Swaziland Striving For Freedom Vol 23 July To September 2016

Swaziland:
Striving for
Freedom
As seen through the pages of
Swazi Media Commentary
Compiled by Richard Rooney
Volume 23: July to September 2016
SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM
CONTENTS
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Introduction
Constitution
Asians and racism
King Mswati III chairs SADC
King Mswatis private jet purchase
King Mswati III
Police
Reed Dance
Human rights
Childrens rights
Royal Family excess spending
Drought
KM III Airport
Election results
About the Author
Other Publications from Swazi Media Commentary
Occasional Paper Series
Previous Editions
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31
37
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INTRODUCION
The Swaziland High Court ruled parts of Suppression of Terrorism and the Sedition and
Subversive Activities Acts unconstitutional, paving the way, prodemocracy activists hoped, for
some form of democracy to be introduced to the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III, subSaharan Africas last absolute monarch. The un-banning of political parties was high on their
agenda.
But it was not to be. At least not yet. The Swazi State appealed the decision and we must now
await a Supreme Court ruling at a date yet to be set.
This was one of the highlights of the third quarter of 2016 and is featured in this compilation
of posts to the Swazi Media Commentary website in the months July to September 2016. King
Mswati became Chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) amid some
controversy, since he rules the only state in the community that bans political parties.
The Swazi Police once again were in the spotlight for their heavy-handed manner with striking
plantation workers. Investigations into allegations of police torture are underway.
The Kings excessive spending was highlighted once again. As donor agencies across the world
struggled to find funding to feed the one-third of the Swazi population in need of food aid, the
King prepared to take delivery of a private jet aircraft, costing an estimated US$14 million.
Swazi Media Commentary website has no physical base and is completely independent of any
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Swazi Media Commentary is published online updated regularly.
1: CONSTITUTION
Court: Terror Act unconstitutional
16 September 2016
Swazilands High Court has ruled that sections of the Suppression of Terrorism Act and the
Sedition and Subversive Activities Act are unconstitutional.
Judges ruled that the Acts contravened provisions in the Constitution on freedom of expression
and freedom of association.
The ruling was delivered on Friday (16 September 2016) ending years of campaigning to have
the Acts overthrown.
Thulani Maseko, a human rights lawyer; Maxwell Dlamini, Swaziland Youth Congress
secretary-general; Mario Masuku, president of the Peoples United Democratic Movement
(PUDEMO) and Mlungisi Makhanya, PUDEMO secretary-general, brought four actions
against the Swazi state.
Responding at the Swazi High Court were the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice and
Constitutional Affairs, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General.
Justice Mbutfo Mamba and Justice Jacobus Annandale ruled that various sections of the Acts
were inconsistent with the Constitution. They said S14(1)(b) of the Constitution, guarantees
and declares freedoms of conscience, expression and peaceful assembly and association as
fundamental human rights.
The applicants had been charged with offences under the Suppression of Terrorism Act because
they are members of PUDEMO which is a banned organisation in Swaziland, where King
Mswati III rules as sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch. The judges ruling stated,
They were found wearing T-shirts and berets of such organization and also chanting its
slogans.
The judges also stated that the Act did not describe what a terrorist was. Generally speaking,
most of the offences criminalized as terrorist acts in the Act are covered by ordinary criminal
law, they stated.
The judges stated the fact that the applicants had been charged for their involvement with
PUDEMO, is plainly a matter that affects or impacts on their right to freedom of association
and opinion.
For whatever reason, their views on the policies, aims, ideals and objectives of PUDEMO
have drawn them to it. The wearing of any apparel of paraphernalia associated with PUDEMO,
may or may not, depending upon the particular circumstances of the case, be said to be a crime
under the Act.
The bottom-line in these proceedings, however, is that their association, involvement with this
organization or entity has resulted in them being charged under the Act. In a word, they have
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been told, PUDEMO is a specified [banned] entity, and your belonging to it or chanting its
slogans and wearing its apparels is a crime in terms of the Act.
Clearly, their rights to freedom of association and opinion are adversely affected by this.
The judges also stated that the law or regulations that declared PUDEMO a banned entity
interfered with the constitutional right to freedom of association, but such rights were not
absolute and they may be subject to certain restrictions or limitations.
The judges stated that the applicants who were members of the banned PUDEMO were,
declared, in effect, terrorists or at least persons engaged or involved in terrorist acts or
criminals before they are given the opportunity to be heard on the issue. This cannot be right.
It is against the rules of natural justice or procedural fairness or administrative justice that a
person be condemned before he has been given the opportunity to be heard on the issue under
consideration.
A third High Court Justice Nkululeko Hlophe made a dissenting judgement.
Swazi terror decision to be appealed

27 September 2016
Swazilands Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini is to appeal the High Court ruling that
sections of the Suppression of Terrorism Act and the Sedition and Subversive Act are
unconstitutional.
Now, the decision reached by High Court Justices Mbutfo Mamba and Jacobus Annandale on
16 September 2016 will not take effect unless the Supreme Court determines the matter.
The notice of appeal was filed by the office of the Attorney General on Friday (23 September
2016). No grounds for the appeal have been made public.
The High Court justices had ruled that the Acts contravened provisions in the Constitution on
freedom of expression and freedom of association.
See also
NO AMNESTY IN TERROR CASES
SWAZI TERROR ACT STOPS FREE SPEECH
2: ASIANS AND RACISM
All Asians banned from Swaziland

8 July 2016
All Asian people have been banned from entering Swaziland after the kingdoms Parliament
suspended issuing entry permits.
A committee has been formed to look at loopholes in the immigration system, according to a
report in the Swazi Observer newspaper.
The Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africas last
absolute monarch, reported Parliament instructed Home Affairs Minister Princess Tsandzile
to ensure that no Asian entered the country.
It reported, This was after MP [Marwick] Khumalo moved a successful motion calling for the
election of a powerful 10-member committee to look into the loopholes of the countrys
immigration system causing the influx of illegal immigrants, the majority being of Asian
origin.
The newspaper reported the committee would also investigate the residential status of Asians
already living in the kingdom.
Khumalo who made the motion was reported saying that most Asians in Swaziland, were
trafficked into the country by their fellow countrymen who kept them as slaves to work in their
shops and factories in return for a meal.
Commerce Minister Gideon Dlamini tried unsuccessfully to make an amendment on the
motion. He was reported saying that Asians, were a mix of both criminals and genuine
investors and those who came into the country with good intent should not suffer for the sins
of others.
Lobamba MP Michael Masilela reportedly said small towns like Buhleni, Piggs Peak and
Siteki had already been taken over by the Asians.
Home Affairs Minister Princess Tsandzile said she welcomed the motion.
The committee is expected to bring a report within 30 days.
Asians evicted from home

25 July 2016
Following Swazilands decision to ban all Asian people from entering the kingdom comes news
that a group of Asians have been evicted from their home and banished from the area simply
because they are Asian.
The incident happened at Mgazini, according to the Observer on Sunday newspaper in

