in a civilized manner toward the strikers and stop refusing strikers water, sanitation and medical treatment. Management must get back to the negotiating table and accept that the strikers have a strong case for better pay and conditions.

The miners are striking in defence of their claim for E425 pay increment and E800 housing allowance, plus better workplace conditions.

Claims that the miners are paid well above the minimum wage (they are paid less than their South African counterparts), of E600 a month for skilled workers are, in the view of the CPS, meaningless as the minimum wage is itself a poverty wage and in insult to any employee.

The strikers are challenging an interdict imposed by management to prohibit picketing outside the workplace – a basic trade union right during industrial action. Instead pickets have been made to congregate some distance from the entrance to the mine.

Chancellor House and Tibiyo Taka Ngwane have a previous bad record of behaviour towards the miners and the local community, having earlier this year resisted beneficiation claims to improve conditions in the surrounding community.

The CPS is appalled that a company that abides by basic trade union and community rights in its home country is happy to disregard them in another for profit and simply because it can get away with it.

The CPS urges the WFTU and trade unionists and left parties to closely monitor the Maloma strike and to highlight the plight of workers at the colliery.

Amandla!

Contact

Kenneth Kunene

General Secretary

072 594 3971

Felix Mabaso

International Organiser

074 922 8277

Ten steps towards being the Perfect Revolutionary

(By Pius Vilakati, writing as Mr Pius Rinto)

Introduction

This short article is written for all comrades all over the world, but primarily for comrades of Swaziland. All comrades have a wish to be like other popular revolutionaries Like Chris Hani, Moses Kotane, Joe Slovo, Fidel Castro, Vladimir Lenin, and many other “perfect” revolutionaries. Sadly, a good formula towards that goal has never been tabled for all comrades to follow. Consequently, they find themselves committing too many mistakes before they can actually make a revolution in their country or continent. By that time they are at an old age and consequently go to the grave still having that wish. But comrades do not need to reach old age before they can be perfect revolutionaries. Comrades must ensure that they are perfect revolutionaries before they attain the age of thirty-five.

The reference to “comrades” is used to refer generally to the different people engaged in the struggle for freedom in Swaziland and beyond. Even people who are not members of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), or the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) or the Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) have constantly referred to themselves as comrades. We have, for instance, many comrades who are priests, pastors, reverends, bishops, and so on, and in NGOs.

[ALSO READ: Who is the real head in the family? The wife or husband? Apostle Paul responds]

Comrades who do not know what they need to do in order to be on the route towards being perfect revolutionaries should no longer despair because these easy-to-follow steps will, within one year, transform an ordinary comrade or member of an organisation into a revolutionary, and from there be on the progressive route towards being the perfect revolutionary. For the first time in the history of the Swaziland struggle, you are presented with the most important ten steps towards being the perfect revolutionary that you have always wished to be, right here.

1.    Read and Write

All revolutionaries must read and write. Reading and writing must always complement each other. Since you also wish to be a revolutionary you must practice these. Reading and writing is a practical exercise. In order to get better you must do it on a daily basis.

Read everything; from news, to opinion pieces, to mere notices on walls and chart boards. The reading of revolutionary material, such as the works of Karl Marx, is encouraged. But you may be surprised that even Karl Marx had to read a lot of capitalist and oppressive writings in order to critique them. That is why you should also read everything. Do not be put off by your comrades when they accuse you of reading capitalist material or of sometimes mingling with capitalists. It is an important step.

Whilst you must read the news every day, you must also learn the skill of collecting news yourself and putting them in writing. This goes a long way in sharpening your writing skills. When you see the bulky writings of great revolutionaries like Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Lenin and Mao Zedong, amongst others, it is easy to be discouraged and see the feat as impossible. But they also started somewhere.

All great writers must start by writing a small paragraph in expressing their opinions. If they do this more regularly, they keep getting better at it and in no time they find themselves writing thick and classic books. Thus, you should do the same. Aim to write a short paragraph on any issue on a daily basis, even if you are not going to publish it. If you do this, you will find that within a year you have attained the skill of writing a whole book.

