Eswatini has no respect for civil liberties, Troika told
MANZINI – The political unrest is a result of Eswatini not conforming to international standards in terms of democratisation and respect for human rights and civil liberties.
This was presented by the Swaziland Democratic Party ( SWADEPA) to the Southern African Development Community ( SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security – Troika – factfinding mission in the country last week. The presentation was done by SWADEPA’s Secretary General Mbongiseni Shabangu.
He first shared the background of the country’s Constitution, which he said its culmination was not a free meal from the authorities.
He said it was a product of a civil society struggle that was coined as ‘ the 27 Popular Demands’, led by the labour movement, through the then Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions ( SFTU), since political parties were banned. In his submissions, Shabangu said the very Constitution was a product of the people’s demands, even though by decree No. 2 of 1996, which regulated the terms of reference of the Constitutional Review Commission ( CRC). Shabangu supposed that due to international pressure and inclusion of the Commonwealth, the Bill of Rights was protected in the Constitution document. However, he was said to have informed the factfinding mission into the country’s political unrest that due to practice and systemic deliberate resistance to adapt to the constitutional dictates, they were convinced that there was and still is, no political will to implement the dictates of the Constitution. For this reason, Shabangu supposed that 16 years later, there still had been no deliberate law reform to make all statutes operationalise the Constitution for citizens to have full enjoyment of the Bill of Rights enshrined therein, to ensure full experience of the supremacy of the Constitution. Shabangu also presented that the Constitution purportedly retained the pillars of the 1973 decree.
These, it was said, were the lack of separation of powers and awarding the Monarch all powers of the three arms of government - the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary.
This, Shabangu explained as a situation which fully undermined the pillars of democracy, checks and balances, accountability and transparency.
“While there is a full chapter on the Bill of Rights which includes and not limited to the freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and speech, freedom of movement; glaringly there is no deliberate political space for political parties to contest power through the election process, let alone that government has refused and further objected in court registration of political parties as such officially denying them legal and legitimate locus standi and the status of legal persona on its own right, to legitimately and legally participate in the shaping and forming of a government,” reads in part a statement which was submitted by Shabangu.
In the statement by the political party, Shabangu said political parties were not recognised but tolerated with no legitimate rights, as even a brand new car remained as good as not roadworthy if it was not registered.
The statement further made examples of deliberate and systemic resistance to conform to international advice on issues of democratisation and respect for human rights violations and civil liberties. “It is on the basis of this attitude of government that we required urgent intervention by SADC.”