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RELIGION AND POLITICS IN SWAZILAND R. SIM

ANGALISO KUMALO

R. Simangaliso Kumalo is Director for Research and Postgraduate Studies at the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He studied at universities both in South Africa and overseas. He teaches courses in Practical Theology and Political Theology at the same institution. He is also the founding Director of the Religion, Governance and Africa in the World Programme. He is the author of “From Deserts to Forests”, Methodists with a White History and a Black Future, Pastor and Politician: Essays on the Life and Legacy of J.L. Dube the first president of the African National Congress. He lives in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

R. SIMANGALISO KUMALO EDITOR

R. Simangaliso Kumalo offers a candid reflection on the interface between politics and religion in Swaziland by reflecting on the works of Joshua Mzizi. The strength of the book is not just the fact that it is written by a Public Theologian but on his ability to reflect on the particular, which is Joshua Mzizi and Swaziland, in order to reveal insights to the bigger story which is the interface between Politics and Religion in Africa.

Through J.B. Mzizi’s writings we get a window to the collusion between religion, culture and politics to keeping the ordinary Africans poor and oppressed. Here, in the first and only major volume is a collection of his academic and popular writings, speeches and autobiographical reflections, his belief in Political Theology, religion and politics, culture and Christianity and the ethics of dialogue and hope. Through his personal story we get insights as to how African intellectuals are made and how they are marginalised, vilified and sometimes persecuted, though in spite of this their message for the continent remains relevant.

The original papers of Mzizi make this book stand on a class of its own because they enshrine the original thoughts of this unique politically-minded and profoundly gifted academic.

– Prof. James N. AmanzeUniversity of Botswana

A book on Mzizi’s theological thinking would incontrovertibly be an absolute pioneer work.– Nonhlanhla J. VilakatiUniversity of Swaziland

The contributions of Dr J.B. Mzizi

RELIGION & POLITICS IN SWAZILAND



R. S IMANGALISO KUMALO

EDITOR

Religion and politics in Swaziland: The contributions of Dr J.B. Mzizi

Published by SUN MeDIA Bloemfontein under the SUN PReSS imprint

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Copyright © 2013 R. Simangaliso Kumalo and SUN MeDIA Bloemfontein

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First edition 2013

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CONTENTS

DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... iDEFINITION OF SWAZI TERMS ............................................................................. iiiACRONYMS ........................................................................................................... vPREFACE ............................................................................................................... vii

– SECTION ONE –THE PALACE, THE PARISH AND THE POWER: POSTCOLONIAL PERSPECTIVES ON J.B. MZIZI’S WORKS ................................ 1

A postcolonial reading of Mzizi’s works ................................................. 2Rationale, textual notes, selection, sources arrangement and structure ................................................................................................. 20

MZIZI’S AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WRITINGS ........................................................... 25

Raised by the Swazi-Christian God ........................................................ 26Early and tertiary education ................................................................... 27Political activism ..................................................................................... 28A prophet rejected by his own people ................................................... 29Conclusion ............................................................................................. 30

– SECTION TWO –THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ETHNO-RELIGIOUS IDENTITY OF THE SWAZI PEOPLE AND THE SWAZIASATION OF CHRISTIANITY ................... 33

Introduction ............................................................................................ 33Genesis of Swaziland ............................................................................. 34Economic context .................................................................................. 64

– SECTION THREE –MZIZI’S REFLECTIONS ON THE RELIGION POLITICS AND THE MONARCHY ........................................................................................................... 69

PART 1 – ECUMENISM AND RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE ....................................... 70

Challenges of proselytisation in contemporary Swaziland ................... 70Historical roots of Christian nationalism in Swaziland ........................... 72Elements of civil religion ......................................................................... 73Swazi Zionism and civil religion ............................................................. 75Religious freedom in Swaziland ............................................................. 78Freedom of religion and the law ............................................................. 81

PART 2 – MONARCHY: THE DOMINANCE OF THE SWAZI MONARCHY AND THE MORAL DYNAMICS OF DEMOCRATISATION OF THE SWAZI STATE ................................................................................. 83

Introduction ............................................................................................. 83Triumph of tradition ................................................................................. 85Images of Kingship: Somhlolo’s vision .................................................. 89Uneasy lies the head that holds the crown ........................................... 92The King should be above politics ........................................................ 94King Mswati, a political novice ............................................................... 96There is more than what meets the eye in the removal of the speaker of parliament by the King ......................................................... 100We need change very soon, Your Majesty! ............................................ 102Reflections on the King’s birthday .......................................................... 105Tell the King: “Your Majesty, you are without clothes” .......................... 107The monarchy and dictatorship ............................................................. 110Princess Sikhanyiso and the Umcwasho ceremony: When hip-hop and Swazi culture collide ....................................................................... 113Swimming in uncertain waters: Incwala ................................................. 115The political economy of Umcwasho ..................................................... 118

PART 3 – ON HUMAN RIGHTS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND THE TINKUNDLA SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT ............................................. 121

What is freedom of expression? ............................................................. 121What is the Tinkundla system of government? ....................................... 123Is there freedom of expression in Swaziland? ....................................... 124What happened to good conscience for public leaders? ..................... 125Minister must explain Tholeni murder issue ........................................... 127Remembering Black Wednesday ........................................................... 130Albert and Kati: Are Cain and Abel ........................................................ 133Political and religious tolerance is a good virtue .................................... 136Highlights on the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights ....... 139Comrades indeed are also comrades in truth ....................................... 142Say "yes" to peace and "no" to conflict! ................................................. 145We are living a lie ................................................................................... 148The culture of violence against the people by the police brutality is being sown in this country ................................................................. 150

PART 4 – POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE IN SWAZILAND FROM A WESTMINSTER MODEL TO A HOMEGROWN CONSTITUTIONAL DISPENSATION ...................................................................................... 153

