MBABANE – A police officer has withdrawn his nomination for the Member of Parliament (MP) position in support of his wife, who was nominated in the same position, at the same chiefdom.
Inspector Bongani Dlamini was nominated at Mkhweli Royal Kraal under Siphofaneni Inkhundla on August 22, 2023 for MP position along with his wife, Futhi Dlamini, who is a business owner at Siphofaneni. Also nominated for the same position was Nomalungelo LaZwide Simelane, Thandokuhle Bhembe, Mpendulo Gamedze, Gcina Dlamini and Busisiwe Matsenjwa.
withdrawn
Bongani, who is well-known in the football circles, in an interview yesterday, disclosed that he had since withdrawn from the MP race to give way for this wife. Worth noting is that Bongani is no stranger in politics, as he had been contesting in the MP position for over two election terms. The police officer mentioned several issues that led him to withdraw his nomination in the 2023 General Elections. Firstly, he highlighted that his wife had indicated her desire to join the race to Parliament. This also happens against the backdrop of a call by His Majesty King Mswati III during Sibaya, which was held on July 12, 2023, for the support of women in the general elections. Bongani explained that he had planned that if his wife was nominated first, he would decline the nomination.
However, during the nominations exercise, Bongani was the fourth nominee, while his wife Futhi was the eighth nominee. Secondly, he mentioned that it did not make sense for them to compete as a family, instead they should be working together to mobilise voters during the campaigning period. Adding, he highlighted that he noted the ‘atmosphere’ in the manner people were behaving in mobilising people to vote for them. He noted that some of the practices by some of the nominees did not favour him as a law enforcer. “At least my wife is a church person and a businesswoman, therefore, she has an edge over me,” he said.
He highlighted that even some electorate had learnt to manipulate nominees by asking for favours in exchange for votes. “There were so many requests and I am of the view that some of these are a trap,” he said. Due to these reasons and the the call to support women, Bongani said he then withdrew from the race so that he could support his wife. “I filled my withdrawal form a day after the completion of the nomination exercise and I will not be running for the elections,” he said.
Trust
Bongani noted that apart from his job, he had trust in his wife. He said even in their domestic setup, he had witnessed her mentoring their children to be business owners as well. He said his wife had a lot to offer, hence he could not deprive his constituency the gains of being led by his better half. This is not the only couple that was nominated during the 2023 General Elections nominations. A businessman, Gcina Magagula and his wife Precious Magagula, were nominated at Bulandzeni Royal Kraal last week Sunday. However, the couple, though married, is separated. At the time of compiling this report, it was unknown if any of the parties had withdrawn their nomination.