2.    Upgrade yourself academically

Many comrades make the mistake of believing that a perfect revolutionary is one who has attained qualifications in the field of the Social Sciences in general, and Political Science in particular. Any field of study will open your mind. So do not be misled. For instance, a comrade who has studied Agriculture and practiced in its field will make an invaluable contribution when the agrarian revolution is being implemented. Even a study in engineering is vital. You do not necessarily have to attain a Degree or Master’s Degree in any field for you to be said to have studied. The most important thing is to constantly improve yourself academically from whatever academic level you are in at that particular period. Even those with high qualifications such as PHD must seek to improve themselves academically, and thus open new worlds for themselves (their minds) to explore.

Again here, as in point 1 above, allow yourself to start small; a three-month certificate course, a six-month certificate course, and before you know it you will be attaining your diploma. Keep growing!

3.    Take up leadership positions

Basically, all comrades, one way or the other, find themselves in organisations. It can be churches, NGOs, community police, deep tank stations, schools, companies, and so on. In all these organisations there always comes a time when people must be elected or appointed into committees. When members have shown confidence in you, simply take up that position. It shall be easy for members to show confidence in you, and for you to be able to position yourself well for key positions, if you have been consistently doing 1 and 2 above. Taking up leadership positions will enable you to earn priceless leadership experience. This is something you will not even have to go to college for. You will get it in the concrete conditions on the ground as you lead.

4.     Contest power

Revolutionaries are always engaged in revolutions. Revolutions are not about carefully picking roses and applying make-up on yourself trying to look good to everyone. At a certain point you must contest power in the organisations or community you are part of.

It does not matter if you lose. Contest power even if you know that you will lose. What is important is that you should not be alone in such contests. Work with others with whom you have a common goal.

In the future democratic Swaziland we will be engaged in election campaigns and other testing campaigns. Contesting power today will hone your skills in so far as future campaigns are concerned. Experience the pain of losing, the joy of winning and the immense challenges that come with winning. When you lose, for instance, you will learn how to handle a loss, likewise when you win you will learn how to handle victory.

People who will tell you that you must never contest power are misleading you. In any event, political parties are always engaged in contesting state power, and workers of the world, as the Communist Manifesto famously says, have a world to win.

5.    Learn to work with others

Individuals may inspire populations towards a certain direction, but it is populations that will make revolutions possible. No matter how intelligent an individual can be, they will in many instances find that they must engage with others and plan programmes together. Terminators and Rambos can never wage revolutions. Revolutions are the festivals of the oppressed, as Lenin stated. No matter how intelligent the great revolutionaries of the past were, they always found greater strength in the group. They shared ideas, debated them, agreed and disagreed on other issues, and so on. A lone-ranger is nowhere close to being a revolutionary. The so-called “communists” who do not want to affiliate with Communist Parties are nowhere close to being communists!

Come to think of it, even people who believe in the existence of a God do not hold the view that only one “super” being was involved in the creation of the world or universe. Those who regard ancestors highly also believe that deceased ancestors work together in order to bring down blessings “from above.”

[ALSO READ: Umntfwana Longakhali Ufela eSwatini]

6.    Learn about other issues beyond general politics

If you immense yourself exclusively on political material you will find that the society you seek to conscientise has changed drastically and you are still caught up in 1917. The society you seek to change is constantly engaged in sports and entertainment, weddings, funerals and so on. If you are not aware of such issues that happen around you then you may as well forget about being the perfect revolutionary. Thus, you must always seek to know who the top rugby player is in a particular era, for instance, or which song is enjoyed widely in parties and other ceremonies.

If you do this, you will learn that all of life is connected to politics, all life is politics and that human beings are political beings by nature. Thus you cannot separate humanity from all of this. This is why those who continuously proclaim that “the struggle cannot be Face-booked” are continuously finding themselves on the wrong side of history.

7.    Open your ears – shut your mouth

When you have been able to do all the things mentioned above it is easy to fall into the temptation of thinking that you are a super-revolutionary, that you, and only you, have answers to all questions raised, and that everyone else is wrong. This is incorrect and it will lead you to your own destruction. No matter how much you view other people’s opinons, you must nevertheless learn to listen to them. How will you correct them if you have not listened thoroughly to what they say? Through other people’s views you will be able to grow yours and sharped them. You will also learn that you are not alone in this world. It will teach you the art of making a revolutionary compromise when debates seem to be approaching a dead end. Thus, stop talking and start listening.

