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| Mr Bongani Mhlanga, the blog publisher |
Strong political pressure of Nationalism among the Swazis immensely led to the establishment of political parties. The emergence of elite and influential Swazis like Dr Ambrose Zwane and John Nquku changed the political landscape of Swaziland. King Sobhuza II charismatic leadership and quality education he received from Lovedale made him to stand strong and face the challenge and pressure of that time and formed his own party (the Imbokodvo (grindstone)[1] National Movement) which became a force to be reckon within the Swazi political arena. Therefore, this piece of work purports to discuss two factors that made a number of Swazis to support the Imbokodvo National Movement. It will also explain using three reasons that made the Imbokodvo to be victor during the 1967 national elections.
The
elections were contestant by only four parties, being the Ngwane National
Liberatory Congress, the Imbokodvo
National Movement, the Swaziland United Front and the Swaziland Progressive
Party. [2]
Swazis had enough time to look, plan and take a decision on which party to
support. Many Swazis voted and were fully behind the Imbokodvo National Movement. This shows that the Imbokodvo National Movement was able to
buy much interest and was appealing to a majority of Swazis. The questions
remains as how did it succeed in this tough task out of all the parties.
Many
Swazis chose the Imbokodvo National
Movement because it was a non-discriminating party. It was not discriminatory
in the sense that while in the other parties only the elitist, rich and
educated people were allowed to be members. However, on a varying note the Imbokodvo National Movement opened its
membership to all Swazis irrespective whether they were rich, poor, educated,
uneducated.[3]
These inclusive and accommodative elements of the Imbokodvo National Movement acted as a positive catalyst for
gaining immense support among Swazis, since by then many Swazis were poor and uneducated.
So as a result, such ideologies were seen by the Swazis as responding perfectly
to their social and economic status, thus making it popular with the poor and
uneducated Swazis. To support the non-discriminatory ideologies Simelane posits
that the Imbokodvo National Movement
believed the educated would bring professional quality to the movement while
the uneducated would boost the movement with wisdom, thus making both the
educated and uneducated equally important in the movement. The Imbokodvo National Movement therefore
saw itself with an overwhelming support than the other parties.
Dlamini
attest that the Imbokodvo is not a
party but a movement of the people, which represent the interests of the entire
people of Swaziland and serves to fulfill their needs, expectations and
aspirations.[4]
In addition to that, the Imbokodvo
lies in its endeavors to try and translate the aspirations of the people of
Swaziland into law, development projects, strategy and policy. It does not wish
to impose on the people foreign ideologies. The Movement seeks to take the
social structure, ideas, customs and philosophy of the Swazis as a starting
point.[5]
Thus this thought makes one to clearly underline the strategies used by the Imbokodvo and its ideologies to win the
hearts of many Swazis.
Secondly,
many Swazis supported the Imbokodvo
National Movement because other parties had internal conflicts.[6]
After the 1964 elections, many parties had leadership disputes which resulted
in some parties splitting while others were completely dissolved which is
evidence of disunity that existed in other parties. The Imbokodvo continued to enjoy peace which worked as an advantage
because members of the other parties left their parties and join the Imbokodvo National Movement, since there
was peace and unity. This made the Imbokodvo
to be more powerful and one the popular parties however, matters were made
worse when prominent members rejected their parties and joined the Imbokodvo. For example Arthur Khoza of
the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress.
The
above submission concur with Swazis prominent belief that parties were
associated with umbango (quarrels),
so many Swazis hated being associated with umbango,
so they distanced themselves from such. This inevitably resulted to the Imbokodvo National Movement to gain
considerable support as some members from the other parties join the movement,
where unity and tranquility prevails since a symbol of peace and unity exist,
the King.
Having
demonstrated above the key factors that made a number of Swazis to support the Imbokodvo National Movement, the winning
of the movement was eminent, so this last portion of the essay will explain
reasons why the Imbokodvo won the
national elections in 1967. One of the vital reasons that led the Imbokodvo to overwhelming victory was
the influence of the chiefs in rural areas who campaign extensively for the Imbokodvo National Movement and the King.[7]
Under
the instruction from King Sobhuza II who was the party leader,
(Tikhulu/Boshifu) Chiefs were instructed to preach a gospel of Imbokodvo National Movement
glorification amongst their subjects. This was made possible because chiefs are
appointed by the King, so there was no way in which they were to defy the king’s
command, whom they were installed to serve. It is said that the chiefs refused
to grant permission to the other parties to hold meetings in their respective areas;
this demonstrates clearly that sometimes the Imbokodvo National Movement employed force and threats in its
endeavor to win the elections. Consequently, those who were said to oppose the Imbokodvo National Movement were
threatened with eviction, so such a threat compelled Swazis to vote for the Imbokodvo instead of losing the land and
surviving being enemies with authorities.
