LOBAMBA – Newly-appointed Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini has expressed his and government condolences to all those who lost family members during the recent riots.
In his first speech in parliament since he took office, the PM said the loss of one life is one too many and there can never be any justification for the level of violence that filled the country’s streets. “May I further sympathise with all who were injured and those whose businesses were affected in the massive scale of violence, looting and arson propagated by criminal elements that engulfed our country, destroying vital infrastructure including many of our Tinkhundla Centres,” he said. He said such a level of violence is foreign to our country and should never be allowed to surface again. He said the level of disinformation peddled by agents and instigators of violence on different platforms is condemned.
He stated that the violence sprung out from the process of delivering petitions to 51 Tinkhundla. The PM said what became concerning was the level of violence that erupted at the delivery of these petitions to some of the Tinkhundla, coupled with the blatant disregard of COVID-19 regulations and protocols at a time when the Kingdom was at the brink of a third wave.
In essence, he said, the petitions raised concerns in two categories; that being
- Governance and politics
- Service delivery issues.
“It is prudent to remind the House that our Constitution provides procedures and provisions to be followed when amendments are proposed to invoke changes in the Constitution. We are all custodians of this Constitution which was a result of nationwide consultations with emaSwati. No one should avoid these processes under any circumstance and resort to short cuts with threats of violence,” he said.
The premier explained that during the recent Sibaya, His Majesty King Mswati III gave guidance on a national dialogue, where he assured the nation that such a dialogue will be held once COVID-19 is no longer a threat and physical meetings can be safely held.
“May I reiterate His Majesty’s counsel that some of the political reforms that are being touted by a section of society require constitutional amendments and can therefore only be achieved if the Constitution is followed and all emaSwati are engaged,” he said.
He continued: “As Government, we strongly discourage threats and intimidation against those seen to be of different political views, including the cyber bullying that we recently witnessed as a country. Mr Speaker, may I make it clear that threats and intimidation against people with whom you disagree go against the spirit of democracy to which our Tinkhundla system fully subscribes. Eswatini is a country that respects the freedom of expression as enshrined in our constitution. However, threats and violence against those we do not agree with are misplaced under the banner of freedom of expression and so is hate speech. We need to make a clear distinction between freedom of expression and inciting violence that threatens lives. The rule of law should be upheld at all times and Government will not hesitate to bring to book anyone who instigates violence under the guise of freedom of expression,”
The PM further disclosed that he was aware of allegations of police brutality which have been raised in several instances recently.
“As Minister responsible for police I want to assure the nation that these will be investigated and dealt with appropriately. Noteworthy though is that it has become common for protesters to intimidate, threaten, insult and provoke police. It has become a norm for protesters to hurl rocks at the police. This is criminal and has no place in our society. Police are there to protect us at all times and also rely on our cooperation and respect. Respect of the rule of law is sacrosanct and we should refrain from activities that tend to brew violence and instability,” he said.
He said police investigations have revealed that in the past days the country has been under siege from insurgents posing as protesters who committed many serious crimes. He said some of them have since been arrested and have already had their day in court, while investigations are still ongoing.
“Mr Speaker, regrettably, among those who have been arrested are two Members of this august House. We are aware Mr Speaker that there has been talk that these members have been arrested for voicing out their political views. We wish to put it on record that these allegations are unfounded and the arrests are in no way politically motivated. We trust our justice system to give them a free and fair trial. For now, they remain innocent until proven guilty and we cannot engage on this matter any further as it is now subjudice,” he said
