On April 12, 1973 King Sobhuza II of Swaziland issued the State of Emergency decree. From that moment til present political parties have been illegal in Swaziland.
Mr Don McKinnon, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, refers to "a special democracy" in Swaziland - it is a sham! Mr MacKinnon comes from democratic New Zealand; however, doesn't believe the people of Swaziland exact the same rights!
COSATU, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, has a history of strongly supporting democratic forces in Swaziland and have pledged to blockade several borders on April 12th, 2006.
Before April 12th, please e-mail our
Swaziland must allow political parties and Canada should call for the unbanning of political parties if Swaziland is to remain a member of the Commonwealth.
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BELOW ARE COPIES OF THE 1973 Decree (note decree 2, 11, 12 and 13) and a PUDEMO document from 1996 called "THE WAY FORWARD"
PROCLAMATION BY
HIS MAJESTY KING SOBHUZA II
12TH APRIL 1973
For purposes of general information the full text of the King's Proclamation
made before the Nation on the 12th April, 1973 is hereby published.
D. COHEN
Attorney-General.
Mbabane,
16th April, 1973
PROCLAMATION
TO ALL MY SUBJECTS - CITIZENS OF SWAZILAND
- WHEREAS The House of Assembly and the Senate have passed the resolutions which have just been read to us.
- AND WHEREAS I have given consideration to the extremely serious situation which has now arisen to our country and have come to the following conclusions:
(a) that the Constitution has indeed failed to provide the machinery for good government and for the maintenance of peace and order;
(b) that the Constitution is indeed the cause of growing unrest, insecurity, dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in our country and an impediment to free and progressive development in all spheres of life;
(c) that the Constitution has permitted the importation into our country of highly undesirable political practices alien to, and incompatible with the way of life in our society and designed to disrupt and destroy our own peaceful and constructive and essentially democratic methods of political activity; increasingly this element engenders hostility, bitterness and unrest in our peaceful society;
(d) that there is no constitutional way of effecting the necessary amendments to the Constitution; the method prescribed by the constitution itself is wholly impracticable and will bring about that disorder which any constitution is meant to inhibit;
(e) that I and all my people heartily desire at long last, after a long constitutional struggle, to achieve full freedom and independence under a constitution created by ourselves for ourselves in complete liberty without outside pressures; as a nation we desire to march forward progressively under our own constitution guaranteeing peace, order and good government and the happiness and welfare of all our people.
- Now THEREFORE I, SOBHUZA II, King of Swaziland, hereby declare that, in collaboration with my Cabinet Ministers and supported by the whole nation, I have assumed supreme power in the Kingdom of Swaziland and that all Legislative, Executive and Judicial power is vested in myself and shall, for the meantime, be exercised in collaboration with a Council constituted by my Cabinet Ministers. I further declare that, to ensure the continued maintenance of peace, order and good government, my Armed Forces in conjunction with the Swaziland Royal Police have been posted to all strategic places and have taken charge of all government and all public services. I further declare that I, in collaboration with my cabinet Ministers, hereby decree that:-
(a.) The Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland which commenced on the 6th September, 1968, is hereby repealed;
(b.) All laws with the exception of the Constitution hereby repealed, shall continue to operate with full force and effect and shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with this and ensuring decrees.
I will now call upon the Attorney-General, Mr. David Cohen, to read our further decrees designed to provide for the continuance of administration, essential services and normal life in our country.
THE KING IN COLLABORATION WITH HIS COUNCIL DECREES THAT:-
- All Judges and other Judicial Officers, Government Officials, Public Servants, Members of the Police Force, the Prison Service and Armed Forces shall continue in office and shall be deemed to have been validly appointed. They shall carry out their duties and shall be entitled on the existing basis to their remuneration;
- For a period of six months from date hereof, the King-in-Council may, whenever they deemed it necessary in the public interest, order the detention of any person subject to any conditions they may impose for any period of time not exceeding sixty days in respect of any one order. Any person released after such detention may again be detained as often as it may be deemed necessary in the Public interest. No Court shall have power to enquire into or make any order in connection with any such detention;
- Chapter IV of the repealed Constitution, with the exception of Sections 28, 31, 32, and 36, shall again come into force.
