Ambiguity of subdued

Athe dispensing of emabutfo and the strong speech from the throne, the majority of the Swazis were left with more questions than answers. Love and hate were surely subdued knowing that the Swazi political climate is having a sour taste. Never in the Swazi history has the King in more ways than one showed more anger than he did this time around, especially when the ordinary Swazis expected a peace giving strategy as the tension was getting tougher than expected. The deaths and property destruction in the June/ July mayhem ushered in a new historical dispensation. The call for political change reverberates in all corridors of this country and beyond as even those in the diaspora are calling for it. The King is expected to shade a light whenever he addresses the nation, but sadly his light gets dimer as his diction seems to add vinegar in the already festering wound.

In his gun blazing speech when dispensing emabutfo, the bleeding Swazi wound worsened as the expectation of a dialogue as means to get a solution did not give hope as the “direct attack on me,” speech was interpreted as a declaration of a war. It is still debatable if really this was a declaration of war or a strong warning to would-be property torching suspects. His comments on property destruction was and still is expected as the destroyed property takes the nation miles back economically.

The call to stop property destruction as means to communicate frustrations by the angry people is justified. No leader on his right mind would condone such acts, and again no leader would promote such even those on the other side calling for change would not and did not send people to destroy property.

In as much as the property destruction needed to be condemned in all possible semantics we can’t forget the great loss in all this conflict which is the loss of human life which to me was suppose to be a priority in condemnation than property. Property can be replaced but life can’t. The failure to condone human slaughter turned to be a failure by those who are holding fast to the old regime.

TFTER

La Niña weather pattern continues to dominate locally and regionally, with pretty severe effects. We are in a second year of La Niña, which brings us cooler than normal temperatures and higher than average rainfall.

In fact, local Pine Valley (near Mbabane) records show that last year was the wettest year in 20 years. The last time we got this much rain was the year 2000, when there were also terrible floods in Mozambique. Last year was also the second wettest year in the past 30 years. Pine Valley received just over 1800mm of rain. Normal rain for Mbabane, which is known to receive more than Pine Valley, is 1440mm. Most of the rain fell in January. Like Mbabane, we received over 600mm, making it the second wettest January in 30 years, and probably since Cyclone Domoina in 1984.

While we associate La Niña with rain, our

HE SPEECH

People have been killed and maimed. People expected a sympathising speech and a condemnation of the brutal killing of the people. The failure to address this thorny issue of human life was and is a tragedy. Humanity calls for sympathy over dead loved ones, and a strong condemnation of the loss of life and property at the same time would have gone a long way to sooth the emotional pains of the people. We noted with mixed feelings the supersonic speed to visit destroyed sites, yet not even a step was taken by those in power to condemn the loss of life. The comedic approach when addressing these problems prior to the emabutfo speech did not help at all.

PROPORTION

The name calling spiralled things out of proportion. Love, hope and trust was corroded here. Everyone fears everything now. Those who love are now doing so out of duty and the numbers are not a display of loyality anymore. Damage control is a must and a priority. If not I fear that the worst is yet to come.

Solutions to the Swazi political problem is more complicated and as such everyone needs to thread carefully. A gun is never a solution. Violence and threats only worsens a situation. As we speak, the ordinary Swazi who is never in support of any political ideology is left wondering.

My heart bleeds and never has it demanded more answers like it does now. The Swazi classification challenge has never been more serious than now. We have known the King and Commoners as a divisive reality, but the classification of the dissenters as timphaka has opened deeper wounds than one can

neighbours are a little higher up the continent in East Africa experience the opposite. For Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan, La Niña brings dry conditions. Relief Web, a humanitarian aid think tank, said that some areas of coastal Kenya have reported the lowest rainfall since 1981.

Overall, the whole of Kenya is in the worst drought in a decade, and the agricultural and food supply pressures are mounting into disaster territory. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) has said that the weather conditions were expected to force 20 million people into food insecurity this year.

PARTS

In other parts of the world, such as New Zealand and Southern California, La Niña also spells dry weather. Parts of New Zealand’s South Island recorded their lowest rainfall since 1906, with one South Island location reporting it received only four per cent of the usual average. The warmer weather in New Zealand has led to interesting conditions for those into fishing. The warmer waters caused by La Niña allow tropical fish species, such as the marlin, to appear where they normally would not. La Niña brings variable conditions depending on location. In Western Europe, the Canadian interior, and Asia from India through to Japan, where unusually heavy snow has fallen, it is linked to colder than imagine. The ordinary Swazi has more questions than answers. What is the next step now? Is it true that the king has declared war to his people? Are we really plunging into a civil war?

This question is relevant and need more answers as the tensions between the King and his people gets more stronger. The ambiguity of it all is when he calls everything his own and to put on record with emphasis that everything belongs to the king. This assertion on its own is more ambiguous than one would think. Never in the Swazi history has a King taken such a tough line. Kings in the past have made it clear that the Swazi land belonged to the nation, but look and behold the contemporary King has vehemently asserted that everything

belongs to him and him alone. Not only is this a new line of a narrative, but a new line in the political thought. The ambiguity of it all is that this is the very same concern that people are having.

FRACTION

The people believe and justifiably so that the King does not only own a bigger fraction of the land, but also it is alleged he has made himself an economic giant partnering with all successful businesses in the tiny land. When he said everything belongs to the King, he never made things easier for everyone. The question is are we to take his words metaphorically or as they are? Great leaders have spoken on parables in the past.

We are cognizant of the fact that the people love the King and for what he stands for, but we are also not blind on the tragic realities that has taken place in this bleeding land of ours. The ordinary Swazis who are neither pro-democracy or for the political status core are left with a great decision to make. Considering that this is the third time that the King has given a very strong take on matters of the land and has used equally strong language when addressing his people makes things even more complicated. The question stands; has he declared war or was he giving an equally strong message to his people? Do we need wise people to dissect his speech? Most importantly, and on the promise from the throne are we to expect a meaningful dialogue or a one-sided speech which will be a give and take? I have attended the Smart partnership dialoque where the King was willing and ready to listen to his people. At one time at Mavuso he will join his people on their round tables and engaged them on debates. Are we to see the same or a heated flesh tearing debates? It’s a wait and see kind of a situation.

average temperatures. Back in Eswatini, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) and Eswatini Meteorological Services Department have jointly issued a warning about the continued rains. A bold prediction has been made, estimating that as many as four to eight cyclones are likely to mature to tropical cyclone level, and these have a probability to make landfall in Eswatini. Cyclones in the southern hemisphere typically develop in the later summer months, usually from late January and into March. Director of Early Warning and Research at NDMA Eric Seyama has warned that even aside from the possibility of cyclones, above average rainfall is expected to continue in the country until at least April. He noted the damage this rain has caused to infrastructure, including roads. Some dams are more than 100 per cent full. South African officials have also noted the damage to roads caused by the excessive rain in recent years. The average dam level across that country is over 92 per cent, an increase of 20 per cent since last year, with the Vaal dam alone topping 110 per cent capacity this week.

It is worth noting that La Niña is often followed by El Niño conditions, which bring hot and dry weather like what we experienced in Eswatini in 2015/2016. The current La Niña, however, may continue for as long as another year.