Ngwane National Liberatory Congress

The Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) is a political party in Swaziland. It was founded on 12 April 1963^[1] as a breakaway party from the Swaziland Progressive Party (SPP) led by Dr. J. J. Nquku.

History

It was launched on 24 February 1963 founded by Dr. Ambrose Phesheya Zwane and Prince Dumisa. It had relations with Ghana as a Pan-Africanist Movement; it sent its members for political training to the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute. Golden Highlanders were sent by the British Army in the early sixties due to pressure of the party’s protest actions in demanding political reforms for an Independent state and class struggle for a minimum wage. The Congress of the party on the eve of the state election of 1967 saw a clash of interest within members to an extent that we lost a margin of them to other political parties and to the state.

A breakaway party was formed in 1972 on the eve of state elections due to failure of the President accepting a woman candidate as the Deputy President in the party’s Congress. The party won three seats out of twenty-four in the State Elections and was the first opposition to a Parliament dominated by the Imbokodvo National Movement. Bhekindlela T. Ngwenya was deported by the ruling elite on suspicion that he was not a Swazi therefore could not be a parliamentarian. This was done in total disregard of the courts of the land which ruled in his favor.

In 1973 the ruling party could not stand the NNLC as an opposition and therefore banned the party. The Leadership of the party was detained for sixty days without trial. Majority of our members that were able to escape the state forces and detention went to Tanzania, a Pan-Africanist State in which we had friendship with. After serving a long period in Tanzania the ruling class negotiated the return of the president, Dr. Ambrose Zwane. In 1997 the party reorganized itself though an Interim Committee led by Jimmy Hlophe.

The party buried its President Dr. Ambrose Zwane on 28 March 1998 in an overwhelming public support in which King Mswati III was represented. At the end of November 1998 the party had its congress in which Mr. Obed Mfanyana Dlamini, a former Prime Minister won the Presidency. In the Elections of 1999 the party opposed the country’s electoral system and boycotted the elections. Some members registered and participated in the elections. These were taken to a disciplinary hearing of which they were expelled. However in 2003 the party did not have a positional resolution on the elections of which it opened opportunities for individuals in the party to participate in the elections. The party’s President participated in the elections and won as Member of Parliament under the Nhlambeni Inkhundla. It shall be noted that the NNLC has associated its membership with the Swaziland Democratic Alliance and the National Constitutional Assembly.

References