- All persons who at the date hereof held office as Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister, Minister of State, Assistant Minister, Secretary to the Cabinet and Attorney-General in terms of Chapter VII of the repealed constitution shall continue in office at the discretion of the King. They shall continue to carry out their duties and functions (subject to such modifications as may be necessary as a result of this decree) and shall be responsible to the King;
- The Attorney General shall again have the powers and duties vested in him in terms of Chapter VII Section 91(1), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8) of the repealed Constitution and the provisions of Section 119, 120 and Section 100 of Chapter IX of the repealed Constitution shall again apply to the Office of the Attorney General.
- Save as hereinafter set out, Chapter VIII of the repealed Constitution shall again come into force:
(a) All land and rights in and to land previously vested in the Government shall now vest in the King and the reference in Chapter VIII to the Government shall, where the context permits, be taken as a reference to the King;
(b) The words "to the provisions of this Constitution and" shall be deleted from Section 94(1);
- Parts 1 and 2 of Chapter IX and Section 138, 139, 140 and 141 of Chapter XIII of the repealed Constitution shall again operate with full force and effect and shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with this and ensuring decrees. The Judicial Service Commission is abolished and parts 1 and 2 of the said Chapter IX shall be construed as if there is no reference in them to the Judicial Service Commission;
- Chapter XI of the repealed Constitution shall again come into force and shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring it into conformity with this and ensuring decrees. In particular any reference to the House of Assembly or both chambers or the procedures for enacting financial legislation shall be interpreted as references to the King-in-Council and/or decrees issued by the King as the context requires.
- Until further notice, all persons who have lost office as a result of the repeal of the Constitution, including all members of the Senate and the House of Assembly, shall be entitled to receive the emoluments which they would have received but for the repeal of the Constitution.
- Section 135 of the repealed Constitution shall again come into forces subject, however, to the deletion of the introductory words "save as otherwise provided in this Constitution";
- All political parties and similar bodies that cultivate and bring about disturbances and ill-feelings within the Nations are hereby dissolved and prohibited.
- No meetings of a political nature and no processions or demonstrations shall be held or take place in any public place unless with the prior written consent of the Commissioner of Police; and consent shall not be given if the Commissioner of Police has reason to believe that such meeting, procession or demonstration, is directly or indirectly related to political movements or other riotous assemblies which may disturb the peace or otherwise disturb the maintenance of law and order.
- Any person who forms or attempts or conspires to form a political party or who organises or participates in any way in any meeting, procession or demonstration in contravention of this decree shall be guilty of an of fence and liable, on conviction, to imprisonment not exceeding six months.
Thus done and signed at Lobamba, this 12th day of April, 1973.
SOBHUZA IIKing of Swaziland.
The Government Printer, Mbabane.
(ISSUE 4)
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THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL
CONSTITUTIONAL FORUM:
"THE WAY FORWARD"
Issued by
The National Executive Committee of
The People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO)
Swaziland - 18 July 1996
PREAMBLE Conscious of our people's struggle to end over 23 years of undemocratic rule and to terminate 18 long years of the costly Tinkhundla experiment that has bred economic decay, autocratic domination, corruption and a breakdown of the social and cultural fabric of Swazi society; Mindful of the resolute desire of our people to march forward, no matter what the odds, to the creation of political dispensation that guarantees lasting peace, justice, good government, progress and the welfare of all; We reaffirm our profound conviction that real solutions to the challenges facing our country will come from a peaceful, genuine negotiation process based on real, and effective participation by the people. Democracy is not the preserve of the select few; it is by its very nature a process guided by the principles of freedom, co-determination and shared responsibility. Essentially, therefore, we must engage all the various interests in our country in a process that will efficiently address the political, economic and socio-cultural dynamics at play in
Swaziland. Nothing short of this broadbrush approach will address the fundamental fears, concerns and aspirations of the vast majority of our people. In keeping with this noble resolve, we welcome any genuine invitation to all organised civic formations, registered and unregistered, to a properly constituted and representative Constitutional Forum that would be mandated to chart the way forward for
Swaziland.
FUNDAMENTAL PRE-CONDITIONS FOR EFFECTIVE BROAD BASED PARTICIPATION
In the light of our history, particularly since 1973, coupled with the forest of unfriendly political practices prevalent in our country today, it is deceitful to suggest that we are ready as a nation to engage in the process of democratisation and real change. The fact that as recently as July 1996 some ordinary Swazis have lost their employment simply because they are members of a political organisation, casts a serious doubt on the bona fides of the present national leadership. To ensure full and genuine participation by the vast majority of our people, the ground must be level and to achieve this the following fundamental pre-conditions must be met;
- His Majesty King Mswati III must openly and unconditionally commit himself and the Government of Swaziland to the peaceful transition to democracy and change.