State of the opposition ............................................................................ 158Conception of security: A case of competing possibilities ................... 163Conclusion .............................................................................................. 167

PART 5 – TRADITION AND POLITICS .................................................................... 168

Too much eating, too little talk: When tradition becomes our monster .................................................................................................. 168Topsy-turvy, Swazi politics ..................................................................... 171Zig-zag unchanging changes in Swaziland .......................................... 173Between radical and moderate politics: A dialogue with Sive Siyinqaba ........................................................................................ 176Reflection on the elections and challenges facing the monarchy in setting up government ........................................................................... 179Our independence is not something to be proud of ............................. 181Don’t build Swaziland on a misfired Tinkhundla system ........................ 184What is parliament’s mandate in the Constitution Bill? .......................... 187Come Swaziland, wake up and smell the coffee ................................... 188Exciting times: The changes in Swaziland’s politics .............................. 190Where is Swaziland in this confusion? ................................................... 194The centre cannot hold as Swaziland is ushered into the dungeon of death ................................................................................................... 197Let reason and peace save us from ourselves ...................................... 199Whither Swaziland in African Renaissance? .......................................... 202The Judiciary in Swaziland and the rule of law ...................................... 205Political control of the Swaziland Television and Broadcasting Corporation ............................................................................................. 207The instability of Swaziland’s economy ................................................. 209The need for social transformation in Swaziland ................................... 211Elections and the Tinkhundla system .................................................... 213Mathendele Dlamini and the Tinkhundla system ................................... 215Government and the prosecution of justice ........................................... 218Stumbling blocks in Swazi politics ......................................................... 220My New Year’s resolution is multi-partysm in Swaziland ....................... 222Should Government fuel the fire or play a mediatory role? ................... 225United you stand and divided you fall: A warning to the Trade Union Movement .......................................................................... 227Who will save us from biased journalism? ............................................ 230

PART 6 – CHURCH AND STATE IN SWAZILAND IS SOMHLOLO’S DREAM A SCANDAL FOR SWAZI HEGEMONY? ............................................... 232

Introduction ............................................................................................. 233Conceptual framework ........................................................................... 235The dream revisited ............................................................................... 236The popular reading of the dream ......................................................... 237A secular or historical reading of the dream .......................................... 239A religious reading of the dream: Toward an integrative approach ...... 240The Christian clause debate ................................................................... 242

The King summons the Christian clergy ............................................... 243Section 4 of the 2003 Draft Constitution ................................................ 243Conclusion ............................................................................................. 245Civil religion and the Bible in Swaziland ................................................ 246Untangling the riddle of Somhlolo’s vision ............................................ 249The conflict between Christianity and African Religion .......................... 251Swazi preachers should not be silly apologists to colonial Christianity .............................................................................................. 254Indilinga was the bullet while Umculu was learning .............................. 257Mdluli, anti-papism: An old-fashioned religious doctrine ....................... 259The Constitution and the Christian clause debate ................................ 261Public peace results from social justice, Christians must ask what peace is! ........................................................................................ 264They cry peace, when there is no peace ................................................ 268The church failed to address the status quo .......................................... 270Church and the prophetic ministry ......................................................... 272The church has a role in the mass stay-away in January ...................... 275Swazi bishops just too nice to the Prime Minister ................................. 278Between God and Ceaser: The relationship between the King and early missionaries in Swaziland ...................................................... 281My pastor is a politician … does God still have a servant? (2) ............. 284Theological dialogue and tolerance is better than directionless debate .................................................................................................... 287Accept others as you would that they accept you (1) ........................... 289Accept others as you would that they accept you (2) ............................ 292Dushu Maguga … You! You can be a Shembe follower! ...................... 294Now is the time that the church should unite and embark on a prophetic ministry .................................................................................. 296

PART 7 – CELEBRATING HEORES OF DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE ........................................................................... 299

Tribute to Vusie Thwala .......................................................................... 299Prime Minister Sibusiso: Is he Africa’s dictator of the human rights violation? ...................................................................................... 302Arthur Khoza the pilgrim: What would Nkrumah think of this man? ..... 304The wise words of Martin Luther King Jr. ............................................... 306Remembering civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday ........... 309Bishop Ncamiso Ndlovu: The prophetic voice ...................................... 312

– SECTION FOUR –

J.B. MZIZI: AS SEEN AND HEARD BY OTHERS ................................................... 319

PART 1 – A PROPHET AND LIBERATOR OF MODERN SWAZILAND | BY COMFORT MABUZA ........................................................................ 319

Mzizi the student .................................................................................... 320Mzizi the teacher .................................................................................... 321Mzizi the scholar – theologian ................................................................ 321Mzizi, the advocate and activist for human rights .................................. 322Mzizi the communicator and social commentator ................................. 322Mzizi the Christian .................................................................................. 323Mzizi the family man ............................................................................... 324

PART 2 – THE HUMAN SIDE OF AN AFRICAN POLITICAL THEOLOGIAN | BY NONHLANHLA JOYCE VILAKATI ..................................................... 325

PART 3 – HE WAS A MAN OF HONOUR | BY BHEKI MAKHUBU ........................ 328

PART 4 – HE STOOD FOR THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS | BY BHEKI MAKHUBU ............................................................................. 330

The literal understanding of the Bible .................................................... 331

PART 5 – HE WAS A TEACHER AND ROLE MODEL FOR ALL ASPIRING ACTIVIST-INTELLECTUALS | BY SIKELELA DLAMINI ........................... 332

PART 6 – J.B. MZIZI: THE FACE AND SPIRIT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT OF SWAZILAND | BY VELAPHI MAMBA .......................... 334

