Ghana, Accra – Lindiwe Dlamini, the Senate President of Eswatini, asserts that her country takes pride in maintaining its cultural identity, attributing this commitment to His Majesty King Mswati III, who leads a nation that upholds its values.
“My own country, the Kingdom of Eswatini, under the wise leadership of His Majesty, King Swati III, has steadfastly affirmed and held on to its cultural identity and core values while operating under a dual legal system, which fosters transparency and effectiveness of tradition as well as effective legislative people of a Swati belief in mutual respect, honour, dignity, interdependence, family, culture, and tradition as core tenets of solidarity,” Dlamini said, addressing the Fourth African Inter-Parliamentary Conference in Accra, Ghana.
Dlamini assured the fourth conference that Eswatini stands in solidarity with African nations in embracing culture and promoting family values, advising them to carry on despite attacks for holding on to family values. 
She said African legislators should remain vigilant in protecting cultural identity and parental authority while promoting social cohesion.
“We understand that attacks on the African family are not abstract debates. They manifest as rising divorce rates, child neglect, the erosion of parental authority, and cultural confusion among our youth. ” Our role as parliamentarians is not to impose a single model but to protect the right of African societies to define family in the way that reflects our history, our faith, and our lived realities; that is sovereignty,” she said.
She described sovereignty as the power of African people to legislate for ourselves without fear or pressure. Dlamini said foreign capitals must not decide what is best for the African children.
“It would seem the very idea of Africans choosing to unite, to protect their identity and sovereignty, is frightening to those who seek to promote the anti-life, anti-family agenda. We have been accused of working against development. To this, we invite the dissenting voices to review in detail the language of the African Charter to identify the substantive issues in this document instead of making unsubstantiated claims,” she said.
The Senate president said the family is Africa’s first parliament where values are debated, character is shaped, and responsibility is developed, which happened long before constitutions were written.
“Long before constitutions were written, our grandparents governed homes with Ubuntu – I am because we are – expressing respect for elders, communal care and dignity.
“The family remains the basic unit of sovereignty. When the family is strong, the nation is stable. When the family is weakened, society bears the cost.
Dlamini urged delegates to move beyond discussion and develop practical legislative frameworks capable of strengthening sovereignty and supporting family institutions.
She called for coordinated action at continental, regional and national levels and encouraged parliamentarians to return home with concrete policy proposals.
‘Let this conference be remembered as the moment when African parliaments stopped reacting and started shaping,’ she said.
Dlamini pledged Eswatini’s support for the conference process and said her country’s delegation would take the outcomes of the discussions back home for further consultation and legislative consideration.