Swaziland.
The newspaper reported on Sunday (24 July 2016) that a group of 12 Asian nationals were
ordered out of an area on the outskirts of Mankayane.
They had rented a homestead from a local resident, but were later ordered out of the area by
the areas chiefs representative Indvuna Xolani Vilakati. The Indvuna or headman reportedly
did not meet with the Asians, but only heard of their presence in the area.
The newspaper reported, Vilakati said he ordered them out because they had not been reported
to the areas authorities and therefore accommodating them in the area with unknown motives
would cause problems for them.
The newspaper said residents saw the Asians in the homestead and their presence was reported
to a member of the areas bandlancane (council). The newspaper said the residents were
concerned about foreign people being accommodated in one of the homes.
The Asians left the area when requested.
There are heightened tensions in Swaziland following a decision by the Swazi Government to
set up a committee to investigate immigration of people from Asia, mostly India and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the House of Assembly suspended issuing entry permits to all Asian people.
Racism in Swazilands Times Sunday

27 July 2016
One of Swazilands few independent newspapers the Times Sunday has made a concerted
attack on Asians in the kingdom, declaring them to be cheats and scoundrals.
It follows the decision of the Swazi House of Assembly to set up a committee to investigate
illegal immigration into Swaziland and for the banning of entry permits to people from Asia.
The newspaper is breaking its own code of ethical conduct in reporting.
One of the anti-Asian cheerleaders is Innocent Maphalala, the editor of the Times Sunday.
Writing in his own newspaper on Sunday (24 July 2016), he said there was an influx of
immigrants from Pakistan and India, but gave no statistics to support his comment.
I do not want to repeat much of Maphalala column as it would only spread his racist comments
to a wider audience. However, he attacked Asian businesses as being cheats and he complained
that shops were closed on Friday mornings, a time during the week when Muslims go to prayer.
Despite his fierce attacks he did not interview one Asian person for comment.
Maphalalas comments break Article 6 of the Swaziland National Association of Journalists
(SNAJ) Code of Conduct which says journalists must not originate material which encourages
discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, colour, creed, gender or sexual orientation. He
quoted nobody either in favour or against his proposition that Asians were cheats and is
therefore responsible for originating the material.
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Although it is important for SNAJ to have a code of conduct about racist reporting,
unfortunately Article 6 lacks details and is not that useful for journalists who are trying to do
the right thing.
This kind of racism is not confined to Swaziland. Journalists in other parts of the world have
to confront racists and racist attitudes every day and have created their own codes of conduct.
One that is more detailed than that of SNAJ is from the National Union of Journalists in the
UK.
Here is an extract from its guidelines that journalists in Swaziland might like to take note of.
Guidelines ratified by the National Union of Journalists (UK and Ireland) for all its members
to follow when dealing with race relations subjects.
The NUJ believes that its members cannot avoid a measure of responsibility in fighting the evil
of racism as expressed through the mass media.
The NUJ reaffirms its total opposition to censorship but equally reaffirms its belief that press
freedom must be conditioned by responsibility and an acknowledgement by all media workers
of the need not to allow press freedom to be abused to slander a section of the community or
to promote the evil of racism.
The NUJ believes the methods and lies of the racists should be publicly and vigorously
exposed.
The NUJ believes that newspapers and magazines should not originate material which
encourages discrimination on grounds of race or colour, as expressed in the NUJ's rule book
and code of conduct.
The NUJ believes that editors should ensure that coverage of race stories should be placed in a
balanced context.
Race reporting
Only mention someones race if it is strictly relevant.
Do not sensationalise race relations issues.
Immigrant is often used as a term of abuse. Do not use it unless the person really is an
immigrant.
Be wary of disinformation. Just because a source is traditional does not mean it is accurate.
When interviewing representatives of racist organisations or reporting meetings or statements
or claims, journalists should carefully check all reports for accuracy and seek rebutting or
opposing comments. The anti-social nature of such views should be exposed.
Do not allow the letters column or 'phone-in' programmes to be used to spread racial hatred in
whatever guise.
The hungry defy Christian leaders

13 September 2016
Hungry people in Swaziland defied Christian leaders and attended a Muslim ceremony,
because free meat was being given away.
As part of the Islamic Eid-ul-Adah ceremony Muslims slaughter meat and give one third of it
away to needy people.
When it was announced that free meat would be available, Christian leaders condemned the
move and ordered their flocks to stay away.
President of the League of Churches Bishop Simon Hlatjwako was reported by the Times of
Swaziland saying true Christians would not participate in the event and would not eat the free
meat offered by Muslims.
True Christians should not dare set foot at the Muslim slaughtering ceremony, he reportedly
said. He added, Personally, I would not even bother myself; I do not care about their meat and
ceremonies. Muslims worship their own god and as Christians, we do not go along with their
god.
The newspaper also reported Bishop Steven Masilela, President of the Conference of Churches,
saying as they were the body of Christ, they were not allowed to eat everything.
But the Christian leaders went unheeded. The Swazi Observer reported on Tuesday (13
September 2016) that more than 500 people queued for the meat at Ezulwini.
The newspaper said they were driven by hunger. At least 300 1kg parcels of meat were
distributed after about 15 cattle were slaughtered. About 200 people returned home emptyhanded.
The Observer found many people who were critical of the Christian leaders. One who did not
want to be named said, What better deal do Christian leaders have to offer to alleviate hunger
if they do not want Muslims to help the needy?
Undercover police infiltrate mosque

19 September 2016
Muslims in Swaziland say undercover police are infiltrating their mosques to attend Friday
prayers.
The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the overwhelmingly
Christian kingdom, reported on Wednesday (14 September 2016) that police were suspected
of monitoring the Muslim community.
One source who did not want to be named told the newspaper that police officers attend their
1pm main service of the week on Fridays under disguise and would pretend to be members of
the general public.
We do not understand the perception of the local people regarding the Islamic religion, the
source told the Times. He added that Muslims were perceived as people who wanted to
perpetuate violence.
Ezulwini Islamic Institute Imam Feroz Ismail confirmed the belief that plain-clothes police
officers often attended its Friday afternoon services.
The Muslim community in Swaziland has recently been under attack by Christian leaders for
distributing meat to needy people. President of the League of Churches Bishop Simon
Hlatjwako was among Christian leaders who told people not to attend a special Muslim
ceremony at which meat was distributed. Hundreds of hungry people ignored the instruction.
See also
MORE RACISM IN SWAZI PRESS
XENOPHOBIA IN THE SWAZI PRESS
PREJUDICE AGAINST MUSLIMS RIFE
3: KING MSWATI CHAIRS SADC

King to party while Swazis go hungry
1 August 2016
King Mswati III of Swaziland has collected about E40 million (US$3 million) to host a lavish
SADC Heads of State summit at a time when his government could release only E22 million
of the E305 million earmarked for drought relief in this years national budget.
The King, who is sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch, is to assume the chair of the
Southern African Development Community on 17 August 2016.
About 300,000 of the Swazi 1.3 million population face severe hunger as drought hits the
southern African region. Despite this, the King called for donations from parastatal
organisations, businesses and overseas companies to allow him to host what the Swazi
Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, called an epic event.
The newspaper reported on Saturday (30 July 2016) that, the King expressed pleasure that the
donations proved quite enough to assist the country host an epic event. He reportedly praised
foreign investors for coming forward with notable donations.
The Observer also reported that among donations offered to the King were avocadoes, fruit
and vegetables that would be used for meals during the summit.
While King Mswati prepares to party his subjects are ravaged by drought. In April 2016,
UNICEF the United Nations Childrens Fund reported it needed US$151,200 for its Child
Protection work relating to the drought that has hit Swaziland. In June 2016 it reported that no
money at all was forthcoming. It estimated that 189,000 children under the age of 18 were
affected by the drought.
In July 2016, James Simelane, Member of Parliament for Sandleni Constituency in the
Shiselweni region, was reported in the Swazi Observer newspaper saying people had started
dying of hunger in his constituency because the Swazi Government had failed to deliver food
to drought-stricken areas.
As of the end of May 2016, UNICEF estimated 300,320 people in total in Swaziland were
affected by drought of which 189,000 were children. It estimated that 165,000 children affected
were by drought in the two most affected regions of Lubombo and Shiselweni.
A total of 200,897 people were food insecure, of which 90,404 were children. Of these, 8,460
children aged 6 to 59 months were affected by severe and moderate acute malnutrition.
Also in July 2016, it was revealed that King Mswati was about to receive a 375-seater private
jet worth about US$14 million paid for by his Government.
Meanwhile, the Swazi Government has released only E22 million of the E305 million
earmarked for drought relief in this years national budget. The Swazi Observer newspaper
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reported on 11 July 2016 that the Deputy Prime Minister Paul Dlamini announced this to the
House of Assembly.
The newspaper reported he failed to explain the reasons behind governments failure to
purchase and distribute food to the affected communities.
Dictator King not fit to chair SADC