– SECTION FIVE –

THE LEGACY OF A POSTCOLONIAL SWAZILAND .............................................. 339

Intellectual-activist .................................................................................. 339The role of the University in political development ................................ 340Liberation Theology: A tool in the hands of the church ......................... 341Liberation and human rights go together .............................................. 342On church and state relations ................................................................ 342On African Traditional Religions and Africa Initiated Church’s views on politics and governance ................................................................... 343The Evangelical approach to church-state relations .............................. 343The mainline church’s approach to church-state relations ................... 345On Somhloloism in a democratic pluralistic society .............................. 346The imperative of collaboration across the religious spectrum ............ 349Reactions to Mzizi’s religio-political work .............................................. 350Uncritical acceptance of African traditional leaders .............................. 351Exclusion of women’s issues in the struggle ......................................... 351Conclusion .............................................................................................. 351

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 353

i

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the memory of the

late Joshua Bhekinkosi Mzizi who heeded

the call to serve his country and people as

a public intellectual and proponent of Liberation

Theology. This call earned him friends and foes but

he remained steadfast until his death. When he died,

Swaziland lost one of her greatest intellectuals and

Africa one of her greatest sons. It is also dedicated

to all the freedom-loving people of Africa who dare

to believe that a new and democratic Swaziland is

indeed possible – a Swaziland where people will

not be judged by the ethnic identity that history

gave them, the political party they belong to and the

gender orientation creation imposed on them, but by

the content of their character and the depth of their

love for freedom and human dignity.

Theologically speaking only God can bring about the spirit of freedom. I am talking about total

and holistic freedom, not the kind that frees one’s soul, which suddenly realises that the body is

trapped in the endless human agony. God’s freedom is absolute, complete – not relative. Relative

freedom is the kind that overemphasises the salvation of souls at the expense of socio-economic

and political freedom. Freedom cannot be relativised and God cannot be compartmentalised.

– J.B. Mzizi

iii

DEFINITION OF SWAZI TERMS

Emabandla Denominations

Emabutfo Regiments

Emadloti Ancestors

Emalangeni Those who belong to the Dlamini dynasty, also refers to the currency

Imvunulo Swazi traditional regalia

Indilinga Coin

Incwala The Swazi festival of first fruits and traditional prayer of the nation

Ingwenyama The lion, symbolical name of the King

Indlovukazi The she-elephant, symbolical title of the Queen Mother

Kubulawa Royal appointment to a particular position

Kuncoma To prenominate

Mkhulumnchanti The First Being

Mvelinchanti Supreme Being, the one who was there in the Beginning of things

Labadzala The elders, refers to those who belong to the royal house and council

Libandla Council

Liqoqo The Swazi National Council

Tinkhundla Regional centres comprising chiefdoms

Tinkhundlacracy The Swazi-specific political system

Sibahle Sinje A cultural and political movement in Swaziland

Sibaya Kraal

Siswati Language of the Swazi people

Somhlolo The kingship name given to Mswati I

Somhloloism The doctrine that the gospel came through Somhlolo’s dream

Swazi The people of Mswati

Umculu Book

Umphakatsi Chiefdom

Umhlanga Reed Dance ceremony performed by teenage girls

Vusela Review

v

ACRONYMS

AEC Alliance Evangelical Church

ANC African National Congress

AGOA African Growth and Opportunity Act

BOLESWA Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland

CANGO Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organisations

CDC Constitution Drafting Committee

CRC Constitutional Review Commission

CSC Council of Swaziland Churches

DPM Deputy Prime Minister

DPMF Development Policy Management Forum

EISA Electoral Institute of Southern Africa

ESRA Economic Social Reform Agenda

INCOSCM Inter-Collegiate Student Christian Movement

HIV/Aids Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired immune deficiency

syndrome

HUMARAS Human Rights Association of Swaziland

HURUDISWA Human Rights and Democracy Institute of Swaziland

ILO International Labour Organisation

LACS League of African Churches in Swaziland

MCSA Methodist Church of Southern Africa

MISA Media Institute of Southern Africa

MP Member of Parliament

NDS National Development Strategy

NGO Non-Governmental Organisation

NNLC Ngwane National Liberatory Movement

OSISA Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa

PM Prime Minister

PUDEMO Peoples United Democratic Movement

RSP Royal Swaziland Police

SADC Southern African Development Community

SADCC Southern African Development Coordinating Conference

SCCO Swaziland Concerned Civic Organisations,

SCCUC Swazi Christian Churches United in Christ

vi

SCC Swaziland Conference of Churches

SCM Student Christian Movement

SFTU Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions

SNAT Swaziland National Association of Teachers

SNCSC Swazi National Council Standing Committee

STR Swazi Traditional Religion

SSN Swaziland Solidarity Network

SWAGAA Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse,

SWAYOCO Swaziland Youth Congress

TRC Tinkhundla Review Commission

UBLS University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland

UCCA United Christian Church of Africa

UDI Unilateral Declaration of Independence

UNISA University of South Africa

UNISWA University of Swaziland

USDF Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force

WCC World Council of Churches

WHO World Health Organisation

WLSA Women and Law in Southern Africa

vii

PREFACE

I am deeply humbled and honoured to present this volume of Joshua Mzizi’s articles and

short essays to the public. In preparing this book for publication, I am particularly grateful for

the support I have received from the Mzizi family. Special thanks therefore go to his widow,

Mavis, and the children. Their generosity in supplying information and general support has

enriched this book beyond measure. Thanks also go to Martin Dlamini Managing Editor of The

Times of Swaziland, Musa Ndlangamandla, editor of The Swazi Observer and Bheki Makhubu,

editor of the Nation, who each willingly gave their permission for the use of articles that Mzizi

had published in their respective newspapers and magazine. Comfort Mabuza, Mzizi’s great

friend and comrade, was most supportive. Nonhlanhla Vilakati, Mzizi’s colleague and friend,

made available Mzizi’s personal papers, so that we could glean valuable data. Special mention

should be made of Mzizi’s colleagues at the Coalition of Non-governmental Organisations

(CANGO), especially Thembinkosi Dlamini as well as Lungile Magongo formerly of the Council

of Swaziland Churches, for not only establishing the J.B. Mzizi Memorial Lecture, but also for

putting into motion the process that culminated in the writing of this book.