8.    Question everything

If you have read all the points made above and yet you have not questioned anything that has been said, then something is terribly wrong with you. Something is awfully wrong with you if you also have not questioned the fact that only “ten steps” are being provided in order to be the perfect revolutionary or the fact that there are steps in the first place.

Further, you need to be killed if you have not questioned the above paragraph under this sub-heading. The point that is being made here is that you must always question everything. Nothing is always as it seems. We are living in a capitalist world today, but it has not always been a capitalist world and it will not always be a capitalist world. Capitalism will fall just like feudalism, slavery and other past systems also fell. Karl Marx’s favourite motto was doubt everything, his idea of happiness was to fight, and his idea of misery was to submit. Follow this step and in 100 revolutions you wage you shall be victorious.

9.    Get some rest

There is a popular saying that revolutionaries only rest when they are dead. Revolutionaries, indeed, must be daily engaged in the struggle. This helps them to be pro-active in whatever they do. Notwithstanding this, all revolutionaries must at some point rest. Your mind and body can only function well only up to a certain limit. Many revolutionaries have no choice but to keep stretching their minds far beyond the normal or average limits. Try as best as you can to find some resting time nonetheless. Create a 25^th hour for yourself so that you can use it to rest. When you have reached the stage of being able to create this 25^th hour for yourself, then you will know that you are closer to being the definition of the perfect revolutionary.

In this era of smartphones and many other digital gadgets, you should find that it is well-nigh impossible to get some time to rest and not be disturbed. Switch off all your gadgets, including your cell-phones, and then take a guilt-free rest. Taking a rest is as important as working hard.

10.  Be imperfect

The point here is that you should learn that you are an imperfect being. You will make mistakes in the process, mistakes which you never have to necessarily apologise for. If you do not think that Karl Marx ever made mistakes then you need to re-read point number 8 above.

A revolution is a continuously ongoing process. Friedrich Engels once said, nothing is stable except instability, nothing is immovable except movement. Thus, what was true 500 years ago may not necessarily be true today. Society is constantly developing. Thus, you must acknowledge the fact that you do make mistakes and are imperfect. You must embrace change, allow yourself to make mistakes. People who never make mistakes are those who have never done anything at all. Such people are the greatest mistake of the world.

This article has “ten steps” towards being a “perfect” revolutionary. “Perfect” revolutionaries will always find, after a long careful analysis, that they are imperfect. They will then seek assistance from other people. Even doctors must every now and then consult other doctors and in many instances will consult nurses and social workers. They do this because they understand that they are imperfect. You must also understand this fact.

Lastly, under this very sub-heading, you must understand that there need not necessarily be “ten steps” towards being the perfect revolutionary or towards being anything at all. The author of this article has also demonstrated that he is also full of imperfections, so much that he even forgot to end this article with a proper conclusion as he was taught in high school and university. Oh how imperfect he is! [ALSO READ: International Criminal Court and al-Bashir: Imagine King Mswati were charged by ICC]

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[1] An Article In Memory of Comrade Alex Langwenya who passed away on 7 October 2014. He was the 1^st Secretary General of PUDEMO, elected in February 2014 PUDEMO Congress. 

Communist Party of Swaziland mourns the loss of Comrade Alex Langwenya

The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) is mourning the loss of one of the finest cadres of the Swazi liberation movement, Comrade Alex Langwenya, a CPS member and Deputy Secretary General of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO).

Cde Langwenya had been ill for the last few months, and was admitted to Mbabane government hospital last week, where he died early on the morning of 7 October 2014.

Cde Langwenya held many positions in the leadership of the liberation movement since the late 1990s. He was National Organiser, Political Commissar and President of the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO).

He was also an active trade unionist, first as a member of the Swaziland Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union, and then as a shop steward and executive official of the union in the then SAPPI branch.

He was a brave and committed comrade, who endured harassment, detention, arrest and torture at the hands of Mswati’s police, and routinely charged with various political crimes, including sedition, by the regime – the crimes of fighting for the freedom of the Swazi people. The regime also tried to silence Cde Langwenya by bombing his home at night while he slept.

Cde Langwenya took an active part in the CPS from its formation stage and was a much loved and valued comrade who resolutely championed the struggle for socialism in Swaziland.

