A former government
minister in Swaziland (eSwatini) is in hiding from police after he publicly
called on absolute monarch King Mswati III to hand over power to the people.
Musa Nkambule, former
Minister of Tourism and now Chairman of the party known as Sive Siyinqaba
(Sibanje Sinje), fled from his home, the Swaziland News, an online newspaper reported.
The News said, ‘Sive
Siyinqaba is a [conservative] political party dominated by powerful members of
the royal family who are collectively working towards forcing King Mswati to
hand over power to the people and transform the country into multi-party
democracy.’
In an interview with the
newspaper Nkambule said police wanted to arrest him for a statement he released
on behalf of his political party. Nkambule appealed to the international
community to protect him.
The News reported
Nkambule said ‘a battalion of police officers’ from Manzini and Mafutseni arrived
at his home at Mafutseni on Sunday (24 November 2019).
He said, ‘They then heavily
assaulted my wife who was refusing to give them the house keys. When I asked
them their mission, they said it was in connection with the statement I
released on behalf of Sibanje Sinje, but they failed to produce an arrest
warrant. They camped in my home and left around 8pm and that was when I managed
to escape. I am now in hiding while consulting with the other members on the
way forward.’
Later, in the early hours
of Tuesday police raided Nkambule’s home and detained his wife, Zama Nkambule. They confiscated items
including a laptop and political documents of Sive Siyinqaba.
Zama
Nkambule told the Swaziland News, ‘They [police] said they were
looking for my husband in relation to his political statement he made on an
online platform. They produced a search warrant.’
She was taken to the police station, questioned and detained
for an hour.
She said, ‘They said they had been sent by the State
to take my husband to the police station.’
She added, ‘The conduct of the police is a clear
indication that freedom of speech is not allowed in the country. Many Swazis
are not happy with the way this country is governed and they have expressed
that, sadly my husband had become the target.’
In its statement
Sive Siyinqaba had criticised the King for his recent actions, including the purchase of a fleet of
15 luxury Rolls-Royce cars
for himself and his wives which were estimated to have cost US$6 million and the
purchase of a fleet of 126 BMW cars and motorbikes for ‘escort duties’.
It
said some aggrieved members of the royal family were holding meetings with the
intention of advising the King to hand over power to the people before the
situation got worse.
The
statement read in part, ‘Sive Siyinqaba holds the view that someone [King
Mswati] is on a suicide mission; unfortunately, he wants to sink with the whole
country. We think it is time we say, we would rather remain afloat than to sink
with you. High volumes of hundreds of millions in foreign exchange have been
siphoned from the country to be spent in countries that need them less, in the
form of competitive royal trips that we witnessed this year.’
It
also said, ‘Rolls Royces and BMWs, expensive as they are, are a tip of the
iceberg. More than half of the armed forces, police and correctional services
are stationed as royal guards in every royal residence where the national flag
fly. There are more police officers providing security to the first family and
serving as escorts to each of the wives and children, than there are stationed
in the country’s police stations, combined.’.
See also
Swaziland
King buys himself fleet of 15 Rolls-Royce cars but there’s no money for public
ambulances
Swaziland
political parties unite in bid to end absolute king’s power
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