I am also grateful to my research assistants, Rogers Ndawula and Herbert Moyo, who scouted

for data, reading thousands of pages and transcribing many of them for inclusion in the

manuscript. I also want to extend a word of gratitude to my colleague and friend, Rosinah

Gabaitse, for collecting data on Mzizi from the University of Botswana archives and BOLESWA

journals. My grateful thanks also go to SUN MeDIA Bloemfontein for publishing this book. Last,

but not least, to my wife Lovey and our four children (Lesego, Thembinkosi, Junior and Mfundo)

for their devotion, support and understanding during the many months of research and writing.

By the end of this book, it should become clear that Mzizi was a phenomenon not only for

Swaziland, but also for the entire continent of Africa. He was able to forge his way through to

the academic world, and thereby ensure that his voice could be heard throughout the world,

through his pen. It is an honour for me to contribute to the preservation of the ideas he espoused

and the convictions he stood for. His dream was for a Swaziland where people would be judged

not by the blood (royal) that runs through their veins, or the clan name that history imposed

on them, but by the right they hold to their citizenship, the depth of their intellect, purity of their

hearts, greatness of their minds and ability of their hands. As with Mzizi, I too share this vision

and believe that a new Swaziland is indeed possible.

R. Simangaliso Kumalo

27 April 2013 (Freedom Day)

University of KwaZulu-Natal

Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

SECTION ONE

1

THE PALACE, THE PARISH AND THE POWER:

POSTCOLONIAL PERSPECTIVES ON J.B. MZIZI’S WORKS

Joshua Bhekinkosi Mzizi or simply known as J.B. Mzizi; is best known as the public

theologian who became the voice of the progressive movements in Swaziland for just

over a decade. There had been a few other Swazi academic theologians since the country

gained its independence in 1968. However, they are not more than ten in total. The question

is what made him to stand out and to be deserving of a book as a collection of his writings?

I contend that Mzizi is one of the best theologians in the rich and prolific Southern African

tradition of liberation theologians, and he is one of the very few to have come out of Swaziland

in the postcolonial era.1 The main reason for publishing this book is to share, preserve and pass

on to future generations his message and legacy. It is also to stimulate more research on Mzizi,

his times, themes such as theological and social history, and the history of religion in Swaziland

and the socio-economic dynamics of the country. Mzizi was viewed by some as a liberation

theologian, patriot, activist-intellectual, prophet of democracy and protagonist of human rights

in Swaziland, whilst others saw him as rabble-rouser, an enemy of His Majesty’s government

and the church. While young, educated Swazi women and men left the country in search of

economic opportunities elsewhere, especially South Africa, Mzizi remained in Swaziland, and

his presence there was very powerful. He represented a part of the population of Swaziland that

searched for words to express their quest for freedom in a postcolonial country still trapped in

1 Others include Dr Hebron Ndlovu and Ms Nonhlanhla Vilakati.

2

RELIGION AND POLITICS IN SWAZILAND

pre- and colonial systems of governance. The authorities in Swaziland did not like him or his

message. Not only was he detained by the police, but an attempt was also made to deport him

from the country of his birth.

A POSTCOLONIAL READING OF MZIZI’S WORKS

For us to explore, understand and appreciate Mzizi’s works, we need to establish a relevant

theoretical approach. Most contemporary social sciences scholars see in postcolonial theoretical

critique a development in the methodology that can be used to analyse the development of

ideologies in postcolonial Africa. The question that may be asked is what do we mean by

‘postcolonial theory’? One of the key thinkers of postcolonial theory is Gayatri Spivak. She

defines postcolonial theory as “the problematising of repressive cultural and social relations

in a colonising context” (Spivak, 1992:3). This enables us to unpack the colonising cultures

and social relations amongst people especially the relationship between those in power and

their subjects in order to see the power dynamics that are at play. Understanding the power

dynamics may enable us to gain insights to liberating knowledge and activities. In other words,

postcolonial theory can be understood as a theory that is used to critically engage imperialistic

and hegemonic operations in different forms and levels of society. Jeremy Punt (2013:1) has

asserted that:

Postcolonial theory is a critical theoretical approach that is considered to engage the complex aftermath of colonialism, and to theorise without excluding the colonial itself. This theory has been largely shaped by histories of repression and repudiation, reclaiming and celebrating the indigenous in particular, but also and in complex ways by the attraction afforded by colonialist, imperialist endeavours, as well as relations with and reactions to them.2

I embrace Punt’s definition of postcolonial theory and I see the theory as important for the

working of critically analysing the complex system of governance in Swaziland in a postcolonial

era. Punt (2013:2) also notes that “Postcolonial theory tries to criticise both the colonial thinkers

and the anti-colonial thinkers.” Therefore, I understand postcolonial theory to mean a critical

interpretive tool that can be used to engage the complex issues, systems and structures that

were put in place during the colonial era and to do this by including the colonial itself, with the

aim of reclaiming and celebrating incipient knowledge, and agency to define them, and shape

their destiny. David Huddart (2008:4) noted that:

Postcolonial theory, in displacing universalised subjectivities associated with Western thought, wants to emphasise how one universalisation of subjectivity has always excluded other modes of subjectivity. In other words, it wants to show how best other subjectivities are admitted to consideration in order to bolster sameness.

In simple terms postcolonial theoretical critique refers to a theory that seeks to analyse social

dynamics of power relationships between colonisers and the colonised by standing on the

2 Jeremy Punt, Possibilities and Prospects of Postcolonial Biblical Interpretation: A South African Perspective. Paper read at the Summer school on Postcolonial Theology on the 1st June 2013 at Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany, 1.

