SWAZILAND DEMOCRACY CAMPAIGN

MEMORANDUM TO THE SWAZILAND GOVERNMENT

 Barnabas Dlamini

Prime Minister

Kingdom of Swaziland

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 The murder of Sipho Jele as the murder of the people and democracy in Swaziland;

 On the 1st May, 2010 in Manzini Swazi police, notorious for their brutality as they were trained by apartheid South African security forces, arrested Sipho Jele. Only two days later, Sipho was killed in cold blood by his hosts in jail. Having been trained by their apartheid handlers on how to manage such situations they had to dust off their apartheid justice manual; step one - convince the family that he committed suicide (its his fault after all), step two - bribe the family to keep silent about it in the national interest, step three - then tell the family to bury him in secret. Once all that has been successfully done, then you can continue parading yourselves as angels who care about your people, except for a few rotten potatoes amongst them.

 As a caring regime, so the manual continue, you murder those who do not listen to your kind advice that they must accept to be ruled and kept in their current state as imposed upon them by the natural and "God-given" circumstances, which we care about, but cannot do anything about. Its in their own interest, of course and the best conditions possible.

 However, the most critical part of the master's manual is the public relations rule. When the pressure gets to a boiling point, create smokescreen structures to deflect attention, such as inquiries managed by your own loyalists and agents whose duty will be to pass time and create a false impression of the burning issues being addressed.

 Unfortunately, this was not to be with the courageous family of Sipho Jele.

 They refused to be another victim of deceit and mischief. In Sipho Jele was embodied the aspirations of the suffering people of Swaziland and their cause for democracy. He was not murdered merely as an individual from Ncabaneni, but as a determined freedom fighter, trade unionist and activist for a new and democratic Swaziland in order to crush the mighty wave he represented. The tinkhundla royal regime has been murdering democracy and human rights for the past 36 years now since the banning of political parties and all freedoms in Swaziland.

 We are gathered here today at this consulate in whose hands is the innocent blood of our leader, comrade and friend, Sipho Jele. The Swazi consulate represents the murderous regime and its aspirations to deepen the rule of greed, corruption and persecution of the majority. It unapologetically stands for the agenda of the regime that has caused untold suffering, hunger, health genocide, illiteracy and demining levels of poverty and even death.

 On this democratic soil of South Africa is found a consulate in defence of all that we fought and stood against in our struggle against apartheid and its legacy. We lost our comrades and friends in the struggle to defeat a regime that had no shame in murdering freedom fighters, subjecting workers and their families to hunger and starvation, terrorising communities in the name of fighting terrorists and brutalising communities for demanding justice and dignity.

 We are here to mourn the death of a humble, yet determined freedom fighter.

 We are here to offer our condolences and solidarity to the brave and exemplary family of Sipho Jele that refused to be bought with bloody money, but preferred to rather live in their conditions of man-made poverty with their dignity.

 The Swazi people have lost so many of their beloved sons and daughters to a corrupt, greedy and parasitic royal family that feeds on their plight and the blood of the innocent. They have suffered in silence for many years now.

 They have been made to believe it is only natural that they must live the lives of paupers and destitute in their own country. They are told that you live at the mercy of the benevolent monarchy and even when you die your fate is depended on the royalty. If you defy royalty you will suffer in your life and in your death, for you have defied those chosen by God  to rule on his behalf.

 In subjecting you and your family to the trauma of not only murder, but humiliation of your body, they are sending a clear message that anyone who dares challenge their rule will live and suffer the same fate. Families who fail to control those amongst them who defy the divine authority embodied in the monarchy shall be taught a lesson of their lifetime. This is the practical experience of the Jele family. It had to pay the price for standing on the side of the truth and justice, for refusing to allow their son to be buried like a pauper, for demanding the truth and justice for the sake of the soul of their beloved son and for insisting to the whole nation that being poor should not take away your dignity. They chose to suffer in order to allow their son to rest in peace and to send a powerful message to those of us who have begun to succumb to royal terror that, your dignity is worth no amount in monetary terms. It's the most sacrosanct possession ever.

 We have taken the first step towards making a difference and that is the step of building unity in action. We have begun the long journey towards democracy in memory of all those who paid the ultimate price for freedom not only in Swaziland, but all over the world. We are the heirs to the brave and courageous beings who defied all odds to restore human dignity and refused to be silenced by the barrel of a gun, the might of the military and the brutality of their adversaries.

 The Swaziland Democracy Campaign, working together with all those organisations and individuals who stand for justice everywhere is proud to announce that in this year of the 2010 World cup we shall be mobilising to score a goal for democracy in Swaziland. The 2010 event should not be about fun only, but about the many Swazis who face death, hunger and starvation in the country of their birth. They live in a big open-air prison called tinkhundla where the royal family porters savage on their dignity and humanity. We invite everyone to join us as we blitz the 2010 to tell the world the truth about the so-called tourist destination, that Swaziland is sometimes falsely said to be. Every tourist who visits Swaziland is aiding the predators of human dignity and postponing the liberation of the people.

 All tourists must keep a distance from Swaziland. We also announce that in the next few days we shall be meeting with our Swazi counterparts to announce a historic programme of action that should culminate in the Global Swazi Democracy March to take place inside Swaziland on the 6th September, 2010. This is why this year we shall not be having a border blockade, but we have taken the struggle into the belly of the beast. We shall not forever wage struggles far away from the lion's den in the comfort of democratic societies, but want to be where the suffering people are and suffer with them, as well as experience a part of their daily dosage.

 We affirm our convictions that democracy for some is democracy for none and none shall be free until all are free. We cannot enjoy democracy in South Africa unless Swaziland is free from the clutches of royal despotism. We are called upon to ensure that all members of the royal family are harassed wherever we meet them and all agents of the Swazi state suffer humiliation until they feel the pain they are subjecting our people to. They enjoy the best of South African hospitals, the best of South Africa's finest shopping malls, the best of South Africa's education facilities and the best luxuries possible in this country. Why should they feel the urgency of acting in the interest of the poor and suffering masses with all that.

 We finally call on the South African government to stop the silence and collaboration with such a horrible regime. In the same way that we were also beneficiaries of apartheid isolation, why cant we reciprocate it by isolating the tinkhundla brutal regime. It is in our own interest that we advance the struggle for democracy and freedom in Swaziland.