Justice Minister Prince Simelane is my man
Imust confess that Minister of Justice Prince Simelane is one of my favourite politicians. He strikes me as someone who means what he says, good or bad and not apologetic about it. He speaks his mind and seems to care less who says what.
Of course, some would argue that actions speak louder than words, implying that they want nothing than to see the honourable minister addressing the glaring challenges that are making a lot of people to lose confidence in the country’s judiciary system. True as that maybe, but to me, he has every answer for any question. He boasts political confidence and it’s no wonder the media love him so much.
Afterall, any interview with him is guaranteed to give a journalist a good headline, possibly a lead story, because what he says just makes readers sit up and take notice. He speaks with confidence and never shies away from what he believes has to be said, controversial or not. The justice minister was in the headlines again the past few days at Ngabezweni Royal Residence, after he was quoted suggesting that local courts no longer serve their purpose as expected by society. He was speaking in his capacity as Umbhekeli Wemakhosi and supporting his rather unexpected declaration, he argued that courts continued to grant bail to people who were accused of committing serious crimes, such as murder. His concern was that some of these people were released on bail, even if, according to him, there was evidence that they committed a similar offence.
He was not even shy to quote an incident, in which he claimed, a repeat offender was released on bail three times and continued to kill. For the record, when making these remarks, he was addressing pastors from different churches, who had attended the closing prayer with Their Majesties to mark the end of the national prayer during the Easter holidays.
INEFFICIENCY
As if out to prove a point, the minister had a bag full of testimonies to support his assertion about the alleged inefficiency of the local courts. Sharing a spine-chilling incident, which he said happened in Nhlangano, the minister said a woman was stabbed 22 times by her boyfriend.
Narrating the ordeal the woman was subjected to, the minister told the pastors that the boyfriend removed his lover’s eyes, while she was still alive before heartlessly slitting her throat open. Yet, according to the minister, the man was granted bail, despite the overwhelming evidence against him. As if that was not enough, the minister minced no words in openly stating that emaSwati were also surprised that courts allegedly continued to release such offenders on bail, despite efforts by the police to oppose the applications.
So, in a nutshell, the minister is telling the nation that our courts cannot be trusted in handling serious crime matters. Such frank comments from the justice minister gives a lot of hope that maybe, he is the right man to tackle the judicial challenges.
Those following the submissions at the commission of inquiry exposing some irregularities in the operations of the Master’s Office at the High Court, would agree that the judicial problem is bigger than what the minister thinks. Before Prince Simelane’s appointment, eight other politicians served as justice ministers. The first justice minister was Polycarp Dlamini (1972-1983) before David Matse was appointed into same position from 1984-1987.
He was to be followed by Reginald Dhladhla who served two years, from 1988 to 1990, before Amos Zonke Khumalo took over from 1991 to 1993. Then came in Maweni Simelane, who, to me shared some similarities with Prince Simelane in terms of personality and his direct approach to issues.
He was in office from 1994 to 2003 and one of his controversial statements was in the 1990s when he urged the public to apply for the position of hangman, as he felt criminal acts were in the rise in the country hence the culprits needed to be taught a lesson. He was replaced by Magwagwa Mdluli who served only in 2003, which was the shortest tenure. David Dlamini was then appointed justice in 2004 to 2009 before Ndumiso Mamba assumed power from 2009 to 2011.
Prince Simelane took over as Justice Minister from Pholile Shakantu who served in the 11th parliament. Let me share some background about the justice minister, as obtained from the official government website. He was born on March 8, 1957, which means he is 67 years old, a very experienced man in the world of politics.
The good thing about politics is that it has no retirement age. He is a holder of a Bachelor of Science (Political Science), which he obtained from the Indiana State University in the United States of America (USA) in 1986. This was before he joined the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force, working for over 30 years, with his highest rank being a Major General.
Adding to that, Prince Simelane has received training on National Development Strategy in Taiwan and Infantry Basic Course at Fort Benning, a USA Army Post in Columbus, Georgia. His CV (curriculum vitae) is being further made rich by the fact that he has served as Board member in a number of organisations including the Land Speculation Control Board, Tibiyo TakaNgwane, Central Bank of Eswatini and the Royal Liaison Officer for churches.
His educational and political experience speaks volumes about his political pedigree. That’s why some of us do not take what he says for granted or dismiss it as hogwash, no.
Listen to what he says and you will be amazed to realise that most of his utterances actually make lot of sense. Maybe, what we are eagerly awaiting now is to see the minister getting down to action to address judicial challenges, especially issues related to the Chief Justice (CJ), along with the Master’s Office. Clearly, monies in people’s Estates are illegally enriching undeserving people and this has basically become culture. If anything, such has seriously eroded circle of trust in terms of accountability in that office.
One thing I really like about Prince Simelane is the fact that by his nature, he does not like being defensive, but prefers calling a spade just that. I like that because it is a reflection of the confidence that he oozes in what he says. Since assuming the position, Prince Simelane has acknowledged openly that there are a number of challenges to be addressed in the judicial system of the country. The fact that he is aware something has to be done, is what gives some of us confidence going forward. He is giving me every reason to be optimistic. The minister is just a few months into the position and this is a five-year term. So, there is obviously an abundance of time for him to find remedies to the challenges and he has the capacity to deliver on that, trust me.
We have to agree with the minister that perpetrators of serious crimes in the country appear to be getting away with murder. There are some known places in the rural areas of the country where killing somebody is no longer scary because people witness such everyday. It has become normal even in our beloved Eswatini.
Bekunene, what we cannot run away from is that corruption is a huge contributing factor to the judicial challenges in the country and this is not just Prince Simelane’s dilemma to resolve but it requires collective effort. It is my belief that Prince Simelane will make the doubting thomasses eat humble pie on this. He is a man who needs no motivation to say what he believes is the truth and now is the time for him to act. By that, I mean changing the face of the judicial by restoring the nation’s confidence on it. It certainly won’t be easy, but his strong character gives me the confidence that he will make the impression. The ball is in his court.