CPS extends condolences to the PUDEMO family, Langwenya family, her wife Nonhlanhla, colleagues in the workplace and profession and his community at Ntshanini in the Shiselweni Region.

He will be remembered for his never lapsing commitment to the struggle of the working class and poor people of Swaziland and world over.

Contact 

Kenneth Kunene

General Secretary 

072 594 3971

SWAZILAND SOLIDARITY NETWORK MOURNS PUDEMO LEADER

SSN- STATEMENT: October 10th, 2014 

The Swaziland Solidarity Network is deeply saddened by the untimely death of the Second Deputy Secretary General of the People’s United Democratic Movement [PUDEMO] Comrade Alex LaNgwenya. He also served diligently as President of the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO). We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to his family, to PUDEMO, the mass democratic movement as a whole and the people of Swaziland who were touched by his selfless contribution towards efforts for the full democratization of his mother land Swaziland.

We hope that all Swazis, comrades, his family, and friends may find comfort in the fact that Comrade LaNgwenya positively touched the lives of our people and made sacrifices in the quest for freedom and a better life for all. What a huge, loss this has been to all of us. It has been a great honour to be blessed by his presence, influence and contribution to the Mass Democratic Movement. It is now our duty to continue to fight for the values which brought us in contact with his humble comrade. May his Loving caring and Soul rest in peace.

Long live the spirit of Comrade Alex long live!!!!!

Issued by the Swaziland Solidarity Network [SSN]

Contact: 

Lucky Lukhele-spokesperson

082 469 1421

This Day in Swaziland History; Revolutionaries MJ Dlamini and Jack Govendor were killed

The Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), through its chairperson, Comrade Solly Afrika Mapaila, commemorates the death of Comrades Musa MJ Dlamini and Jack Govender who died on this day in 2008. The royal regime later arrested Comrade Amos Mbedzi and has since sentenced him to 85 years in prison. SSN also calls upon the government of South Africa to take a clear revolutionary stand against the royal dictatorship of Swaziland. The full statement follows below.

TO THE UNDYING MEMORY OF OUR MARTYRS FOR FREEDOM STRUGGLE IN SWAZILAND: LONG LIVE YOUR SELFLESSNESS AND COURAGE.

As we write this message today, the democratic winds of change are blowing across the lands of dictators, across the world and surely will reach the shores of absolute monarchical dictatorship of King Mswati III in Swaziland.

We need a strong protest movement to demand democracy and freedom in Swaziland. We owe it to ourselves and the dedicated struggles of those already martyred for the freedom of Swaziland. Equally so, we should remain cognisant of the imperialist forces that brought about cosmetic changes to various countries only to take over the essence of people’s freedoms and retained the control of their wealth and future. 

As Lao Tsu says a “...journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step”, today we urge all peace-loving, freedom-loving and democracy-loving South Africans to rise up and take the first conscious step towards the liberation of Swaziland without a wink of cowardice. Without Collusion the boy dictator and his cronies. 

A CALL FOR ACTION:

We need a multi-pronged revolutionary strategy to essentially topple the dictatorship of King Mswati III. We need to call on the abundant energy of youth to engage the autocratic regime through mass activist protest, we need to lead the Twitter and Facebook cohorts to undermine the regime, we need the intellectuals to come to the fore and provide objective solutions to problems faced by the country, we need the resilience of the peasants to show against all odds and produce food for the country not to starve and we need them to show the urban youth that milk and butter do not come from the fridge, we need the youth militants to show themselves – their bravery and courage to come to the fore and confront the enemy of the people. Where are the men and women who revere honour, pride and sacrifice in service of their fellow countrymen and women? 

Overall we need the leadership of the liberation movement to be counted and show courage and determination to face all against the regime and lead the masses to a popular victory. Long Live the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO). Mario Masuku, President of PUDEMO, the tried and tested leader of the liberation forces, the most taunted and tortured, the most ridiculed and victimised and yet the most resilient and respected by the masses, now is the time take the baton and lead the masses to victory Baba Bambatha. Go on we are on your side to destroy entirely the oppressive Tinkhundla system, every ounce of it, and build a new country humanity can be proud of. Show the way to democracy and popular power and lead the masses as they free themselves from royal and capitalist bondage.