- There must be an unconditional repeal of Decrees 2, 11, 12 and 13 of the King's Proclamation of April 12, 1973.
To grow in stature and take his rightful place amongst the leaders of the world, our King must resist the temptation to lead a nation in shackles to a "democracy" designed by only those who thrive on the status quo.
- The constitution making process must be a broad based, all-inclusive process involving Government, Traditional Authorities, political organisations, organised labour, business, the Youth, Women's Organisations, the church and other civic formations. However, it must not be turned into a social-fun club without any clear political identity and objective.
- The independence of the judiciary must be upheld.
- There must be clear terms of reference defining the purpose, objectives and the modus operandi of the forum, including;
a) appointment of an independent Chairperson. b) dispute/conflict resolution mechanisms.
c) there must be freedom of the press and all parties must enjoy equal access.
d) the process itself must be transparent and open to the press and public.
THE MAIN STEPS IN THE PROCESS
As the nation sets out to cut its own niche in history, it is of paramount importance to have a clear view of the road ahead. This demands much more than good intentions. To ensure that the process is properly focused and directed, we should identify the distinct steps to be covered and adopt an appropriate approach and time frame for each step. These are summarised in the "Three Principal Steps to Democracy" enshrined in PUDEMO's guiding document. Namely:
-
The Preliminary Negotiation Process: Talks About Talks
The first step in the creation and implementation of a preliminary negotiation process whose main objective will be to remove all impediments and create a conducive climate for popular political participation. The main product of this exercise will include the following;
a) a Memorandum of Intent whereby His Majesty King Mswati III as the Ngwenyama and head of state openly and unconditionally commits himself and the Government to a peaceful and properly constituted negotiation process towards the democratisation of Swaziland b) the unconditional repeal of decrees no. 2, 11, 12 and 13 of the King's Proclamation of 12th April, 1973
c) the setting out of an agenda for the negotiations
d) the identification of an independent chairperson
e) setting up of a conflict/dispute settlement mechanism
f) time frame covering the various stages in the process
g) any other matters that the parties may deem necessary for the success of the process
-
The National Convention
The National Convention shall be an all inclusive forum covering all the principal stakeholders - the government, traditional authorities, political parties, organised labour, organised business, the youth, the churches and other civic groups. Its principal objectives will include, amongst other things;
a) to conduct the negotiations and seek common solutions that shall accommodate all fundamental concerns and interests. Unlike the Tinkhundla models, this forum will deal with the real issues and arrive at real bona fide solutions. b) to establish an interim authority that will see to the affair of state and government during the period of transition to democracy.
c) to negotiate and agree on an interim constitution for the land.
NOTE: Whether or not to re-instate the 1968 Independence Constitution will be debated at this forum. However, knowing that the constitution making process is very involved, requiring thorough consultation with the government, it would be foolhardy to expect such a forum to draw up a final constitution. Only people who harbour ulterior motives would engage the nation in such blackmail.
d) to prepare the country for a general election under the new interim constitution.
-
The Constituent Assembly
The Constituent Assembly can only be formed once a new government and Parliament has been elected in terms of the interim constitution. It is a body that will be elected by the people for purposes of drawing up the Final Democratic Constitution for
Swaziland.
The main product of the Constituent Assembly will include the following:
a) setting time frames for the final constitution making process b) setting up mechanisms for public debate and education
c) setting up of a committee to gather views from the people as input into the democratic constitution
d) setting up technical teams comprising experts in the field
e) drawing up and arranging adoption of the constitution as the supreme law of the land.
TIME FRAMES
Although it remains our firm conviction that the setting up of time frames for the process is not the prerogative of any particular party, we believe that the first two stages should be completed without undue delay. Six months is adequate for these preliminary steps in the process. The third and last stage of drawing up of the final constitution will require some time. However, critical as it may be, a period of 12 months is reasonable for completion of this final mile.
CONCLUSION
Today, the people of
Swaziland stand on the threshold of a critical strategic rubicon. Those who remain addicted to Tinkhundla style experiments such as the proposed constitutional forum that the regime intends to parade, will invariably fall by the wayside. We, therefore, call upon His Majesty the King to abandon the Tinkhundla dinosaur, to rise to the occasion and provide the quality leadership and political wisdom required at this time of great challenge.
"FORWARD TO PEACEFUL NEGOTIATIONS" Signed by
M. T. Masuku, President
I.B. Dlamini, Secretary General