8 August 2016
Political and workers leaders in Botswana have said King Mswati III of Swaziland should not
take the chair of SADC later this month (August 2016), because he is a dictator in his own
kingdom.
The King is due to hold the chair of the Southern Africa Development Community because
each of the 15 countries in SADC take it in turn.
Botswana is a member of SADC and a multi-party democracy. The Botswana Guardian
newspaper reported that civil society groups, labour leaders and politicians were against King
Mswati.
The Guardian reported Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang, vice president of the Botswana Congress
Party (BCP), saying, Although Swaziland is a sovereign state, the fact that King Mswati III is
ascending the SADC chair this August is a matter of great concern to us because the country
has thus far refused to embrace the values of democracy.
This is an indication that the regional body is not committed to democratic values.
The newspaper reported, In his view, the development is a setback for the region because
Mswati III is not competent to meaningfully intervene when there is a crisis especially where
democracy is the issue.
Motlatsi Molapis, President of the Botswana Peoples Party (BPP), reportedly said, Mswati
does not qualify to hold that position at all. Not only is he a dictator but he is also a corrupt
leader who sees nothing wrong with abusing public resources for his benefit while people
starve.
Nelson Ramaotwana, the Botswana National Front (BNF) Secretary for Foreign Affairs, said
all countries, including Swaziland, were free to run their affairs according to their own homegrown processes.
Mswati is, however, not the right person for the job because he cannot mediate between
government and its people where matters of democracy are concerned. In his country, civic
right groups including political parties and trade unions are, for all intents and purposes,
banned.
Ketlhalefile Motshegwa, Deputy Secretary General of the Botswana Federation of Public and
Private Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU), reportedly said, He rules by decree. There is no
bargaining council and those who raise their voices about his abuse of power are incarcerated.
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Above everything else, a leader must be a role model with regards to what the organisation he
leads stands for.
He added, We are liaising with like-minded organisations in the SADC as well as embassies
to reject his chairmanship. We will also lobby Swazis here and back home to join us in the
rejection of King Mswati III. We seek to isolate him, he said.
Opposition groups within Swaziland have also spoken against King Mswati. The Communist
Party of Swaziland (CPS), in a statement, said, The CPS is astonished that the governments
of Southern Africa show such massive disregard for the plight of the Swazi people as to put
absolute monarch Mswati III at the helm of SADC, supposedly an organisation that defends
democracy, the rule of law and human rights.
It added. The CPS urges all its supporters in Swaziland and in exile and all those in the broader
pro-democracy movement to put the spotlight on SADCs moral black hole that is Swaziland,
as Mswati dresses up as the chairman of SADC and wallows in the applause of SADCs
democratic heads of state.
SADC states that its objectives are to, achieve development, peace and security, and economic
growth, to alleviate poverty, enhance the standard and quality of life of the peoples of Southern
Africa, and support the socially disadvantaged through regional integration, built on democratic
principles and equitable and sustainable development.
In August 2015, Human Rights Watch said in a statement, SADC member states have taken
little action to ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law in all southern African
countries despite identifying peace, security, and the promotion of human rights as key
concerns within the region.
Swaziland is the only member of SADC where political parties are banned from taking part in
elections. King Mswati III rules as sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch and he chooses
members of the government. Opposition groups are banned under the Suppression of Terrorism
Act.
Human Rights Watch said, In Swaziland, human rights conditions and respect for the rule of
law have deteriorated significantly. Restrictions on political activism and trade unions, such as
under the draconian Suppression of Terrorism Act, violate international law, and activists and
union members risk arbitrary detention and unfair trials.
Botswana Opposition rejects King

5 September 2016
The main opposition political party in Botswana has rejected King Mswati IIIs appointment
as Chair of SADC because of the restriction on democracy in Swaziland.
The King was appointed Chair at the Southern African Development Community Summit of
Heads of State at the end of August 2016.
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The Botswana National Front (BNF), which is seen as the senior partner in the opposition
Umbrella for Democratic Change, said in a statement, Currently, there is no constitutional
democracy in Swaziland. Political parties remain banned in that country. King Mswati and his
Queen mother Ntombi have absolute authority over the judiciary, legislature and cabinet.
The Weekend Post newspaper in Botswana reported BNF saying, several trade unionists,
journalists and others have been harassed, tortured, beaten, arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned and
some without trial and worse some killed under mysterious circumstances with no action being
taken against the known security agents.
BNF called on all local progressive trade unions, media houses and the general civil society to
condemn the appointment of King Mswati.
Kingdom fails SADC delegates
24 August 2016
King Mswati III, the autocratic King in Swaziland and soon-to-be Chair of SADC, has been
exposed for misleading the 15-nation community that his kingdom was capable of holding the
organisations 36th Summit.
Swaziland is so poor and lacking in infrastructure that is has been unable to find living
accommodation for all those wanting to attend the Summit. A call went out this week for people
to offer up spare houses to delegates.
King Mswati who has been a controversial choice as the next Chair of the Southern African
Development Community has used the Summit as part of his campaign to convince his subjects
that Swaziland will be a first-world nation by 2022.
The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom where King
Mswati rules as sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch, reported on Wednesday (24
August 2016), a number of the delegates found themselves with no accommodation as most
of the hotels and lodges along the Mbabane/ Ezulwini/ Manzini corridor are fully booked. It
was gathered that a search for people who own houses that could be used to accommodate
some of the delegates was instituted.
A government official, who is part of the committee responsible for welcoming SADC
delegates, said they were currently running around trying to get accommodation for the
stranded delegates.
The Times reported, Director of the SADC Unit Chazile Magongo said it was the responsibility
of the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs to provide accommodation for SADC
delegates.
The situation on the ground contradicts the message that King Mswatis supporters have been
spreading in recent weeks that the kingdom was able to support such a prestigious Summit.
Seven in ten of King Mswatis 1.3 million subjects live in abject poverty with incomes of less
than two US dollars a day.
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The King has been a controversial choice of SADC Chair because Swaziland is the only one
of 15 SADC nations where political parties are banned from taking part in elections. King
Mswati chooses the government and no members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people.
King Mswati had used the Summit to try to impress that his kingdom was a developed country.
Mbongeni Mbingo, editor-in-chief of the Swazi Observer, a series of newspapers in effect
owned by the King, wrote as recently as Sunday (21 August 2016), The Kings vision has
always been about showing that we are capable of just like the bigger countries in the region,
to stage as successful an event as them - and that we can also demonstrate that while we are
quite small and have a stunted economy, we can be counted on to show that we are indeed a
nation in progress.
He added, Prince Hlangusempi informed the media, this past week, that Swaziland had always
opted against hosting the Summit, when its opportunity to host came up. It was never ready,
and His Majesty always felt that it was not the right time to do so.
However, when the opportunity availed itself this year, and His Majesty was to become the
next chairman of the SADC, he felt the opportunity could not be missed again - or it could be
another 14 or so years before we could host.
Therefore, he decided that it was time to accept this challenge. Since then, he has worked hard
at ensuring that the country does not do an average job. This meant we had to get the facilities
to match our ambition.
New SADC Chair exploits child labour

