…King tells SADC Eswatini cannot dialogue with terrorist
BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – “It is at Sibaya that we dissolved Parliament and announced the People’s Parliament that will be held after the national elections are completed. It is at that forum where emaSwati will dialogue and deliberate on key national issues,”
The above sentiments were shared by His Majesty King Mswati III during the 43rd SADC Summit held in Angola.
His Majesty the King has said SADC cannot expect the government of Eswatini to dialogue with terrorists.
He said the Southern African Development Community (SADC) should, instead, condemn all forms of terrorist activities wherever they existed because they caused untold suffering and resulted in the loss of lives.
The King noted that Eswatini was one of the founding members of SADC and believed that she had played a big role in the growth and transformation of the organisation into one that had respect and admiration from many quarters.
Meanwhile the King has told SADC Troika that perpetrators of violence against emaSwati are known and have found refuge in neighbouring countries.
He said within these countries they were receiving training, while continuing to foster hate speech and instigating violence.
The King was speaking during a Troika session, which looked into an update on political and security items on the Troika agenda.
He said a majority of those who were killing emaSwati, including members of security forces and traditional authorities, had been apprehended and were behind bars, while others who perpetrated violence had found refuge in neighbouring countries.
“While in those countries, they have continued to promote hate speech and seek to perpetuate the violence that they had been instrumental in masterminding. We are also alive to the fact that some of these known terrorists are receiving training in these countries,” he said.
He informed Troika that ongoing investigations into the violence that beset the kingdom and subregion in July 2021, had uncovered that these individuals belonged to a proscribed entity that also continued to operate from one of our neighbouring countries.
He further informed the summit about the ongoing elections process, which recorded an impressive voter registration.
“A voter registration exercise was conducted, which returned a total number of over 584 000 registrations against a possible total figure of 650 000. This represents 90 per cent of eligible voters, a resounding success,” he said.
He noted that this was an indication of the support for the system of government by the general populace. “We are looking forward to emaSwati expressing their desires through the poll and we welcome the intended deployment of the SADC Elections Observer Mission in the Kingdom,” he said.
Another issue on the table was on the facilitation of the deployment of the panel of elders to the kingdom in line with its mandate on conflict prevention, management and resolution, before the elections in the kingdom take place.
His Majesty said the panel of elders were originally mandated to assist Eswatini to deal with terrorism in the country.
“We have dealt with that threat on our own. In July, the Troika Summit recommended that the panel of elders visit before the elections, but that has been overtaken by events because the elections process is well underway, with the registration process being complete, nominations process complete, primary elections being held on August 26, and secondary elections scheduled for September 29,” he told Troika.
The King said there was, therefore, no need for the panel of elders to visit at this stage and he requested that this be removed from the agenda.
His Majesty has cautioned against imposing a system of governance that has not been driven by the people.
Addressing SADC Organ Troika, he said the Tinkhundla System of Government had long been in place and it was through this system that decisions impacting on the growth and development of the country had been taken.
“However, it would appear that there are those who would wish to impose their own beliefs and their own systems on emaSwati. In all honesty, this is not the SADC way. We must all introspect and consider the implications of such interventionism,” he said.
The King submitted that when the nation was called to Sibaya on July 11, 2023, it turned up in numbers, despite the cold front that had beset the region, bringing snow to regions where none had ever lay.
The King said the country was appreciative of the aims and ambitions of the Organ Troika and was also proud of her heritage as a peace-loving nation, which had structures and systems designed to protect and entrench that peace.
He recalled that when the country attended the SADC Summit in August last year in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the request made was that SADC assist Eswatini with curtailing the terrorist outbreak that had befallen the country.
Additional information taken from Times of Eswatini.
