Swazi News
4 October 2008
Comment
My Turn: Thinking cap goes missing
By Thulani Thwala (Editor, Swazi News)
Today I will tackle two burning issues. But before I do that I feel duty-bound to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you who bothered to respond, positively I must say, to our open invitation last week to submit your ideal candidate and candidates for PM and Cabinet positions respectively.
It was one way of involving you anyhow and anywhere in our sick politics. I am hopeful that people will understand that the exercise was purely meant for ‘letting off air’ (benitihha-mula nje) and beyond that it will hopefully go a long way in indicating to our leaders what the people out there are thinking. Thanks.
Now, one of the issues I thought I should tackle today involve the recent bomb attack that went terrible wrong. I have no problem with people opting for varying options when dealing with issues that affect them.
However, I have a serious problem when the chosen option by that individual(s)puts emphasis on my life or other people’s lives being in danger. I still doubt or rather not convinced enough that violence can bring change. Instead violence is only capable of forcing change and I doubt if that’s what they or we want as a people.
Accompanied
I am one of those who are fed up with the way we are governed as a people of this country known as Swaziland, but clearly I am very much against violence that in most cases is targeted at innocent people instead of the known problem.
Lawyer Musa Dlamini accompanied by a couple of colleagues from South Africa are said to have attempted to plant a bomb at the Lozitha overhead bridge. For your own information, it’s a couple of metres away from a royal palace. By now, I assume you are aware that the bomb went off and two people in Musa and one Jack Govender were blown, literally.
Musa has been buried. Govender is next. I heard some saying they died in the line of duty. I agree. They died on duty, actually. I have no problem with people dying on duty but I have a problem when they want to drag with them into their graves innocent souls who more often than not are careless about how they are governed or taxed. What matters to them is providing for their children.
I know there are people who will put up the foolish and tired struggle slogan that blood has to be shed during a struggle. You hear bogus agents of political change screaming that for any democratic change there has to be sacrifices, I agree and I insist a sacrifice has to be that, a sacrifice.
Sacrifice
From where I am sitting, I am convinced that Musa, Govender and friends were all out to sacrifice us for the change they so much want. We want it too, but not in exchange of our lives. Who will enjoy the fruits of change if we wipe ourselves out? The bigger question becomes; can killers be trusted with a country?
If people want to achieve change by killing (innocent people) then I feel we are not serious about change. Who will trust people who go around armed with bombs? My major gripe here is why do we go for innocent people?
There are two sides to this in my books, the progressives are wrong, bombing will not solve their issues instead it would make things ugly. The country is also to blame for not attending to some of the issues raised by the progressives.
Arrogance will not help us in the same way foolishness will not make us realise the change we so much want. At first, I thought we wanted to change the political system but now I get the impression we want to change the face of the country. My advice to progressive would be to ‘deal’ with the people who are giving them problems in their view than to rope innocent souls into this.
Deserve
The people who may have died if the Musa/Govender and Co. project went successful are the very same taxpayers that the leaders of a democratic Swaziland of tomorrow would need to rebuild bombed bridges and government structures. What happened to logic?
I would suggest that emacomrades, as they call themselves, go back to the drawing board and digest this nonsense they are engaged in right now. I don’t think we deserve what Musa and Govender were up to.
This then brings me to the other nonsense that came from the mouth of a person I have so much respect for, Isaac Magagula, for the record nothing has changed. By way of life, Isaac is deputy commissioner of police in the country.
I know that big guns do misfire but I would not like to call what Isaac said on the Govender issue this week misfiring. He lost the plot. Isaac announced the ban of Govender’s memorial service citing this and that.
I was hurt to hear such a piece of arrogance and robustness from a man, who in his life as a cop has always showed a humanly side. I suspect Isaac is missing one cap. He has the cop cap, fine, but I think this week he lost his thinking cap. I request the junior Sirs to help uMtfombeni understand that after death there can’t be any meaningful life one can lead, let alone planting bombs, so he must cool down.
Govender is dead and regrettably he died as a suspect bomber not a convicted bomber, so no one knows for sure that the tags that Isaac placed on Govender’s dead body are real.
In Swaziland, unless advised otherwise, you are innocent until proven guilty. Now Isaac has convicted Govender and labelled him all sorts of names. Govender never got a chance to make a confession like the SA man who is currently behind bars, thus it was totally wrong for Isaac to talk like a baby or possessed undertaker.
Curious
This is the same Isaac who defended David Simelane’s protracted court case with his back against the wall. I noted the passion he planted in his defence after we had raised concerns on the delay of the trial. I wonder how he felt talking about a man who confessed to killing over 20 women in the over 30 whose skeletons were found in ajar places to his ‘slaughter house’.
My point Mtfombeni is; if the emotional talk you treated us to when announcing the ban of Governder’s memorial service because of what he died attempting to do in the country is anything to go by, you should have stopped breathing when hearing that David confessed to killing over 20 women for nothing.
Mind you Suthu, David went to an extent to detailing to curious relatives how he lured his victims to his ‘slaughter house’ before killing them. You never banned at least a Sunday lunch for David instead he kept on demanding attention that he got undivided from one Mnguni Simelane. I hope it is the last time I reprimand upright and free thinkers like Isaac. You took things too far here. Instead, you should have ensured security to prevent what you dreamt about the Govender memorial service than this. Thank you Sir.
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