31 August 2016
King Mswati III of Swaziland who has just taken the Chair of SADC has been revealed to
exploit child labour on his fields. He has been named in an international report on the
trafficking of people.
The Trafficking in Persons Report 2016, issued by the United States Department of State
stated that Swazi chiefs, who are directly accountable to the King, coerce children and
adultsthrough threats and intimidationto work for the King.
It added, Swazi boys and foreign children are forced to labor in commercial agriculture,
including cattle herding, and market vending within the country.
King Mswati was at the centre of an international controversy in January 2015 when it was
revealed that schools in Swaziland, where he rules as sub-Saharan Africas last absolute
monarch, were forced to stay closed after Christmas so children could weed the Kings fields.
As many as 30,000 children were thought to have missed schooling as a result.
In Swaziland chiefs do the Kings bidding at a local level. People know they must obey the
chief because their livelihood depends on his goodwill. In some parts of Swaziland, the chiefs
are given the power to decide who gets food that has been donated by international agencies
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and then the chiefs quite literally have power of life and death in such cases with about a third
of the population of Swaziland receiving food aid each year.
The Trafficking in Persons Report 2016 also stated that Swaziland was a source, destination,
and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced
labour.
It added, Swazi girls, particularly orphans, are subjected to sex trafficking and domestic
servitude, primarily in Swaziland and South Africa. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has contributed
immensely to the increasing number of orphans and other vulnerable children at risk of
exploitation through trafficking.
It added, Mozambican boys migrate to Swaziland for work washing cars, herding livestock,
and portering; some of these boys become victims of forced labor. Traffickers use Swaziland
as a transit country to transport foreign victims to South Africa for forced labor.
Traffickers reportedly force Mozambican women into prostitution in Swaziland, or transit
Swaziland en route to South Africa. Some Swazi women are forced into prostitution in South
Africa and Mozambique after voluntarily migrating in search of work.
See also
SWAZI GOVT MISLEADS ON CHILD LABOUR
Kings new unworkable university

2 September 2016
It took King Mswati III of Swaziland less than one day to make his first unworkable promise
as Chair of SDAC.
The King, who rules the impoverished tiny kingdom as sub-Saharan Africas last absolute
monarch, said he would create a new university of University of Transformation within a year
to serve the whole of the Southern African Development Community.
King Mswati became Chair of SADC on Tuesday (30 August 2016). The Swazi Observer, a
newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported him saying Swaziland would pay for 300
students to study at the university in its initial intake.
The Times of Swaziland, the only other daily newspaper in the kingdom, reported the King
saying, This initiative will give new hope and opportunity to our youth and women.
The King and the media in Swaziland that enthusiastically and uncritically reported his
statement, gave no indication of where the money would come from for the project, who would
teach at the university, what academic programmes it would run, and how programmes would
be administered.
The University of Swaziland (UNISWA), the kingdoms largest and oldest university has been
unable to start teaching this academic year because students are protesting against cuts in
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scholarships. The Government, whose members are hand-picked by King Mswati, say they can
only afford to fund 500 new students this year. About 1,500 had expected to get scholarships.
Later, King Mswati announced the University of Transformation would initially be housed at
Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Swaziland. Limkokwing is a private
university. Many will see the Kings decision as a snub to UNISWA, where he is Chancellor.
According to its website, Limkokwing in Swaziland only offers associate degrees which are
at a level below Bachelor degrees and in many universities are known as diplomas.
In June 2012, Bandile Mkhonta, Head of Human Resource for Limkokwing in Mbabane,
Swaziland, told local media that of 53 professional staff at the university; only one had a Ph.D
doctorate. A Ph.D is usually considered by universities to be the minimum qualification
required to be given the rank of senior lecturer.
The Swazi Observer reported Mkhonta saying Limkokwing had fewer Ph.Ds because it was a
non-conventional university whose curriculum was mainly based on practice than theory.
Limkokwing in Swaziland had no staff at professor rank and no record of conducting scholarly
research.
See also
ABSOLUTE KING TAKES CHAIR OF SADC
SWAZI HUMAN RIGHTS WORSEN: AMNESTY
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ON SWAZILAND
STAND UP TO SWAZI KING, UNIONS URGED
16
4: KINGS PRIVATE JET PURCHASE

Swazi King set to get 375-seater jet
4 July 2016
King Mswati III of Swaziland seems set to take delivery of a 375-seater private jet, if reports
circulating in aviation circles on the Internet are correct.
The plane, an Airbus A340-300, is reportedly in Hamburg for cabin interior fitting. It was flown
to the German city from Taipei in Taiwan.
The plane, according to the Skyliner-aviation website, was ferried to Hamburg after initial
painting. The website published a photograph of the plane.
The Airbus has been given the registration identification B-18802 /3DC-SDF. The website said
the jet was for Swazi King Mswati III.
The purchase of the jet for the King, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africas last absolute
monarch, has caused controversy.
In April 2016, Members of the Swaziland Parliament blocked a move to pay E96 million for a
plane. The money had been allocated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation in the kingdoms annual budget announced in February 2016.
In February 2016 the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, reported
the E96 million (about US$6.6 million) was set aside for a jet for the King after members of
the parliament, many of them appointed by the King, urged the Swazi Government to consider
buying the King a plane to replace the DC-9 jet (also known as an MD-87) which he already
has. It has been the subject of legal disputes in both Canada and the British Virgin Islands.
Once news of the intended spending was made public outside of Swaziland the King came in
for heavy criticism. Swaziland is in the grip of a drought crisis and in February the Swazi
Government declared a national emergency and said the kingdom would need E248 million
(US$16 million) before the end of April 2016.
Within days, the MPs overturned their earlier decision and it was announced they had agreed
to pay E200 million (US$13.8 million) more than twice the original amount budgeted for
to China Airlines in Taiwan for an Airbus A340-300, built in 2001.
Unconfirmed reports circulating on the Internet said that King Mswati had refused to sign-off
Swazilands budget announced in February 2016 unless he got his jet.
The Observer reported the Ministry of Finance had listened and cancelled the allocation and
the money taken to the Consolidated Funds. This would allow it to be spent on other things.
Two days later on 7 April 2016, the Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper
in the kingdom, reported that following a three-hour long caucus by both Members of
Parliament (MPs) and senators in the Parliament canteen, the latter agreed that the E96m, which
17
had been frozen by MPs, be released to pay a deposit to China Airlines, based in the Republic
of China on Taiwan.
The Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini, who was not elected to office but appointed directly by
King Mswati, later presented a statement. The Times reported, [T]he PM said following a
Parliament resolution that government find a solution to ensure that Their Majesties are secured
a mode of travel, they had sent a ministerial subcommittee headed by Chief Mgwagwa
Gamedze, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, to look at the various
options available.
The newspaper reported, The balance for the Airbus A340-300, which has been identified,
will be paid up in the 2017-2018 government financial year.
The PM said the jet to be used by Their Majesties for international trips was a long range and,
therefore, it did not have to make fuelling stops every now and then.
See also
MONEY FOR KINGS JET, BUT NOT DROUGHT
SWAZI KINGS DROUGHT BLUNDER
SWAZILAND DROUGHT TRUTH REVEALED
KING BUYS JET, UN FUNDS DROUGHT RELIEF
King buys jet, but no money for food