We are multiplying the frontline trenches of the democratic discourse and aspiration in Swaziland. This is what Commander Che Guevara called “another Vietnam”, this should be our Vietnam and other Vietnams to create a major crisis for the royal oppressive system and torn it asunder for the creation of a new system of democratic values, human rights, solidarity and empathy.

In essence we are calling for an all-out civil disobedience and outright rejection of tyrannical laws that enslave the people of Swaziland and for a movement to usher in a democratic dispensation. 

To those who gave their lives so that one day Swaziland, like many other parts of the world can be free, we place these notes in their honour and memory and we rededicate ourselves to advance their revolutionary ideas. Yes, indeed Mswati III is the enemy of the majority of the Swazi people. He should be stopped at his rails before the entire country is annihilated by royal house inflicted poverty in the name of culture and tradition. 

On the one hand, the capitalist social and production relations in Swaziland do not support the democratic process and freedom struggle in Swaziland. The big corporate cavorts with King Mswati and the royal house to exploit labour and make super profits when the people in their majority rely on aid from the international community.

The release of political prisoners from incarceration in royal prisons is an urgent matter, the unconditional return of all exiles,  the commitment towards negotiations for a free and democratic Swaziland are issues we need to spearhead without winking. The up North developments are a clear sign that mass power is real power, let us mobilise all our resources towards a free and democratic Swaziland to the great memory of our martyrs.

JACK AND MJ:

Advocate Musa Dlamini, a dedicated Swazi patriot and revolutionary gave his life so that one day his country can be free. He had everything for himself but felt inadequate without fighting for the rights of his people. Together with the South African revolutionary internationalist Comrade Jack “Mchana”, aka Sipho Khumalo, Govender pushed in the course of the struggle. Today marks another year since your untimely death.

We take this moment to lower our revolutionary banners in your fighting memory. The struggle is going on and shall be so until Swaziland is free.

Today President Mario Masuku is languishing in the oppressive jails of King Mswati for only asking better wages for workers during the May Day celebrations. PUDEMO had just come out of a successful congress and we believe this is one reason why Comrade Mario was jailed; to reverse the momentum and disrupt the flow of revolutionary struggle in Swaziland.

On this 6^th anniversary on the passing away of our revolutionaries Combatants we renew our unwavering solidarity to the oppressed people of Swaziland.

We call on South Africa to act decisively for democracy and freedom negotiations towards transfer of power to the people through the unbanning of political parties, convening of a constitutional Assembly and preparations for democratic elections.

LONG LIVE JACK GOVENDOR!

LONG LIVE ADV. MUSA DLAMINI!

LONG LIVE OUR MARTYRS!

Issued by Comrade Solly Mapaila- National Chairperson of the Swaziland Solidarity Network [SSN].

Contact:

Lucky Lukhele Spokesperson

082 469 1421

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072 502 4141

Umntfwana Longakhali Ufela eSwatini

Swazis have the popular proverb “umntfwana longakhali ufela embelekweni.” “Imbeleko” is used mainly by mothers to carry babies on their back. Thus, this proverb can be directly translated to “a baby that never cries dies on its mother’s back.” The interpretation to English is that no one knows your problems unless you voice them out. A person therefore cannot expect to get any assistance unless and until she or he tells others about the problems she or he is facing.

This popular proverb has forced me to reflect on the Swaziland struggle in so far as exposing the royal regime is concerned. Stretching the meaning of the proverb, in context with our struggle, it is clear that umntfwana longakhali ufela eSwatini (a child that never cries dies in Swaziland). This is in reference to the level at which we are in terms of communicating the problems facing Swaziland to, first, the people inside Swaziland and, secondly, to people outside Swaziland. Thus, we, the oppressed people of Swaziland, shall die in Swaziland, without anyone ever noticing that we are suffering, because we fail to take the necessary steps in order to report on our struggle and expose the royal regime.

Background

We have been criticised many times before for not popularising our struggle very well. Some have criticised us for not doing enough to go to the people in the communities in Swaziland and mobilising them, including telling them about our alternative plans for Swaziland. On the other hand, some have claimed that the international community does not know much about the Swaziland case, that we are doing too little to inform the international community about the royal system of Swaziland, its crises and our alternatives for the future democratic Swaziland.