3

The palace, the parish and the power

postcolonial era, looking at conditions that have historical and contextual dimensions coming

from the intellectual traditions of resistance to colonisation. Therefore, postcolonial theory tries

to criticise both the colonial thinkers and the anti-colonial thinkers. They are trying to synthesise

both the colonisers and the coloniser’s strategies of response to oppression. However we

must learn from Edward Said (1993:9-10) who makes a clear distinction between imperialism

and colonialism. Imperialism was an imposition of a country’s culture, tradition, language and

ideology to another. Colonisation is a control of people’s minds, way of life, tradition, ideology

and resources. It does not need to be from an outside country or power; it can also be practiced

by those in power over others within a nation. Postcolonial theory looks at the colonisers as

they oppress and the colonised as they resist colonisation and see what is happening and give

a new episteme (knowledge) which goes beyond the mimicry and resistance to a new solution,

providing new foundations for the generation of knowledge that is contextually relevant.

Postcolonial theory has to be critically applied to the lived experiences of people, so that it

can help with analysing the situation for the development of new insights. Postcolonial theory

scholarship is a self-critical exercise. It seeks to identify and remove the relics and remnants

of imperialism by foreign powers and to decolonise people any powers that dominate them

whether they are foreign or local.

Scholars of postcolonial thinking have often identified it with references to notions or concepts

such as representation, identity, power, orientalising, ambivalence, de-essentialisation,

hybridity, mimicry, dialogue and some other critical terms.3 Of importance is to note that in this

paper postcolonial is understood as a psychological and social term related to consciousness.

Through the application of these characteristics, scholars synthesise both the colonisers’

strategies to dominate and the colonised attempts either to survive within the domination or to

resist it. I am going to discuss ten notions of postcolonial theory in the light of the situation in

Swaziland to shed light on King Sobhuza’s attempts to develop an ethno-religious identity and

demonstrate how Mzizi responded to this through his writings. The immediate question that may

be asked is what do we mean by postcolonial theoretical analysis in the context of Swaziland?

And how does it manifest itself in the country’s religio-political systems? What are the power

dynamics at play in this system between the leaders and the rest of the citizens? Answers to

such questions depend on who is asking them and the reason for their inquiry. In response to

these questions, these are representation, power, identity, hybridity, conscientisation, etc.

First, one of the key characteristics of postcolonial critical analysis is that it takes special interest

on the representation of the marginalised. It tends to ask the question of who is missing in

this process, who is not included and why? This means that it tends to have interest on the

excluded and marginalised. Michel Foucault refers to the powerless and marginalised as the

subaltern. Discussing bio-power as he referred to power and its effects on people, Foucault (in

Sinellart, 2004:1) argued that:

3 Ibid., 4.

4


It is a number of phenomena that seem to me to be quite significant, namely, the set of mechanisms through which the basic biological features of human species became the object of a political strategy, of a general strategy of power, or in other words, how, starting from the eighteen century, modern Western societies took on board the fundamental biological fact that human beings are a species.

Writing from a biblical interpretation perspective Pui-lan (2005:37) observed that “a postcolonial

approach deliberately forms a counter-hegemonic discourse, paying attention to hidden and

neglected voices” as well as the voices of protest or opposition. Punt takes this argument

further by observing that a postcolonial theoretical approach:

Includes and gives voice to the voiceless, the muted voices colonised, the marginalised, and the oppressed. It addresses disproportionate power relationships at geo-political as well as subsidiary levels, at the level of the empire and the relationship between the imperial and the colonial, but also at social and personal levels of the powerful ruler and the subaltern, to the extent of investigating relationships and interaction between centre and periphery (Punt, 2013:7).

For Foucault it matters how the knowledge and decisions we take impact upon those who

have been excluded. This is because he believes in their agency, their ability to develop their

own knowledge, envision their future and shape it to be consistent with their own aspiration.

Foucault’s confidence on the epistemological agency from below is also held by Giyatri Spivak.

She (1992:11) asserted that:

We must keep alive the possibility of learning from below, if only moral dilemmas and questions such as the following, with the long-term pedagogic goal of making them responsibly accessible, accessible in order that responses may be practically made and unmade even as their theory and shifts with, the rhythms of history.

The main argument here is that marginalised people have to be present or at best be fully

represented in meetings that are deliberating on their situation. Leadership systems and

process should allow for full participation of all affected in decision-making processes. As

a liberation theologian, Mzizi believed in the same values. In his analysis of the situation in

Swaziland, Mzizi argued that the majority of Swazi were voiceless. As a result, he titled his

thesis, “Voice of the voiceless”.

Second, Foucault also reminded us that postcolonial analysis takes special interest in the

“relationship between power and domination and their effects” (1983:208). It exposes how

power dynamics between the powerful and the powerless in society were constructed. This

it does, by going behind the ideas, power and language that was used to structure current

systems thus enabling us to understanding how the power of the dominant or leaders was

constructed and how it should be deconstructed. It also shows us how the colonised responded

to the domination, so that we can critic this response with the aim of improving it. We are

aware that every oppressive power triggers a power that comes from resistance. This has been

demonstrated eloquently in the discussion of the Hidden Transcripts (Scott, 1990:18). This point

means that by analysing how the powerful dominated the powerless, we can also understand

how the powerless responded to this oppression. This theory encourages us to analyse the

5


power relations in society between the powerful and the powerless. It looks at how power has

been acquired by those who have it over others, how the powerless lose their power. It also

looks at the ideologies, systems and structures that are used to maintain the power relations.