22 September 2016
In the week that it was revealed that Swaziland had paid E90 million (US$6.4m) as a deposit
on a private jet for King Mswati III it was announced that 500,000 Swazi people nearly half
the population would need food aid by December, but the kingdom cannot afford to pay for
it.
Swaziland has been under a national emergency since February 2016 because of drought. The
kingdom, ruled by King Mswati, the last absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa, appealed to
the international community for financial aid. Meanwhile, the King who has a reputation for
his personal lavish lifestyle spent millions hosting the Southern African Development
Community summit in August. The King is chair of SADC this year.
On Friday (16 September 2016), media in Swaziland reported the kingdoms National Disaster
Management Agency (NDMA) Chief Executive Officer Russell Dlamini saying an estimated
500,000 people would need food assistance by December 2016.
Dlamini said that donor agencies had promised aid, but only about a quarter of it had been
received.
The Swazi Observer newspaper reported that Dlamini said more than E97 million had been
pledged, but only E24 million had been received.
18
The Times of Swaziland reported Dlamini saying all food aid would cease by April 2017 unless
something was done.
Newspapers also reported that members of the Swazi parliament were questioning what had
happened to the E90 million that had been paid as deposit for the Kings private jet. No jet has
jet been delivered. The jet is expected to cost a total of E207 million.
The media in Swaziland which often censor themselves when reporting about the King made
no connection between the E90 million being spent so far on the jet and the nearly similar
amount needed for food aid.
19
5: KING MSWATI III

Swazi King backs his House Speaker
1 July 2016
King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland, has ordered members of parliament to
return to their duties after they quit the House of Assembly in a dispute over the House Speaker,
Themba Msibi.
MPs had decided to close parliament in protest about what they saw as Msibis poor
performance of his job. They asked King Mswati to intervene.
The King has been a supporter of Msibi ever since he backed him to be House Speaker after
the Swazi elections in 2013.
In 2013, following the most recent national election in Swaziland Msibi was elected Speaker
unopposed. He was the Kings preferred candidate. Once news of this spread all other
candidates withdrew.
It was reported at the time that the House of Assembly was ready to elect a Speaker but it was
adjourned for three days to allow Msibi time to get his nomination papers entered.
The adjournment was forced by Clerk of Parliament Ndvuna Dlamini.
The adjournment caused confusion in the Swazi Parliament because the kingdoms
Constitution suggests the election of Speaker had to take place at the first sitting of Parliament
following a national election.
Among those withdrawing was Prince Guduza, the Speaker of the previous Parliament. He was
widely thought of as the first choice of Parliamentarians and until the Kings intervention, was
expected to be elected. He withdrew hours before the election took place.
Former minister and dissident journalist Mfomfo Nkhambule and Mangcongco MP Patrick
Pha Motsa, the only other candidates, had previously withdrawn.
King Mswati III had a week earlier appointed Msibi to the House of Assembly. Msibi did not
stand as a candidate in the national election held on 20 September 2013.
The intervention of King Mswati was not reported in local media, but the Times of Swaziland,
the kingdoms only independent daily newspaper, reported, Complete gloom enveloped the
House of Assembly when Themba Msibi was pronounced Speaker unopposed yesterday.
In an editorial comment, the Times said, Parliaments credibility, status and integrity have
been shaken by the preceding chaos over the election of the Speaker and the nation desperately
needs the reassurance that we have actually chosen the best people for the job and that they
will do the best for the nation.
On Thursday (30 June 2016), the House was forced to meet to hear a message from the King
delivered by the man he chose to be Prime Minister, Barnabas Dlamini.
20
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported, I [Dlamini] have
been sent by the King to inform you that he has heard that there are issues affecting parliament.
But he says parliamentarians must continue working, especially on government business and
other matters relating to government regulations. Bayethe! he shouted the royal cry signifying
that the massage was directly from the King.
The newspaper added, The few MPs who were present responded with the royal Bayethe cry
as well. Soon after delivering the message, the PM hit the exit door.
The House was then adjourned because not enough MPs were present to form a quorum.
The Observer reported, Parliamentary business has been grounded for the past two months
following a decision by the members of the House of Assembly to get rid of Msibi. The decision
to remove Msibi from the position of Speaker was triggered by his refusal to allow members
of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Swaziland Branch to elect a new
executive committee to replace one that was chaired by Dvokodvweni MP Musa Sitezi
Dlamini, whom some MPs considered a puppet for the Speaker.
The manner in which Msibi handled the matter did not help the situation either, instead, it
revealed his other side-being authoritative.
Most of the MPs felt they could not stand his alleged boastful character. They also accused
him of arrogance, selective treatment of members and flouting of parliamentary procedures.
Attempts by members of the House of Assembly to remove Msibi from his position have
previously been unsuccessful.
A recent attempt before this one was through a parliamentary process that involved
investigating his alleged immoral and unethical activities, which led to his subsequent
suspension. The suspension was to be enforced pending tabling of the investigation report.
Msibi ran to the countrys courts to seek legal redress. While challenging the decision by his
colleagues and before the court process was concluded, Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini
delivered a message from the King informing House members the squabbles should be put to
a dead stop.
Msibi was reportedly instructed to abandon the court process and those legislators
investigating him also ordered to bring to a halt the whole investigation process. All parties
concerned obliged.
The Observer reported that the House was divided into two rival factions, with a few mainly
royal appointees on the side of Msibi and the other section largely composed of elected
members directly representing the 55 constituencies.
In Swaziland political parties are not allowed to contest elections. The Swazi people are only
allowed to select 55 of the 65 members of the House of Assembly, with the King appointing
the others. No members of the 30-strong Swaziland Senate are elected by the people.
21
See also
KINGS MAN UNOPPOSED AS SPEAKER
DISSIDENT STANDS AS HOUSE SPEAKER
King to blame for womens inequality

