{"id":5665,"date":"2025-11-13T12:32:57","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T10:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swazidailynews.com\/?p=5665"},"modified":"2025-11-13T12:32:57","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T10:32:57","slug":"we-are-not-all-about-weed-rastafarians-defend-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5665\/eswatini-daily-news\/we-are-not-all-about-weed-rastafarians-defend-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"We are not all about weed \u2013 Rastafarians defend identity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Members of the Rastafarian community used the Home Affairs meeting to correct misconceptions about their faith, insisting that it should not be defined by marijuana use.<\/p>\n<p>Aymos Zwane said the community believes in one God and promotes peace and respect within society.<\/p>\n<p>He added that Rastafarians felt excluded from the Ministry\u2019s draft discussions and wanted formal inclusion in the new policy.<\/p>\n<p>Ngcondvolemnyama Mhlanga, a prominent Rastafarian, said their movement is rooted in African culture and unity.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5671\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5671\" style=\"width: 1299px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-5671\" src=\"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PAGE-4-Some-of-the-various-religious-members-during-the-meeting-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1299\" height=\"974\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5671\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some of the various religious members during the meeting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe must complement each other instead of discriminating against each other,\u201d he said.<br \/><br \/>As a symbolic gesture, Mhlanga presented peaches and seedlings to the Minister, calling them a gift of peace and growth.<\/p>\n<p>Worth noting, Rastafarians have long faced social stigma in Eswatini due to the illegal status of cannabis.<\/p>\n<p><strong><div class=\"_df_book df-lite\" id=\"5640\"  data-title=\"\" wpoptions=\"true\" thumbtype=\"\" ><\/div><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>They told the Ministry that regulation should separate faith identity from criminal association and allow equal recognition alongside other religions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Members of the Rastafarian community used the Home Affairs meeting to correct misconceptions about their faith, insisting that&hellip;","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,22,24,25,26],"tags":[46,55,73,48,49,58],"class_list":["post-5665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-africa","category-eswatini-daily-news","category-future","category-national","category-swaziland","tag-africa","tag-business","tag-eswatini","tag-feature","tag-human-interest","tag-national","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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