Yes, It Is Democracy!

So, for the third year in a row this Thursday, we witnessed the organized chaos that has become the official opening of the parliament of the Republic of South Africa. And subsequently for three years running we’ve watched the misplaced excitement of fellow Swazis mockingly quip; “So this is democracy?”… “If this is what democracy like, then no thanks”…Well hell yes, it is democracy.

Julius Malema and co’s democracy is in fact, the very same democracy that allows you to drive from Mbabane to Nelspruit for shopping at your favorite Riverside and Ilanga Malls. It is the very same democracy that has you coercing your secret lover to drive you to the big city lights of Johannesburg for a Chris Brown concert.  

This democracy that has Mmusi Maimane and Mosia Lekota walking out on the giggling President Zuma before he starts delivering his State Of The Nation Address is the same ‘democrazy’ - as some even call it  – that has you making plans for a friecation or baecation to the beautiful Cape Town.

This democracy of Jacob Zuma and Hellen Zille is the same one that allows your children to return home to you is Swaziland bearing luxurious fruits of their “Actuarial Scientist” academic qualification which they otherwise could not have had if they studied in the kingdom. 

It is this democracy that you describe as chaotic and disrespectful that makes you CHOOSE to send your child to a high school in South Africa so that they can write Matric exams which will enable them easy access into a South African university.

This democracy of shack dwelling and xenophobic South Africans is the very one that has Swazis beaming with pride when they hear official public mention of the late King Sobhuza II’s role in helping to acquire it. 

Yes, it is the democracy of Maleven and all the other dangerous criminals in South Africa that still has many Swazis asking each other, “Fana ngingayitfola kanjani nje i-ID yase South Africa nami sengimane ngisebente ngakhona?” (How can I acquire a South African ID for myself?). 

As if it’s not enough that in the 1990s many Swazis risked the consequences of fraud charges by queuing with legit South Africans for this national identity document that now allows many elderly people to cross the border (sometimes illegally) into South Africa in order to receive a decent pension grant.

It is the democracy very similar to President Trumps’ – which is the same one that got you in a perpetual state of jubilation for eight years after the announcement of Barack Obama as the “first black” President of the United States of America. I recall you even sent a congratulatory message through your head of government; praising the wonderful ways of a democratic election. 

This is the America that for decades has been home to many a prince and princess of the kingdom. I even suspect it is the beauty of this American democracy that inspired our glorious Vision 2022 but don’t mind me.  Democracy is the same tool that has given the people of The Gambia hope for the restoration of their dignity after suffering under that thieving dictator called Yahya Jammeh.

Democracy, much like love itself, is a verb. Democracy is participatory and this requires a commitment from each citizen to play their role by expressing their voice; interests, preferences and dissenting views. After all, democracy is the will of the people in motion. Democracy is also transparent. 

This is why we have the SA parliament TV channel and other media houses deliver parliament proceedings to citizens as and when they happen – bukhoma…live. Transparency and public information sharing is how citizens get exposed to the contents of the Constitution and therefore get to understand how it guides and protects their rights, freedoms and livelihoods and importantly what their mandate is in safely guarding this supreme law of the land. 

Democracy is not perfect – after all it is a human construct and humans are imperfect – and this is why it is not an event but a process which will be tested over and over again in order to assess if it stays serving the interests of the majority of the people.

I can appreciate why it baffles some of my fellow Swazis that democracy looks like a tantrumy toddler at times. The reason is simple – the things mentioned in the above paragraph hardly happen in our kingdom and so many don’t really have the slightest visual of the look and feel of a democratic environment or how it functions. 

In fact, I don’t know if we should even expect these inclusive things to happen in Swaziland since, even though we have democracy, ours is exclusive; like a private jet, ours comes with its own custom-made trimmings in the form of Monarchical Democracy. 

Ours is the kind that has thousands of people across the country showing up for intensive interviews for only four job openings in the army and then further punishes those who CHOOSE to disqualify themselves by cheating the recruitment process. What choice?

Ours is the kind so exclusive, it does not consult but rather chooses for us what religious knowledge is suitable for our children in schools. Ours is the one that has a Constitution so beautiful it is only good enough for decorating the national museum. Ours is the one that washes our brain into believing we are a peaceful nation. Yes, it is democracy. 

As for me, ‘I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery’ as one Thomas Jefferson said.