We had a very cold vigil on the 21/04/2012, while back home Mswati was celebrating his 44th birthday. Passerby’s were shocked to hear that Mswati was demanding a cow from each of the suffering Swazi people as gifts for his birthday. Our coordinators Flora Dlamini, Margret Dlamini and Jabulile Simelane had the following to say about the Brutal regime of Mswati. Flora Dlamini says, “we noticed that there was a notice on the door at the Swazi embassy here in the uk informing people that they will be closed on 20th April 2012 due to the king of Swaziland ‘s birthday. It is such a shame and really saddening to learn that a country like Swaziland where people are living in such poverty, are still forced to take part in celebrations. King Mswati is such a selfish individual who only thinks of himself. Money spent during these celebrations can help a lot in many ways in the poverty stricken country. This is the time where by all his 13 wives will be travelling to different countries abroad doing their expensive shopping in preparation for the Birthday. Each women is given more than £50.000 in cash for the shopping, while, there is no medicine in Swaziland hospitals yet more than 50% of the population is living with HIV. King Mswati is all about himself and his family with his children attending the most expensive schools here in the UK. As Swazis we have had enough with him and the country can do better without him. Swazi people wants democracy in the country. We shall fight until we see the changes in Swaziland. BACKWARDS NEVER!!!!!
Jabulile Simelane who is an activist residing in the United Kingdom says, “I’m very much against what Mswati is doing I will always keep saying what a ridiculous king we have he is such an embarrassment in this world. He tortured my father who once served the royalty but he was kicked out like garbage, yesterday we were at the Swazi vigil where we demonstrate every other a week.to my surprise I was so dumbfounded to see a note about the dictator on the door that on the 20 is going to be a public holiday for who???? Even the Queen of this country never makes a public holiday public this is so ridiculous. Right now he just bought an island in Qatar so it shows how far he can afford yet his people are living in grinding poverty.
Maswati lahlala lapha e ngilandi ase nivule emehlo nicabangele tihlobo tenu letilambile emakhaya sifuna inkhululeko barnabas na mswati wakhe abahambe! balibulele live lemaswati akunatibhedlela make uyagula tinso uma angabuyela ekhaya angafa ngeliviki.
I would like to urge Swazis who are residing in the United Kingdom to come and join us every other week at the Swazi Embassy to fight together in this war. if the Libyan s could topple Gaddafi who was the most powerful leader in the world why cant we?sesingahlulwa ngulembungulu Please open your eyes don’t let this dictator brainwash you.
How can u go to every household demanding that a cow be given to the dictator for his birthday? This man has plenty of cows which can feed his nation for over 10 years what is most painful is the concern of the elderly who get paid once in 6 months yet his wives are living a lavish life. This womanizer must go he we are ready for him when he comes for the queens jubilee.
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We had a passionate Vigil outside the Swaziland High Commission here in London. We were happy to hear that there is going to be a mass demonstration on 12/13 April in Mbabane against the excesses of King Mswati III. Most Swazi,s at the vigil feared there would be violence given the intolerance of the regime. The Vigil noted an article in the UK’s Sun newspaper that King Mswati has demanded a cow from every family as a 44th birthday present. Since the average daily income in Swaziland is only around $2 this is a ludicrous demand. The Swazi Vigil gives warning to Mr Mswati III that they will be waiting for him when he comes to London to pollute the Queen’s birthday celebrations in June.
We were pleased to receive a phone call from one of the champions of Swaziland Democracy campaigners, a true hero in our eyes one who has sacrificed a lot, Mphandlana Shongwe. Mphandlana applauded us for the Swazi vigil and encouraged us never to give up until there is democracy in Swaziland. One member of the management team Flora Dlamini gave us a detailed suffering life story of Mphandlana Shongwe. Flora told the vigil that, Mphandlana Shongwe who is the Deputy President of SWAYOGO was jailed in 1996 for false allegations against him. During a strike which was organized by SFTU (Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions) a Swazi flag fell down inside the Trade Fair in Manzini and he was the first suspect. Was taken and beaten up by police. Later discharged and banned from teaching. This was just to get him out of his profession as a teacher. He has been living a hard life in the hands of the police and army people. His movements are monitored all the time; he has no social life at all. He must not be seen in a company of more than 3 people.