18 July 2016
King Mswati III, the absolute monarch in Swaziland, is one of the main reasons why women
in the kingdom remain oppressed, a new report has concluded.
ACTSA (Action for Southern Africa) reported that despite claims that Swaziland was a modern
country, the reality is, despite pledges and commitments, women continue to suffer
discrimination, are treated as inferior to men, and are denied rights.
ACTSA added, The King has demonstrated he is unwilling to change the status quo and
promotes multiple aspects of the patriarchal society.
In a briefing paper called Womens Rights in Swaziland, just released, ACTSA said,
Swaziland has a deeply patriarchal society, where polygamy and violence against women are
normalised, deeply unequal cultural and religious norms, and a male monarch who is unwilling
to make any change. All this contributes towards the daily discrimination faced by women.
Among discriminations against women highlighted by ACTSA were the high levels of girls
dropping out of school. ACTSA reported, Cultural gender norms dictate that women and girls
provide the bulk of household-related work, including physical and emotional care. As a result,
girls are under pressure to drop out from school, especially where there are few adults available
to care for children and the elderly, for example, in child-headed households.
ACTSA also highlighted that women lacked the legal rights to administer their own assets. It
reported, Most married women are denied equal status as legal adults: they cannot buy or sell
property or land, sign contracts or conduct legal proceedings without the consent of their
husbands. Many widows, denied the right to own land, are forced from their homes.
Women also have few chances to find jobs. Swaziland is ranked 150th out of 188 countries in
the world in the Gender Inequality Index, ACTSA reported. Men control household resources
and thus women remain dependent. This often results in women seeking alternative avenues
for income, including transactional and commercial sex, it said.
Some of the statistics on life as a female in Swaziland quoted in the report include:
One in three girls experience sexual violence before they reach the age of 18 (Amnesty
International, 2010);
31 percent of women are HIV-positive (UNAIDS, 2014);

70 percent of female sex workers are HIV-positive (AVERT, 2015);
Early and forced marriage is normal (Amnesty International, 2010);
Marital rape is legal (Amnesty International, 2010);
22
Out of 65 delegates in the House of Assembly, only four are women (6 percent) (Department
of Gender and Family Affairs, 2014).
Swazi King pardons Activist Rudd

19 July 2016
Roland Rudd, one of Swazilands best known political activists, has been released from jail
after receiving a Royal Pardon.
Rudd was serving seven years for a number of offences, including attempted murder and
possession of a firearm.
He was released on the orders of King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch.
In 2015, the King decreed that all prisoners jailed at His Majestys Correctional Services
(HMCS) would have their sentences reduced.
Rudd was released on Saturday (9July 2016).
The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, reported that
Rudd had been charged in 2012 with the attempted murder of soldiers and unlawful possession
of a firearm.
The newspaper reported, He shot at Thokozani Mkwanyana, Bhekinkhosi Sikhondze, Mlondi
Xaba and Gugulethu Mngometulu during a road rage incident at KaDake area in the Hhohho
region.
In 2013, the Swazi High Court rejected Rudds application that he is right to personal freedom
was being violated because he had been jailed but not been brought before a court.
He also said he was continually subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment.
23
6: POLICE
Police fire shots at workers strike
29 August 2016
Riot police in Swaziland fired shots over the heads of striking workers who were protesting for
an increase in pay of the equivalent of 35 US cents per hour.
Two shots were fired by the Royal Swaziland Police (RSP) when workers demonstrated outside
the Plantation Forestry Company.
The strike has lasted more than nine days. Chairperson of the Swaziland Agriculture &
Plantations Workers Union (SAPAWU) Sibusiso Masuku said workers demonstrated in front
of a group of police.
The Swazi Observer newspaper reported on Wednesday (25 August 2016) that one police
officer fired two shots into the air, which caused panic amongst the workers. However, no
one was hurt.
The newspaper reported Masuku saying, We were shocked by the gunshots but we are not
backing down. It seems our complaints are not being heard by the administration. First we were
told that we cannot hold our legal strike inside our work premises so we were forced to
demonstrate along the dangerous road.
Then we were allowed to picket inside the Plantation Company premises but now we want to
take the strike to our work stations.
Police in Swaziland regularly intervene on behalf of employers in industrial disputes.
In October 2015 police fired shots and teargas at protesting textile workers at the Zheng Yong
Garment factory in Nhlangano. They were protesting against the behaviour of security guards.
In June 2015, Swaziland was listed as one of the top ten worst countries in the world for
workers rights. It was grouped alongside some of the worst human rights violators on the
planet, including Belarus, China, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
and the United Arab Emirates.
Police fire rubber bullets on strikers

15 September 2016
Riot police in Swaziland are under fire for using rubber bullets and teargas against striking
workers.
A strike at Swaziland Plantation has entered its second month amid clashes between police and
workers.
24
Swaziland Agriculture and Plantations Workers Union (SAPWU) Chairperson Sibusiso

Masuku told the Swazi Observer newspaper the police had taken a violent stance against the
workers.
On Wednesday (14 September 2016) the newspaper reported him saying, During the strike,
we the striking workers, saw rubber bullets fired at us by the riot police as well as teargas. We
have also been chased away from the Plantation entrance where we had originally started our
strike. Police have been arresting us for instigating violence and to add insult to injury, we have
had seen some of our fellow workers being injured during the protest, it has been a bad time
for us.
The newspaper reported there had been renewed clashes on Friday (9 September 2016) between
police and unarmed workers.
Masuku told the Observer, The riot police are just pawns used by the Plantation Forest
Company administration to fight against us, we feel safer when they are not present as we do
not understand their way of thinking.
In June 2015, Swaziland was listed as one of the top ten worst countries in the world for
workers rights. It was grouped alongside some of the worst human rights violators on the
planet, including Belarus, China, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
and the United Arab Emirates.
Police brutally assault workers

18 September 2016
Striking plantation workers in Swaziland were brutally assaulted by police, a local newspaper
has reported.
The displayed bruised and injured legs where they were physically battered by Royal
Swaziland Police officers, the Swazi Observer said.
Of the injured workers at Swaziland Plantation, five were women and one a man.
The Observer reported on Thursday (15 September 2016), Striking Plantation Workers ViceSecretary Wendy Simelane said she suffered a double leg fracture and multiple tortures at the
hands of three Royal Swaziland Police officers.
It added Simelane was with four other workers.
They all claimed to have been assaulted by police who then warned them to keep silent, and
not tell their story to anyone after taking them to the Piggs Peak Government Hospital for
treatment.
The workers were taken to a secluded location and were allegedly assaulted for starting the
fires at the plantation grounds.
They claimed to have been forced by police at the Piggs Peak Police Station to write
statements claiming they started the fires.
25
The Observer reported the workers were assaulted and tortured with water and plastics at
the police station.
The attacks were said to have happened on Friday 9 September 2016.
Workers had been on strike for more than a month. They won a 13 percent pay rise on Tuesday
(13 September 2016).
Horror tale of Swazi Police torture
20 September 2016
More detailed accounts of Swaziland police torture against women workers have been
published in a local newspaper.
The women were reportedly ambushed by armed police and brutally attacked during a strike
at the Plantation Forest Company, near Piggs Peak.
The Observer on Saturday newspaper (17 September 2016) reported what it called a horror
attack. It said a private security company called Siyavutsa assisted police.
The newspaper reported the attack happened at 4.45pm on Friday 9 September. A group of
workers left the plantation premises and walked along a main road to their compound,
Goedgegun, about 5 km away, when all of a sudden a Siyavutsa vehicle swerved and came to
an abrupt stop in front of the first group of about five workers and a swarm of armed police
officers and dog handlers alighted.
The newspaper added, The different groups of about 15 workers allege that they all ran in
different directions while the officers were in pursuit striking indiscriminately at anyone falling
down. The women claim that the police officers alighted with rifles and batons while Siyavutsa
dog handlers followed suit with the dogs. Shots were fired in the air while other officers bridged
their service weapons.
At the top of his voice a Siyavutsa security chief shouted at the workers as to why they were
burning down the forest, however they wondered how they could have burned the forest
because the fires had started from a different direction, far away from where they were going.
Vice Secretary of the Workers Union Wendy Simelane said she was struck with a baton by an
officer identified as Manqoba Vilakati on the shin before she was dragged and thrown into a
police van that had arrived to beef up the contingent on the scene.
The Observer on Saturday reported, It was then they, together with a handful of others, were
driven deep into one of the forests. On the way the vehicle swerved to its sides making its cargo
bang on the sides with their heads. By then all their mobile telephones were confiscated. At the
swamp inside the forest the beatings continued with their assailants stomping on their arms and
legs, including Simelanes fractured leg.
All this time we pleaded with them why we were being assaulted but to deaf ears. By then
my lower part of the leg was dangling signalling that the shin was shattered. At the same time,
26
we were forced to do press-ups but I could not because my leg could not hold any longer, the
newspaper reported Simelane saying.
The Observer reported that the police used wood stumps and branches from around the swamp
to inflict more injury to the workers. They were then dragged and thrown into the police van,
driven back to Mhlatane station where they found Siyavutsa guards waiting for their turn.
Later, they were taken to Piggs Peak police station for another bout of torturing. The
newspaper reported that Simelane was tortured by being suffocated with a plastic bag until she
vomited. She was forced into signing a confession that she had started fires in the forest.
Torture police investigate themselves