The above criticisms, whether they stem from legitimate intentions or not, have a great deal of validity. Inside Swaziland, we have succeeded in forcing the regime to make some mistakes in its response to issues affecting the country. This has been mainly through pamphlets, graffiti, and some other ways. In certain instances some of our cadres have been able to sabotage the regime through the limited means that they had at their disposal. However, all these rarely happen nowadays. It appears as if we have given up on exposing the regime. Some of our cadres keep hiding behind the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008 for not implementing this tasks. We see a problems in Swaziland but we do not seem to be complaining about them. This is wrong! We will die in Swaziland and no one will ever remember that we died because of the brutalities of the regime.

No one can deny the fact that the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) has done a lot in the recent past in exposing the dirty secrets of the regime to the international community and to people inside Swaziland. We must acknowledge such bravery because it is not easy to conduct a thorough investigation on the royal family and its government, especially where one has very limited access. One of the biggest embarrassments the royal family has ever had to endure was the release of the Without the King documentary which exposed to ordinary people in Swaziland the dirty secrets held by King Mswati and his close family members, including the unthinkable riches that the royal family enjoyed without a care about the poor. This was for the first time that people were able to see for themselves the things that were only talked about as if they were fairy tales. Who can ever forget the undercover investigations that were conducted by the SABC3’s Special Assignment program into the case of political prisoners in Swaziland whilst the government was refuting such a fact? We must acknowledge such efforts by those who were responsible for the investigations.

Election after another (1993-2013), the regime triumphs without any glitch in terms of propaganda. The regime has managed to force people to register for its elections simply by using the most limited amount of propaganda at its disposal. We may claim that the regime is in a much better position than us in this instance since it controls state media and muzzles the independent ones. However, the question is not what the regime has done, but rather what we have done, except to call for the boycott of elections, in countering state propaganda in so far as Tinkhundla elections are concerned.

In three years’ time (2018) the regime will conduct another election programme. Are we ready to counter the propaganda that will be scattered all over the place by the regime? Are we ready to push our own revolutionary propaganda? King Mswati messes up on a daily basis, and his chiefs, police and soldiers abuse people every single day. Are we doing enough to expose all that? The Swazi media has already reported on the eviction of people at Nokwane, but have we taken up that propaganda war so that we show the people who the real enemy is; the monarch? Or we just merely sympathise with the affected families without any political programme on it?

Who is this “We”?

In this article, reference to “We” has been continuously used. One must therefore hasten to clear any confusion and doubts that may exist regarding this “We” that is continuously being called upon to act accordingly. In our efforts to organise and unite the masses of Swaziland against the royal regime, organisations have been formed to achieve that. This organised formations are in many instances collectively referred to as the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM). The most prominent organisations under the MDM include; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC), People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS), Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF), Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) and the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS). It is in this context that “We” has been adopted in this article.

Solving the problem

Identifying a problem is important, but the point is to find a solution to it. The struggle needs cadres who will always be ready to forward solutions and be ready to implement them instead of bringing only problems to the table. The main point in solving such an issue is not to always wait for leadership to give a solution, but for cadres to always take the initiative, guided by revolutionary discipline.

We know that every day the regime abuses people in the communities. Chiefs and their headpersons, as direct representatives of the royal family in those respective communities, continuously mistreat families and individuals. In many cases our own cadres are aware of such abuses. Instead of reporting on such issues, using whatever medium of communication we can lay our hands on, we usually simply watch and hope that Tibiyo TakaNgwane’s Swazi Observer or the Times of Swaziland under the leadership of the Prime Minister’s right-hand man, Martin Dlamini, will report on them without any self-censorship. But if not us, then who? Obviously if we ignore our task as revolutionaries the ever-docile Swazi media will publish watered-down reports on such issues and later accept bribes so that they kill the same stories. In some instances we fail to report even protest actions that have been organised by us. We let the royal-controlled media tell our own stories and then moan the next day when they have reported wrongly. Surely something is seriously wrong, and unless we accept this fact we shall never be ready to find a solution. PUDEMO, for instance, has branches deep in the communities inside Swaziland. It is the task of these branches, the heart of the organisation, to monitor the happenings in those communities in which they are based and thereafter expose them if there is a need. Is that not what branches should always be engaged in, amongst other things?

