BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– The Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku’s wish is that everyone in Eswatini would be open-minded.
The DPM was speaking after he spent his Sunday in Gege where he went for the commemoration of the Melika Vilakati Day, the founder of the Melika Jericho Church in Zion.
The commemoration was held at the church’s Headquarters in Gege Inkhundla. Also present were Bishop Khanyakwezwe Vilakati, League of African Churches President Archbishop Samson Hlatjwako, and Gege Member of Parliament Musa Kunene amongst others.
“Attending church in my capacity as a politician is to merely help people see that one can be open-minded and all the while remaining true to who they are. Attending all these churches does not affect or change who I’m as Themba,” he said.
Worth noting is that on the previous day, Masuku went for the voter’s roll validation exercise at Lawuba area kuMethula Inkhundla in the Shiselweni Region.
This was where he found some registrants were not from the constituency. He then incorporated this in his sermon the following day.
Themba Masuku then urged the nation to guard against people with the character of the biblical Jonah, as they prepare for the upcoming general elections.
According to the Bible, Jonah was a man whom God sent to Nineveh to warn the people about their imminent peril but decided to go to Tarshish.
With this statement, Masuku was referring to the people who will contest a seat in the 12th Parliament. He said elections were not new as they started in ancient times. He stated that elections were done for a purpose and were limited to certain individuals.
However, he said it came at a time when nations including Eswatini came up with their own constitutions to govern elections.
“Our Constitution is clear on why we elect people into Parliament. It is also clear about the roles of the elected individuals once they assume their duties,” he said.
Masuku urged members of the church to elect sound candidates who would contribute to the country’s development as opposed to those who would focus on the negatives. “I’m the biggest advocate for elections and I want you to elect people you know and are of good character,” he said.