23 September 2016
Police in Swaziland are to investigate themselves after reports that officers ambushed and
tortured striking workers.
An unnamed senior officer was reported in the Swazi Observer newspaper saying, We as the
police have opened an inquiry of our own over the allegations made against our officers.
It relates to reported attacks by police on workers at the Plantation Forest Company, near Piggs
Peak.
The newspaper said two investigations had been started, one of them independent of the police.
The Observer reported on Tuesday (20 September 2016) that the senior office said, everybody
involved, be it the police officers or the workers themselves were all under investigation.
Meanwhile, the Swaziland Agriculture and Plantations Workers Union (SAPWU) want to open
individual assault cases against police officers, following the alleged assaults on Friday 9
September 2016.
General-Secretary Manqoba Dlamini said, We intend opening various assault cases against
the police. This is because the violation by police happened at various times during the strike,
but the Fridays assaults were severe and most shocking. That fateful Friday, police picked up
five females and assaulted them in a secluded location and further accused them of arson
attacks at the Plantation Forest Company sports field, he said.
Dlamini said the names of the police officers involved in the alleged assault were known to
them.
Dlamini also said SAPWU intended to alert the International Labour Organisation (ILO) of the
strike action by workers of the Plantation Forest Company. He said, The poor working
conditions suffered by workers coupled by the low wages topped off by attacks by police have
to be told to the international community. Worth noting is that the assaults that happened on
Friday started as a labour dispute that turned ugly, he said.
27
7: REED DANCE
Swazi maidens learn political songs
25 August 2016
The political dimension of Swazilands annual Reed Dance was at the fore this week as
thousands of supposed-virgins were taught songs in praise of the kingdoms autocratic
monarch, King Mswati III.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King who rules as sub-Saharan
Africas last absolute monarch, and is about to become Chair of SADC, reported on Wednesday
(24 August 2016) that they sang songs congratulating him on his new appointment.
In past years the maidens had been taught to sing songs denouncing political parties.
Swaziland is the only country within the 15-member Southern African Development
Community where political parties are banned from taking part in elections. King Mswati
chooses the government of his kingdom and none of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people.
The Reed Dance or Umhlanga is an annual event in which tens of thousands of bare-breasted
maidens, some as young as ten, dance for the pleasure of the King. It is widely reported within
Swaziland that the dancers are virgins.
Newspapers in Swaziland reported that 98,000 maidens had registered to take part in this years
ceremony.
The Reed Dance, billed as Swazilands foremost cultural day, proved to be anything but in
2013 when 120,000 half-naked maidens reportedly sang a song praising the Kings then-recent
pronouncement about his continued rule over his kingdom.
They praised the King for announcing that henceforth Swaziland would be a Monarchical
Democracy. This was a new name for the already existing Tinkhundla system that puts all
power in the hands of the King.
The King said he had been told in a vision to make this change.
The song included these words (loosely translated from the original), Your Majesty Swaziland
is well governed through the Tinkhundla System of Democracy and will be victorious through
it.
The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, reported at the
time, Royal Swaziland Police Superintendent Wendy Hleta who was the Master (sic) of
Ceremonies together with Former Indvuna YeMbali Nothando Ntshangase noted that the
maidens were seemingly pleased with the message conveyed by the new composition.
The sinister nature of the Reed Dance was exposed in 2012 when about 500 children were
ordered to sing a song vilifying political parties. This was part of a clampdown on dissent in
the kingdom.
28
The children were taught a song to sing at the dance which had lyrics that when translated into
English said political parties set people against each other and said that if political parties
were allowed to exist in the kingdom the Kings people could start fighting each other.
Political parties are banned in Swaziland, but there is increasing pressure from pro-democrats
for this to change. Some traditional authorities also believe that support for the present system
that puts them in control is on the wane. In Swaziland pro-democracy demonstrations have
been attacked by police and state security forces.
See also
CULTURAL REED DANCE TURNS POLITICAL
SWAZIS FORCED TO DANCE FOR KING
Dispute over Reed Dance safety

30 August 2016
Organisers have said 98,000 maidens were transported in 80 buses to attend Swazilands
Reed Dance where they would dance half-naked in front of King Mswati III. But newspapers
and social media have disputed the figure.
Innocent Maphalala, the editor of the Times Sunday, one of the kingdoms few independent
newspapers, wrote this would mean each bus would have carried 1,225 girls on each journey
or each bus would have to make 15 trips.
Newspapers reported each of Swazilands four regions was given 20 buses. The main Reed
Dance ceremony took place on Monday (29 August 2016) at the Ludzidzini palace.
Reed Dance Overseer Hlangabeza Mdluli was reported in the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in
effect owned by King Mswati, saying that safety was made a priority for the maidens.
The SABC in South Africa quoted Mdludi saying, We used buses to transport the girls this
year, this shows that things have changed and we want our people to be safe.
The emphasis on safety followed a tragedy at last years Reed Dance when 13 women and
children died when the open backed truck they were travelling was involved in a collision. The
dead were thrown clear of the truck.
The number of dead was disputed, with the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) putting the
figure at 38.
Photographs later revealed the maidens were being transported like cattle. The girls were forced
to stand up in the back of an open truck cheek-by-jowl. There was no space to sit down or even
to turn around. Photographs showed that at least sixty children were squashed onto the back of
a single truck. Many of the trucks that transported the girls were usually used to move building
materials.
29
Tens of thousands of young girls from across Swaziland are forced to travel in similar trucks
to attend the Reed Dance where they are expected to dance topless in front of Swazilands King
Mswati, sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch. Media in Swaziland routinely describe
the girls that dance for the 48-year-old King as virgins or maidens.
The not-so-generous Swazi King

