A Countdown to Jan Sithole’s Death
Jan Sithole
- Witchcraft
- is
- the
- belief
- in
- systems
- of
- power
- derived
- from
- unseen
- forces.
- For
- people
- who
- believe
- in
- supernatural
- powers,
- those
- forces
- are
- quite
- real
- and
- are
- not
- merely
- metaphorical
- allusions
- to
- mundane
- phenomena.
Most
- chiefs
- and
- kings
- derive
- their
- power
- from
- supernatural
- sources.
- To
- date,
- states
- and
- politicians
- have
- used
- witchcraft
- powers
- largely
- for
- self-enrichment
- or
- empowerment.This
- is
- still
- highly
- prevalent
- in
- the
- Kingdom
- of
- Eswatini
- and
- its
- last
- Absolute
- Monarch,
- where
- witchcraft
- is
- taken
- seriously
- and
- people
- firmly
- believe
- in
- it.
- The
- country
- has
- always
- had
- a
- dual
- system
- of
- operation,
- using
- modern
- as
- well
- as
- cultural
- (witchcraft)
- methods
- to
- deal
- with
- prevailing
- issues.
- The
- official
- motto
- of
- the
- country
- is
- “Siyinqaba”,
- which
- translates
- to
- “we
- are
- an
- enigma”.There
- is
- a
- story
- of
- Swati
- troops
- who
- went
- to
- assist
- the
- British
- army
- during
- the
- Second
- World
- War.
- In
- battle
- they
- were
- saved
- by
- witchcraft
- when
- they
- vanished
- into
- a
- supernatural
- mist
- and
- therefore
- evaded
- their
- adversaries.
Ideally,
- Swati
- muti
- is
- supposed
- to
- be
- used
- to
- curb
- crime,
- heal
- the
- sick,
- keep
- families
- together
- and
- protect
- the
- nation
- against
- disasters
- and
- enemy
- attacks.
- Instead,
- it
- is
- being
- used
- to
- oppress
- citizens.
The
- country’s
- rulers
- are
- safeguarding
- deep-rooted
- dark
- secrets
- which
- are
- the
- anchor
- and
- pillar
- of
- the
- unshaken
- draconian
- rule
- of
- King
- Mswati
- III.
- These
- powers
- are
- embedded
- in
- most
- of
- the
- traditional
- ceremonies
- and
- even
- overlap
- with
- religion.
- These
- dark
- practices
- are
- disguised
- within
- Christianity
- to
- penetrate
- the
- populace.
- Some
- of
- the
- most
- celebrated
- pastors
- are
- actually
- prime
- agents
- of
- high-level
- witchcraft.This
- book
- shares
- the
- experience
- of
- the
- author
- through
- “kutsebulwa”
- and
- exposes
- how
- people
- and
- systems
- are
- being
- manipulated
- by
- traditional
- and
- religious
- structures
- through
- an
- unprecedented
- use
- of
- witchcraft.
- Citizens
- are
- turned
- into
- living
- robots,
- or
- killed,
- so
- that
- the
- ruling
- regime
- can
- oppress
- and
- abuse
- those
- it
- governs
- for
- its
- own
- benefit
- and
- without
- being challenged.