Where to Begin

The first people who need to be informed about the brutality of the king’s representatives in the communities are the community members themselves. This should solve the criticism that we do not go to the people and talk to them about the struggle and what we stand for. Whenever a chief threatens any family with eviction, for instance, we must immediately alert the whole community about such and further agitate the members of the community to support that particular affected family. As to how this should actually be done is a matter of tactics, shaped by conditions prevailing on the ground. This calls for us to read and study the documents of PUDEMO (and other relevant revolutionary documents) on tactics.

In the struggle for freedom, revolutionary organisations must always learn secret ways of implementing their programmes. Our struggle is no exception to this general rule. We must learn the skills of using pamphlets and combining them with today’s technology. Has anyone ever checked that we are getting deeper into the 21^st century? Even if one does not have a computer, internet or cell phone, it does not mean that nothing can be done. There is always something that one can do in their community to agitate the masses against the regime.

The police are always known to physically abuse people in road blocks. Comrades who reside next to the border line of Swaziland are aware of the atrocities committed by the army on people who either leave or enter Swaziland through those informal border crossings. Many women and girls have been raped by king Mswati’s soldiers there and their stories have gone without being reported, sadly not even by us. This is a clear disservice to the oppressed people and by extension, a sabotage on our own struggle. Our cadres are aware of such atrocities, but never report them. The oppressed people depend on revolutionaries who have been able to properly organise themselves into revolutionary organisations (MDM) to report and expose the royal regime on such and many other issues. But we are dead silent! Sibahle Sinje?

Do we have the necessary skills?

One does not wish to ask for too much from comrades, except for them to implement what they have been tasked by the Swazi revolution to do. We should ask ourselves, in this instance, whether our cadres are well capacitated to implement what the revolution has tasked them to do. This then throws the challenge straight into the hands of the leadership of the MDM in so far as searching for, gathering, organising and publicising information is concerned. The need to empower comrades to conduct such tasks using the least of the means at their disposal is urgent. In implementing such work, we surely need to arm our cadres on how, for instance,   to avoid arrest whilst engaged in such work.

Technology today is far advanced than it was during the days of Lenin, Karl Marx and other revolutionaries who have long passed. Those revolutionaries took advantage of the technology that existed during their time in order to advance the struggle. We should thus also take advantage of the technological advancements of our times if we are to properly lead today’s society. I dare say, a 21^st revolutionary who does not even wish to know where the Power-button of a computer is positioned is not worthy of being referred to as a revolutionary. Many of our comrades do access internet through computers and cell phones. We should use these very modes of communication to expose the regime. Branches must take charge of such processes in their own communities. If all our branches could do this, the people would be daily mobilised and over a short period of time their level of consciousness would rise sharply.

Whilst one has deliberately thrown the challenge on our leadership to assist in the capacitation of our comrades with regard to the topic under discussion, one should mention that individual comrades also have a duty to capacitate themselves. The main point in self-capacitation is for comrades to start doing what they wish to do and grow along the way. Experience is the best teacher. A few years ago there emerged one of the biggest earth-shattering stories about What Happens at the Swaziland Incwala Ceremony. How was this report investigated and compiled? The simple truth is this and this only; Individuals decided to focus on implementing what they had to implement instead of lamenting that they have not been taught how to do such work. A few years ago the SSN also released an exclusive report about the true history of King Mswati III and the events that led to his coronation. What then stops us from doing such on a daily basis and cause untold headaches to the regime?

Conclusion

We struggle under conditions not of our own making. The iron boot of the regime is firmly on our necks. As such, we must learn the skills of using legal and illegal means in alerting other people about our suffering. The best people to do such is not those who are outside Swaziland or people in the United Nations (UN). It is certainly not the African National Congress (ANC). We are the ones who are oppressed. As such, it must be us that lead the way in daily making noise about the atrocities committed by the royal regime of Swaziland. All those people who live in democratic states cannot support us if they do not get a sense that the oppressed people themselves need help and are doing something to ensure that they set themselves free. Umntfwana longakhali indeed ufela eSwatini. Liswati lelingakhononi lifela etandleni taMswati njengentfwala (A Swazi that never complains dies in the hands of King Mswati like lice). Thus, we must go out there and fight! Investigating and reporting on the atrocities committed by the royal regime is one of the many things that need to be done in order for us to fight the regime and also inspire people outside Swaziland to give solidarity.