Its aim is to change the power relations for the better so that it is not used to disadvantage

those who are from the underside. It is important to note that Michel Foucault noted that power

on its own has no value judgement, meaning that it is neither good nor bad. What matters is

how people use power? In a nutshell, power is a tool in the hands of people – especially the

powerful. It can be used for the benefit of all people especially the disadvantaged, but it can

also be used to their detriment. Foucault (2004:2) observed that:

This analysis simply involves investigation where and how, between whom, between points, according to what process, and with what effects, power is applied. If we accept that power is not a substance, then this analysis could and would only be at most a beginning of theory, not of a theory of what power is, but simply of power terms of the set of mechanisms and procedures that have the role or function and theme, even when they are unsuccessful, of securing power.

In the case of Swaziland this theory would help us to understand how the current form of

government through its leaders, accumulated its power, how it developed its ideology of the

absolute monarchy, and built its system and structures that maintain it. It will also help us to see

what the reactions to the colonial power were.

In all situation of governance, the fact that those in government have power is not a bad idea

by itself. Of primary importance here is to look at how power is attained and used. If it is used

well that would lead to the benefit of all. The problem is when it is not being used well and it

ends up working against some people. It is in this case that people have to use their agency,

to resist power. However, for this to happen people need to be conscientised, this is when one

approaches this from a Freiran approach. There is a need to awaken people to their situation of

oppression so that they stand up and oppose the system that works against them. Freire refers

to this as a process of critical consciousness which means “the deepening of the attitude of

awareness characteristic of all emergences” (1996:109).

Third, postcolonial theory propagates a shift from cultural exclusivism to cultural plurality. This

means that there must be an accommodation of indigenous, marginalised and colonised

individuals into the main stream. Writing from a postcolonial theoretical perspective Gayatri

Spivak noted that:

As the varieties of nation-state-style unification programmes collapse all around us, what is emerging is the old multi-ethnic mix (2000:76).

Fourth, the other important aspect of postcolonial theory is that it affirms the agency of the

historically oppressed. It brings those in the margins into the centre of discussion and liberating

activities. It encourages the voices of protest and redemptive participation of the marginalised

as they seek to push the frontiers of their oppression. All people have agency, especially the

poor and oppressed, can liberate themselves, and can work out their freedom and leadership.

6


Collective agency, e.g. the United Democratic Front in South Africa and CANGO in the context

of Swaziland, means that when the people work together they can liberate themselves. This

means that the poor have to form solidarities with other groups who are concerned about

domination. Linked to the aspect of agency is the concept of Performativity. This means that

dominated people can still act decisively to subvert the power that limits them. This is important

if they are to get out of the situation of domination. The question is to whose agenda and

benefit will they perform? However, they need to be critical of their performance, by asking

question such as “On whose agenda am I performing?” “Is my performance not perpetuating

my domination and oppression by the powers that be?” “Is it not benefitting the oppressor, is

it helping me to get out of the oppression?” At the same time, the dominated cannot use the

oppression as a reason for not performing. They need to apply their agency and make their

contribution to the improvement of life for all. As a student of Liberation Theology Mzizi was an

advocate of the agency of the ordinary citizens of Swaziland.

Fifth, another key notion of the postcolonial analysis is identity and hybridity. Postcolonial critic

highlights the necessity of attaining a new or at least a different identity from the dominant one,

which was acquired as a result of the colonial dynamics. Punt (2013:9) notes that:

Postcolonial hermeneutics highlights the acquisition and propagating of new or different identity. Realising the importance of hybridity. Identity is understood as hyphenated, fractured, multiple and multiplying, as it exists within a complex web of negotiation and interaction, forged by imagination redeploying the local and the imported elements.

Postcolonial theory takes into account a variety of factors; the experienced reality, the religions

and the culture of the people; their history, political and systems of governance. However, its

main aim is to analyse these in order to find out the liberative direction that it needs to take.

Postcolonial theory emphasises that this is important where people are aware of all the factors

that form their identities. The expectation is that people do not have to adopt the essentialism

of any particular single identity to describe themselves. But rather to recognise the different

identities that define them. It is also important that in the formation of identities we do not adopt

the notion of exclusivism, where we see ourselves and reject others with different identities. It

calls for being open to other identities. In the early nineteenth century when Swaziland was

colonised by the British, Labotsibeni brought together the Swazi culture, traditional religion,

English culture and Christianity to form what today is known as Swazi culture; or hybridity. Mzizi

credits this to the wise leadership of King Sobhuza’s grandmother Queen Labotsibeni Mdluli

and King Sobhuza II. Mzizi (2004:3) said that:

Swazi kingship survived the hardship of colonialism thanks to the formidable and gallant attempts first of Queen Labotsibeni Mdluli and later Sobhuza II, her grandson. The Queen, while sensitive to the inevitable process of change, asserted strong regency that prepared the new King to fit into both the old and the new worlds with an agenda to either strike balance between the two or to employ elements of the old to dominate the new.

The quotation demonstrates Labotsibeni’s ability to encourage hybridity in Swaziland and

teaching this to her grandson, who needed to help Swaziland to adapt in a rapidly changing

7


world by bringing together the old and the new. This point is very important in the context of

Swaziland, where as a response to colonisation by the British; the leadership adopted an ethno-

religious identity which was Swazi, African traditional religion and Christian identity. For anyone

to be accepted as a true Swazi, they had to adhere to these three closed characteristics, e.g.

Swazi in a narrow sense because they should have been born in Swaziland, adhere to Swazi

culture and Swazi traditional religion. Religious identity formed the foundation for the spirituality

of the nation, which is also important for any new nation to be successful in sharing the national

consciousness. By doing this, Sobhuza built a nation which deep in its soul has a spirituality of

its own. Ernest Renan observed that:

A nation is a soul, a spiritual principle. Two things, which in truth are but one constitute this soul or spiritual principle. One lies in the past, one in the present. One is the rich legacy of memories; the other is the possession in common of a rich legacy of the will to perpetuate the value of the heritage has received in an undivided form. ... The national like the individual, is the culmination of a long past of endeavours, sacrifice and devotion. Of all cults, that of the ancestors is the most legitimate, for the ancestors have made us what we are. A heroic past, great men, glory (by which I understand genuine glory), this is the social capital upon which one basis a national idea. To have common glories in the past and to have common will in the present; to have performed great deeds together, to wish to perform still more-these are the essential conditions for being a people (in Bhabha, 1990:13).

