BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo advises African National Congress (ANC) Secretary General Fikile Mbalula to get all sides of a story before making a pronouncement.
Nxumalo was responding to a message said to be written by Mbalula on what is said to be an attempt to assassinate People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) President Mlungisi Makhanya. Mbalula is said to have stated that they were informed about the said assassination attempt on Makhanya during a meeting they had with PUDEMO.
Mbalula is said to have condemned such an act and called for what was termed as peaceful and democratic settlement on the challenges facing Eswatini. In response, Nxumalo called upon Mbalula to tell those concerned as to what “peaceful and democratic settlement” to the challenges facing Eswatini that should be made.
According to Nxumalo, Mbalula had just defeated and subverted the very first rule of a democratic engagement, which was to hear all the parties and sides concerned before one could make a pronouncement.
Nxumalo pointed out that His Majesty King Mswati III extended his arms and ears not only to PUDEMO, but all Emaswati longtime ago during the initial launch of the national constitutional consultative meetings. In those meetings, Nxumalo said the then PUDEMO leader Mario Masuku was drafted into the Commission that carried out the assignment.
By this gesture, Nxumalo described the king as someone who descended from the Throne and reached out to a mere mortal man and organisation and tasked them with the responsibility to chart a new constitutional order and dispensation for the Kingdom of Eswatini. According to Nxumalo, PUDEMO took a resolution which culminated in the total withdrawal of Mario from the Commission and did what he said they knew best and have perfected over years, which was boycotting.
Nxumalo further said PUDEMO did not only boycott this process, but also boycotted all subsequent national consultative processes which followed, such as constitution drafting, economic vusela, Tinkhundla review commission, and other processes. Nxumalo said PUDEMO had perfected the art of political disengagement in the place of engagement. He wondered what the country had done, according to Mbalula.
Nxumalo said the nation had just concluded another historic national dialogue and PUDEMO had bolted away, as usual. He further stated that the attempts to end Mlungusi Makhanya’s life did not involve the Government of Eswatini. He said first and foremost, if there was any decision to neutralise Makhanya or anybody for that matter, that person could not have been missed at all.
He described a State as an organisation that was not a spaza shop. “Decisions once made by a State on such things, they are executed with precision and with clarity. Government is not at war with anyone within or outside the country. If it is, we wouldn’t be on this space making such useless arguments,” Nxumalo said. He stated that there was implosion within the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM). “The fact of the matter is that there’s a huge implosion occurring within the so called mass democratic movement. It has only started and Mbalula must watch and learn,” Nxumalo concluded.
