Swazi businessman and anti-democrat Walter Bennett says workers should be beaten up for organising their own meeting to discuss the needs of the people of Swaziland.
Bennett, a former Swazi Senator and full time apologist for King Mswati III, the last absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa, says it is a pity that beating up a person is against the law.
According to the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, and a newspaper that regularly offers Bennett space to air his (often unconsidered) views, Bennett is annoyed that trade unions, churches and civil society groups, have decided to boycott a ‘smart partnership’ national dialogue called to discuss some of the issues affecting present day Swaziland and which King Mswati and Barnabas Dlamini, Swaziland’s illegally-appointed prime minister, are expected to attend.
The Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions has decided to hold its own meeting to be attended by workers and supporters of a free civil society because the government-initiated dialogues have in the past failed to bear fruits.
Bennett, who I reported last month believes that the Swazi Government should stop providing medical support to HIV AIDS patients because others were more deserving. He said that people with HIV and AIDS had ‘got this disease out of their evil habits and out of choice’. he said. He also wanted to close down places of entertainment because they led to the spread of HIV.
Bennett is also openly racist and has regularly verbally attacked Asians.
Despite Bennett’s open (and illegal) incitement to violence, he has not been arrested or even questioned by Swazi police.
Meanwhile, people of good will (and good sense) are ignoring Bennett’s threats and plans are in place for the first ‘People’s Dialogue’ to take place this coming Saturday (18 July 2009) at John Bosco Hall, Manzini, starting at 8:30am. More on this later.
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