Another
reason that acted as positive catalyst in propelling the Imbokodvo National
Movement to its emphatic victory in the 1967 elections, was staging its
campaign mostly in rural areas.[8]
This worked as an advantage to the Imbokodvo
because many people were found in rural areas as they can’t afford to live in
the urban areas due to lack of employment and their over-reliance on subsistence
farming. To qualify this, Simelane postulates that 80% of the population during
the elections lives in rural areas, which inevitably made it easier for the
movement to get more votes as it has been mentioned earlier on that the people
were threatened with eviction, if they do not join and also the fact that the
other parties were not allowed to hold their meetings in rural areas.[9]
This means that those Swazis in rural areas were automatically going to vote
for the Imbokodvo.
Moreover,
other parties like the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress focused their
attention in the Sugar belts (Lubombo Ranches and Mhlume Sugar Estate).[10]
Such strides could not bear any positive fruits because only a sizeable
minority could be obtained because a majority of Swazis were unemployed
residing in rural areas they mainly depended on subsistence farming for their
livelihood. Therefore, it was impossible for the Ngwane National Liberatory
Congress to win the elections other than mere participation. It worth an
observation that education alone cannot be an answer in enhancing our wisdom,
but natural wisdom as well can propels us into our dreams and aspirations. This
was demonstrated by the King Sobhuza II, even though he was educated but he
still maximized the natural wisdom of the chiefs, which resulted in the
emphatic win of the National Elections of 1967.
Another
reason that made the Imbokodvo to win the National Elections with flying colors
were the symbols that the Imbokodvo used as opposed to its counterparts. The
Imbokodvo used a sibaya (kraal) and Imbokodvo inside the kraal which were
relevant even to non-educated Swazis. It had that implication of protection and
the fact that Imbokodvo was used to
grind maize in homesteads. It meant the party was to crush anything that cause
a threat to Swazis. Other parties used very unpopular symbols and party names
that made Swazis to distance themselves from the parties and clang to the
Imbokodvo which led to its great victory during the National Election of 1967.
In
conclusion, even though the political landscape seemed imbalance in Swaziland,
other parties continued to be resilient until 1972 when the Imbokodvo was defeated. King Sobhuza II
as a founder of the Imbokodvo upon
realizing that his party has been defeated, he strategically introduced the
1973 Decree, banning all political parties in Swaziland. This marked an end to
an eventful political field in Swaziland however, the Imbokodvo never seize to exist as its members were still dominating
in parliament, which showed clearly that Swaziland remained a one party state
and that party is Imbokodvo.
Cooper J.O. History
of Southern Africa. London: James Curry Publishers, 1994.
Dlamini M. J. The
Philosophy, Politics and Objects of the Imbokodvo National Movement.
Mbabane:
Printing and Publishing Company LTD, 1972.
Dlamini S. Swaziland
in Focus. Manzini: Macmillan, 2012.
Matsebula J. S. M.
A History of Swaziland: Cape Town: Longman, 1988.
Simelane C . Political
and Economic Developments in Swaziland 1945-1995.Mbabane: T/A Kay
Cee
Enterprise, 2011.
Simelane L. A
Handbook of the History of Swaziland from 1945-1995. Lobamba: Swaziland
National
Archives, 2014.
Internet sources
Macmillan, H. "Swaziland: Decolonisation and
the Triumph of 'Tradition'", The Journal of
(accessed
date February 8, 2018).
date February 6, 2018)
[1] R. M. Patricks,” Modern Swazi History: 1900 To Present”, July 2000 www.sntc.org.sz (Accessed date
February 6, 2018)
[3] S. Dlamini, Swaziland in
Focus(Manzini:Macillan,2012) pg20
[4] M. J. Dlamini, The Philosophy,
Politics and Objects of the Imbokodvo National Movement (Mbabane: Swaziland
Printing and Publishing Company LTD,1972) pg 4
[5]Ibid pg5
[6] J. S. M. Matsebula, A History
of Swaziland (Cape Town: Longman,1988) pg243
[7] S. Dlamini, Swaziland in
Focus (Manzini:Macmillan,2012) pg21
[8] J. D. Omer Cooper, History of
Southern Africa (London: James Curry Publishers, 1994) pg252
[9] C. Simelane, Political and
Economic Developments in Swaziland 1945-1995 (Mbabane: T/A Kay Cee
Enterprise, 2011) pg17
[10] J. D. Omer Cooper ,History of
Southern Africa (London: James Curry Publishers, 1994) pg252
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