Anyone outside this in terms of his or her identity felt excluded. Mzizi argued against the narrow

ethnocisation of religious identity and called for a multi-pronged approach that is more inclusive

of other people and faiths.

Of importance here, is the recognition that identity is not static, but rather dynamic. As the

decades passed, what Sobhuza had established changed forms and in some instances even

content, so that there is no pure Swazi culture. The one that the King developed was a response

to the cultural invasion that had been faced by the Swazis from the British and Christianity.

Freire (1996:133) explains this process as:

Cultural invasion, which serves the ends of conquest and the preservation of oppression, always involves a parochial view of reality, a static perception of the world, and the imposition of one worldview upon another. It implies the ‘superiority’ of the invader and the ‘inferiority’ of those who are invaded, as well as the imposition of values by the former, who possess the latter and are afraid of losing them.

New influences have entered and mixed with the old to form new identities and this process

cannot be stopped or controlled through rigidity; it has a life of its own. The problem is that

usually those with power are afraid of allowing these changes because they fear that they would

change the status quo. The powerless are usually involved in agency that seeks to change the

status quo. In any way, they do not have a lot to lose but rather more to gain. However, the

holders of power do their best to cling to it to an extent of using coercive majors.

8


Sixth, Homi Baba’s notion of hybridity has reminded us that identities are a mixture of cultures,

norms, values from different cultural practices and backgrounds (1994:173).4 This is because

in the contemporary era human beings do not live in isolation but rather in the cross section

between countries, religions, and cultures which influences their identity. There is no single pure

culture and identity, but all are products of mixing coming into context. Therefore, there is a

need in the words of Surgitharajah to move “away from the positivist and essentialist notions of

identity consciousness and origin” (1998:23).5 This means that we are all a mixture of systems,

ideas, norms, culture and values. Power holders can use these mixtures and harden them in

order to create their own identity, which they then pass on to those under their command. A

good example of this is what in his wisdom King Sobhuza II did during the formative years of

the ethno-religious identities of Swaziland. He brought together traditional Swazi culture, which

itself was a product of other cultures such as Tsonga, Zulu and Sotho. These cultures had

come into contact through the invasion, conquering of smaller groups and this led to what they

would later regard as Swazi culture. There must be diversity and no rigidity. There is no place

for rigidity and non-flexibility of cultures in the twenty, first postcolonial societies. Instead there

must be fluidity, where things move, mix and there is flexibility as opposed to fixed cultures and

rules as a result of power. Berman (1994:110) observed that:

Patronage ties crisscross the analytic boundaries of class categories. They also blur the state-society distinction. Clientelistic hierarchies, factions and clans form both within the state apparatus and on the local level, revealing divisions, competition, and power struggles that exist within the categories of rulers and ruled as well as patterns of alliance and conflict between them. I argue that hierarchies of power found in rural social institutions were harnessed to the task of extending state power and capacity regimes to promote the capitalist transformation of agricultural production.

Hybridity is again the way to go for Swaziland. It needs to allow the fluidity and mixing of

cultures and traditions. For Mzizi there was nothing wrong with the Swazi people curving their

own identity as a people. In fact, he proudly identified himself as a Swazi and identified with

most of the cultural practices that Swazis had to undertake. Writing about himself, he notes

that identity is important and dynamic. His own identity was a result of hybridity. He had been

shaped by being a rural Swazi boy, who had to adhere to Swazi culture, belonged to the

Evangelical Church of his parents, would listen to his father leading the family in prayers every

night, was also healed by the concoctions and sacrifices of the Zionist priests when he was

sick, got educated, became a leader of the Swazi Christian Student’s Movement, joined the

teacher’s union as an activist, co-founded the Swazi Human Rights Commission, and became

a strong academic. All these characteristics came together to form J.B. Mzizi. Like most modern

Swazis, he could not be described in a single word or notion, but all these were combined in

him and formed his hybridised identity.

4 Homi K. Bhabha, The Location of Culture (London: Rutledge, 1994), 173.

5 Surgirtharajah, Rasiah, Asian Biblical Hermeneutics and Post colonialism: Contesting interpretation (Mary knoll: Orbis, 1998), 23.

9


Seventh, scholars of post colonialism have also reminded us that the cause for oppression is

when the powerful essentialise their way of seeing things. This calls for de-essentialisation; every

kind of definition that essentialise something is temporary, restricted and time-bound because

it does not consider other possibly interpretations that are different. Thus, de-essentialisation

means recognising the reservoir of other meaning. Cultural construct, must be open-ended,

instead of being rigid about a particular idea. There is a need for openness. This concept is

very important for Swazi identity, because it means that its formation and growth has the space

to develop and include other notions, instead of being closed and rigid. Edward Said (1982:21)

noted that African leaders in response to the colonial divide and rule strategy at the time found

a way to adapt their rule. He said that:

African political and social forces were fragmented, isolated and contained within the framework of local administrative units, which both protected the institutions of the colonial state from constant involvement in local issues and conflicts, and inhibited the coalescence of African opposition and resistance into colony-wide challenge to the colonial order.

