Simply Philile

So, Mr. Majahenkhaba Dlamini of Nkhaba, son of his mother and Chief Bhekimpi believes that women are not only weak to lead, but also states that they are so weak they would wreck the leadership structure that comes with the position of Chief of area, and further asserts that they would ruin the nation at large, starting at family level, if ‘allowed’ to occupy this space of authority? Okay, okay, take two --- slowly this time. So Majahenkhaba, the Attorney General (AG) of the Kingdom of Swaziland, the custodian at highest enforcing officer of the laws of the country, one of the key individuals in constitutional justice oversight of the country, has warned the courts and law practitioners to distance themselves from legal disputes involving women chiefs simply because he believes that women of Swaziland are what Delilah was to Samson? Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini shakes hands with High Court Judge Mumcy Dlamini who is also the AG's wife. #SwaziJustice Did I j...

The topic I delved into last week was never going to be exhausted in just 900 words as prescribed by the space available for this column. So I will continue to address issues of identity - the Swazi identity - even today, and likely over a series of articles to come. Firstly, thank you to those who shared their insights with me after reading the article, your input is valued and appreciated.  One of the things that stayed with me, raised by those who interacted with me on the subject matter, was that one of the values that we have as Swazis is respect and that is a huge part of our national identity. Okay, I’m moving a bit too fast – first a gist of last week’s article titled ‘National Identity Crisis?’ In this article, I asked what it is that defines us as Swazis and what values this definition is based on? I probed the meaning of the widely-held perception/belief that we are a united nation, asking what is it exactly that makes us believe that we are united.  ...

Phew! Last week was certainly exhausting for news and current affairs hounds and concerned citizens… #SparrowGate and its effects…And it seems it’s not over yet… The latest being the dismissal of renowned broadcaster and Idols judge Gareth Cliff from the popular television music show for apparently defending the racist remarks by Penny Sparrow. I don’t want to go back there anyway, it’s just too draining. I must say though that last week’s events and subsequent debates about racism in South Africa got me thinking further about identity issues in Africa, especially since in my previous article I had referenced the hypocrisy of some South Africans, who while raging mad about racism, were silent and even supported those of their own who brutally discriminated against fellow black people from other parts of the African continent in 2008 and 2015 attacks. In addition, it was interesting to see, as always with events happening in South Africa, that Swazi nationals living in Swazi...

I don’t even know why some of you so-called black people are mad at Penny Sparrow and friends. Seriously!  I don’t agree with what Penny said earlier this week, in fact I don’t care, but I have no sympathy for most of you black people that have opted to cyber manifest your rage over Penny’s utterances. Here’s why: Okay, before I get to explain my stance, a quick rehash on Penny Sparrow. She is the 68 year-old South African woman who clearly benefitted from all that the brutal legacy of Apartheid stood for.  She probably has truckloads of Apartheid paraphernalia in her nicely-trimmed oversized farm somewhere there in Scottsburg, KwaZulu-Natal, where she lives.  Penny made international news headlines this past weekend after she posted on her Facebook that she was incensed and disgusted at the monkeys that are black people for leaving South Africa’s beaches filthy with dirt, some of it created just by their sheer presence on the coast during the December h...

We’ve all heard businesspeople complain about how public holidays cost their businesses a lot of money. Rather far-fetched a complaint if you have no idea how a business runs.  Business people may count the cost in emalangeni and cents but for rural and poor folks, the cost in somewhere between life and death. Literally. Let me break it down for you as I have firsthand experience of this, gained from the past few days of December 2015. On Christmas day 2015, my almost 5year old son sliced his left leg just below the knee with glass. He was playing on the roof top of an old and stationary Mercedes Benz 200 that belonged to my father when the shattered windscreen left him seeing red. He needed to be stitched, so we had to rush him to the emergency unit of the hospital nearest to our kaLanga home. The nearest hospital is about 25minutes drive away - in Siteki town. Our first stop was at the over a year old government-owned regional hospital located around the Siteki Naza...

My biggest problem with being able to read and write and I think some of you will relate, is that I can’t help but read every piece of text, written on anything – from the fine printed Did You Know ? Chappies chewing gum wrapper, to the bold health campaign billboard. It could even be written in Kiswahili or any other foreign language and I would still attempt to read it. So this is how I end up reading things that I’d rather not be exposed to such as social media posts stating;  “People with HIV should just be moved to their own island like naughty kids” like I read last week on twitter. Honestly, I don’t get mad or annoyed at such bigoted statements anymore. Instead, such utterances leave me numb and maybe slightly sad for human beings including myself; for my simplistic views and logic towards life in general.  Because my simplistic view is, as long as you are sexually active, consider yourself just one step away from getting an STI including HIV – regardless of wh...