We at the vigil so it fit to publicize this evil behavior by Mswati, what has happened to Mphandlana Shongwe is totally unacceptable and we want to warn those perpetrators that the world is watching and their actions will be brought to justice. We are encouraging all Swazis to compile a list of those police officers and soldiers who are committing those atrocities and they will be brought to justice. We want to also send this message to the police officers and the soldiers that if they beat torture or imprison the peaceful demonstrators on the 12th and 13th April, they will be brought to justice.
We are encouraging all Swazis to come out in their thousands and join the demonstrations on the 12th and 13th April, this is the only way that will force Mswati to allow democracy in Swaziland.
Thanks once again to Margret Simelani for coming early to set up the vigil, it should be noted that Margret is physically not well but she is prepared to make sacrifices for the freedom of the Swazi people. Thanks to Kelvin Kampira who hastily learned Italian to persuade the number of Italian tourist to sign our petitions. Thanks to Georgina Makaza, a Zimbabwean activist who came to our vigil to support us, she was moved by the suffering of the Swazi people that she promised to be coming to our vigil every Saturday. Last but not least Thanks to Francesca Toft, who brought an article in the Sun and thanks also to Fungayi Mabhunu for the tremendous support.
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We had an exuberant vigil on Saturday 24th March outside the Swazi High Commission here in London, with a lot of tourists visiting Buckingham Palace stopping by and signing our petitions. One passerby had this say "Make sure when he attends the Queen's Golden Jubilee, he (Mswati) gets a hard time . . . he went on to say that we must show him that this is a democratic country people are allowed to demonstrate!!! At the vigil we totally agree with this supporter, this time we will make sure we will give him a hard time, we are going to dress him down, we will make sure the whole world knows about his evil deeds, DICTATORSHIP, the abuse of human rights, abuse of women, rape, torture, murder, imprisonment of political activities and lavish life stlye while 90% of the swazi people are starving.
What the Swazi people are clamouring for was summed up by a group of Swazis who attended our vigil, the group included Jabulile Simelane, whose father (Paulos Majaji Simelane) was Commissioner of Police in Swaziland and was accused of plotting to kill the king and thrown into jail. She said all his relatives were being penalized, as indeed was everyone in Swaziland where there was ‘grinding poverty, hunger, no jobs, no medicine in hospitals, let alone sheets for hospital beds’.
Jabulile said that the Swazi High Commission is London should be closed as it did nothing for Swazis except look after King Mswati’s children studying in the UK who were given £30,000 a month to spend while children at home had no books. She added that Swazis in the UK were to write to the Queen to protest at the invitation to King Mswati to her Jubilee celebrations in June. She said ‘I am sure that Her Majesty cannot know how monstrous Mswati is. Our people are starving but he has £16 billion in Qatar. He should go and stay there. Why is Mr Cameron not doing something about Mswati when he is acting against people like President Assad of Syria.'
Thanks to our founder member and coordinator Kelvin Kamupira, who brought the drum and his singing, Kelvin Kamupira is a human rights activist, who has campaigned for a long time against the obnoxious regime of Zimbabwe's Mugabe. It is Kelvin's ideal to see a free and democratic Southern Africa, in which all the peoples live in peace and in harmony, that is why he helped found the Swazi Vigil. His commitement to the cause in no doubt unquestionable, a true revolutionary indeed.
Special mention also goes to Flora Dlamini who was at the vigil early to help with the banners, Senele Msweli who helped in writting articles and publishing our website, Jabulile Simelani and Margret Dlamini who brought the banners and a new table. Last, but not least Francesca Toft, Fungayi Mabhunu and the Zimbabwe Vigil who helped with our publicty while our website was down.
NOTICES
Next Swaziland Vigil. Saturday 7th April from 10 am – 1 pm. Venue: Swazi High Commission, 20 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LB. Nearest stations: St James’s Park and Victoria.
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