Eight, Homi Bhabha noted that another strategy used by these African leaders to subvert

suppression was to mimic their rulers by exerting their own power to those under them. In

agreement to Bhabha, Spivak (1992:21) in her book Can the subaltern speak? also argues that

the powerless imitate or mimic the power holders in way that on the surface is like they are

approving and fully embracing too it. Here they may even inflict pain to those under them or

to themselves in the process. Spivak’s observation is in agreement with Paulo Freire’s where

he argued that, the oppressed turn to imitate their oppressors by being oppressive to those

under them. This continues the practices of oppression and dehumanisation of the powerless

people in society. Mimicry refers to mimicking colonial power holders, in their expression and

use of power. In the political situation in Swaziland, there is a need to see Spivak’s observation

of mimicry as a real problem. The people may be poor, struggling and not having any voice,

but they are very loyal to the system. They participate in the Tinkhundla system when called

upon in their numbers, they attend all the age-related and gendered rituals of the Incwala

ceremony and they fill the national church and stadiums to participate in the Good Friday

Service and Somhlolo Day of praise. However, this is not the same when they are called by the

political organisations to critic Incwala, elections, etc. They do not respond to these calls. This

is because they are at the stage of mimicking the dominant leaders, system and structures.

What is needed is conscientisation. Conscientisation can come through re-interpreting and

claiming of the ownership of some of these national practices that the dominant have claimed

for themselves. These must be taken over by the people as theirs. A good example of this is

Mzizi’s understanding of the Incwala ceremony. He argued that it belongs to all Swazis the

same way as it belongs to the King and the other key role players. What Mzizi is doing here

is resistance. His strategy of resistance goes beyond mimicry, but rather to a re-interpretation

of Swazi identity, citizenship and the privileges that goes with it. He is taking it over from the

dominant class to give it to the people. By doing this through writing articles, he is conscientising

the Swazi people to see things differently so that they can use their agency to reverse the

status quo. Then he calls for process of transforming the situation to humanisation. Oppression

10


dehumanises people, it takes away their freedom to think, be subjects of their own destiny,

by making them objects. Paulo Freire (1996:60) asserted that the solution to this problem is

“conscientisation” of the powerless to see their situation of powerlessness and begin to work

for their empowerment.

Ninth, postcolonial analysis is sensitive to issues around gender equality. It emphasises the

equality of all people beyond gender orientation, which does not exclude other gender groups,

but rather one that includes all gender orientations. In postcolonial theory, there is a preference

to the use of gender than feminist approaches because of their tendency to exclude man.

Gender is a concept that includes all people, both male and female, with freedom and equal

rights for both. Gender sensitivity also means that other forms of gender orientations needs to

be taken into account. In Swaziland, women’s situation still needs to be improved. Swaziland

is a very patriarchal society where women have no rights of inheriting and owning land, their

identity is always validated by a male figure as either a father, a husband, or son. Polygamy is

practiced freely as part of the culture with the payment of the bride price emalobolo still being

used to disempower women, as they are given from ownership of one man to another, from

father to son-in-law. Men have used religion, especially Christianity, to justify the objectification

of women. For this problem to be addressed there is a need to subject Christianity under the

critic of postcolonial theories. Writing from a Biblical hermeneutics point of view Musa Dube

(2000:12) observed that postcolonial theory has to position itself as a dialogue partner with

gender and feminist studies. Dube argues that Christianity in Africa still supports the oppression

of the subaltern especially women by those in power including traditional leaders. This is done

through culture and indigenous religions. She called for the decolonising of religious practice

with strategies of hybridity and the opening up of hybridised spaces.

Tenth, scholars of post colonialism have encouraged us of the need to embrace diversity in

identity formation. The ethno-religious identity system in Swaziland is postcolonial, because

it was a response to colonisation. In recent years, Swaziland has seen the arrival of people

from other African countries wanting to settle permanently there, bringing with them their

cultures, language and knowledge. It has also seen the infiltration of other forms of knowledge,

technology and other norms and values, forms of government like multi-party democracy.

These are diverse and to some degree can be a threat to Swazi culture. For Swaziland to move

forward it needs to be open to these diverse influences rather than resisting them and pushing

them aside simply because it wants to maintain its own. Postcolonial theory is opposed to

nationalism, racism, sexism and ethnicity. When applied in Swaziland this theory will challenge

these practices and free the country from these trappings. Thus, Mzizi’s work was about

challenging all the above stated practices.

Voice of the Voiceless

Mzizi was a Swazi national who laboured hard as an organic intellectual and activist to awaken

the Swazi people to work for the democratization and establishment of human rights in their

RELIGION AND POLITICS IN SWAZILAND R. SIM

ANGALISO KUMALO

R. Simangaliso Kumalo is Director for Research and Postgraduate Studies at the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He studied at universities both in South Africa and overseas. He teaches courses in Practical Theology and Political Theology at the same institution. He is also the founding Director of the Religion, Governance and Africa in the World Programme. He is the author of “From Deserts to Forests”, Methodists with a White History and a Black Future, Pastor and Politician: Essays on the Life and Legacy of J.L. Dube the first president of the African National Congress. He lives in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

R. SIMANGALISO KUMALO EDITOR

R. Simangaliso Kumalo offers a candid reflection on the interface between politics and religion in Swaziland by reflecting on the works of Joshua Mzizi. The strength of the book is not just the fact that it is written by a Public Theologian but on his ability to reflect on the particular, which is Joshua Mzizi and Swaziland, in order to reveal insights to the bigger story which is the interface between Politics and Religion in Africa.

Through J.B. Mzizi’s writings we get a window to the collusion between religion, culture and politics to keeping the ordinary Africans poor and oppressed. Here, in the first and only major volume is a collection of his academic and popular writings, speeches and autobiographical reflections, his belief in Political Theology, religion and politics, culture and Christianity and the ethics of dialogue and hope. Through his personal story we get insights as to how African intellectuals are made and how they are marginalised, vilified and sometimes persecuted, though in spite of this their message for the continent remains relevant.

The original papers of Mzizi make this book stand on a class of its own because they enshrine the original thoughts of this unique politically-minded and profoundly gifted academic.

– Prof. James N. AmanzeUniversity of Botswana

A book on Mzizi’s theological thinking would incontrovertibly be an absolute pioneer work.– Nonhlanhla J. VilakatiUniversity of Swaziland



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