Democracy lost in translation

Sir,

I have been following what has been happening in the country in recent times. It is a bit disappointing to see how emaSwati have translated the word ‘democracy’. Somehow, I think the meaning has been lost in translation.

By definition, ‘the word democracy itself means rule by the people. A democracy is a system where people can peacefully change their rulers and the government is given the right to rule because the people say it may’.

So, democracy is quite a complex system that cannot just be translated easily with one line definition. The translation into siSwati has somehow lost the meaning.

Defined

I wrote this letter because I have noticed that in the siSwati translation, democracy is defined as ‘intsandvo ye linyenti’. This means ‘the will of the majority’. It’s not the same as ‘the will of the people. Democracy is the will of the people. All the people, inclusive of the majority and the minority.

Out there probably we have this notion case, the leading party is not the majority but through coalitions, one government is formed and a leader could be elected even from a minority party.

So, why do we define democracy as intsadvo ye lintenti?

I have a concern here because, in Eswatini, we have minorities who will likely be sidelined by the idea that democracy should be the will of the majority. Abraham Lincoln once described democracy as ‘a government for the people, by the people’. He did not say ‘a government for the majority, by the majority’. Lincoln is well-known for his fight against slavery, and this means he understood the importance of having the voice of the minority respected. I wrote this so that people who call for democracy should understand that the voice of the minority must be respected.

Msizi Tembe