1 September 2016
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, got a little over-excited
in its reporting of its patron and the Reed Dance.
On Monday (29 August 2016) it gushed that the King, who rules the tiny kingdom as subSaharan Africas last absolute monarch, gave many of the maidens who danced before him
half-naked new sneakers.
The Observer reported, His Majesty the King, yet again, spoiled maidens with comfortable
sneakers - not only to be worn for walks but one could even dress smartly on a casual Friday
and still look absolutely fantastic in them.
The maidens, too, wasted no time, as soon as the sneakers reached their hands they put them
on and were quick to comment saying kute umuntfu lositsandza njengeNgwenyama loosely
translated no one loves us more the King.
The editors at the Swazi Observer have short memories. On 24 August 2016 the newspaper
reported the Taiwan Embassy in Swaziland had donated more than 60,000 pairs of sneakers
worth E7 million (about US$500,00) to Reed Dance organisers.
Thomas Chen, the Taiwan Ambassador in Swaziland, was reported saying, This is just a token
to show our support for the Swazi culture as it is unique, beautiful and it is what makes the
country shine and rise above the rest.
30
8: HUMAN RIGHTS
Sex for jobs claim at Stats Office
5 July 2016
Women temporary employees at Swazilands Central Statistics Office (CSO) have allegedly
been forced to have sex with their bosses to keep their jobs.
The women are engaged in the ongoing Swaziland Population and Housing Census and the
Swaziland Household Income and Expenditure Surveys, according to a report in the Observer
on Saturday newspaper.
The paper reported on Saturday (2 July 2016), senior employees who were employed on a
permanent basis demanded sexual favours from the temporary workers if they wanted to keep
their jobs.
An unnamed source told the newspaper, The CSO bosses are taking advantage of the female
staff. They have wives yet they use their power to have sex with the defenceless young girls so
they can keep their jobs.
CSO Director Amos Zwane said the allegations were taken seriously and an investigation
would take place.
UK unions back Swazi rights campaign
22 July 2016
Over the past 18 months, Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) has received support from
UNISON to build international support for human rights and democracy in Swaziland, the UK
Trades Union Congress (TUC) reported.
ACTSA organised and hosted a visit to the UK by Vincent Ncongwane, the then Secretary
General of the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), in March 2015.
The TUC reported, Vincent met with the then Minister for Africa and senior officials at the
Commonwealth Secretariat, as well as with a wide range of civil society organisations,
including trade unions. Vincent was able to use these meetings to stress the need for the UK
and Commonwealth to step up their engagement with the Government of Swaziland so that it
fulfils its international obligations. He also called on bilateral and multilateral agencies to more
actively support the work of Swazi civil society.
ACTSA has produced a range of campaign materials. Most recently, ACTSA has published a
new briefing paper Swazilands Downward Spiral: The International Community Must Act
Now. The paper warns that Swaziland may plunge into a protracted crisis unless the
31
international community, including the UK, applies serious pressure on the Government of
Swaziland so that it respects human rights and develops a genuinely democratic constitution.
UNISON and other UK trade unionists have also been supportive of the development of a
Swazi Rural Womens Charter, which is discussed in another new ACTSA publication
Womens Rights in Swaziland.
The paper reported that King Mswati III, the absolute monarch in Swaziland, was one of the
main reasons why women in the kingdom remain oppressed. ACTSA reported that despite
claims that Swaziland was a modern country, the reality is, despite pledges and commitments,
women continue to suffer discrimination, are treated as inferior to men, and are denied rights.
ACTSA added, The King has demonstrated he is unwilling to change the status quo and
promotes multiple aspects of the patriarchal society.
In a separate report, ACTSA called on the international community to apply serious pressure
on the Government of Swaziland so that it respects human rights and develops a genuinely
democratic constitution.
The absolute monarch King Mswati III is due to become the chairperson of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) in August 2016 while his government continues to
violate human rights with impunity. In its report published in June 2016), ACTSA warned that
Swaziland might plunge into a protracted crisis unless African governments, as well as bilateral
and multilateral donors, vigorously and consistently engage with the Government of Swaziland
so that it genuinely protects and serves all of its citizens.
See also
CALL FOR GLOBAL PRESSURE ON SWAZI GOVT
Swazis camp out to beg King for jobs

29 July 2016
Desperately poor people in Swaziland have been camping outside one of King Mswati IIIs
offices over many months to beg the King for work, according to local media.
They said they would rather die than return to poverty, the Times of Swaziland reported on
Friday (29 July 2016).
The newspaper, the only independent daily in the kingdom where King Mswati rules as subSaharan Africas last absolute monarch, reported, Many months have gone by as the group of
unemployed citizens from different parts of the country camped daily outside the Kings Office
at Nkhanini, hoping to be called in.
32
In Swaziland nearly seven in ten of the 1.3 million population live in abject poverty with
incomes less than US$2 per day.
The Times reported, However, on numerous occasions, the undeterred group would be told
that there were currently no vacancies but would continue to sit and hope for a different
answer.
The newspaper reported the jobseekers spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of
victimisation.
They said they would rather die outside the gates of Nkhanini than to return to poverty.
The Times reported, They said they were sending a plea to Their Majesties to find it befitting
to issue a Royal Command for them to be given jobs as they were currently ravaged by
poverty.
It added, They said they were determined to go to Their Majesties to beg for the jobs.
They had heard rumours that there were vacancies for jobs such as cleaning staff, groundsmen
and other general duties, which did not require special skills in order to carry out.
It is difficult to get accurate figures on unemployment in Swaziland, but the CIA World Fact
Book put the rate at 40 percent in 2014.
While poverty continues to grip Swaziland it was revealed by an international news agency
this week that King Mswatis annual budget had been increased to US$69.8 million in the
current financial year. The Anadolu Agency quoted official figures from the Government of
the Kingdom of Swazilands estimates for the years from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2019
report. It said the royal budget was US$55.3 million in the last financial year, but this year it
has been increased by US$13.9 million.
King Mswati has a reputation outside of Swaziland as a lavish spender. He has at least 13
palaces, a fleet of top-of-the-range- Mercedes and BMW cars. He is about to take delivery of
a 375-seater private jet worth about US$14 million paid for by his Government.
In March 2016, it was revealed the Kings share of the just-reopened Lufafa Gold Mine at
Hhelehhele in the Hhohho region of Swaziland could be worth up to US$149 million.
See also
SWAZIS AMONG HUNGRIEST IN THE WORLD
KING PARTIES, HIS SUBJECTS GO HUNGRY
33
Custom law lets husbands rape wives

3 August 2016
Rape of a wife by her husband is legal in Swaziland under newly-documented Indigenous
Swazi Law and Custom. A man can also legally rape his lover.
The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom ruled by King
Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch, reported on Wednesday (3 August
2016) that the document states, A husband cannot rape his wife.
The newspaper reported that the 317-page document called The Indigenous Law and Custom
of the Kingdom of Swaziland (2013) had been presented to the King.
The newspaper reported the document was compiled by Professor Frances Pieter Whelpton, a
Professor of Law at the University of South Africa.
The Times reported, Under Chapter 7, which addresses offences (emacala) in Swaziland, rape
is said to be committed only if the woman forced is not the mans wife or lover.
When defining rape in Swaziland, it says in the past, penetration was not an essential element.
Throwing a female to the ground and grabbing hold of her in an unsuccessful move to ravish
her amounts to rape. However, every act of intercourse is supposed to be accompanied by a
struggle because the woman is not supposed to submit to the man,
In 2015, a report from A US organisation ABCNewspoint stated that Swaziland had the fourth
highest rate of rape in the world. It said there were 77.5 registered cases of rape among 100,000
people.
In July 2015, it was reported to the Swazi Parliament that there had been 124 cases of rape in
Swaziland in the previous three months. This was an increase of 11.7 percent when compared
to the same period from April to June 2014 when 111 cases were reported. The figures revealed
51.6 percent of the 124 rape cases were committed against children aged 17 years and below.
Rape and sexual abuse of children is common in Swaziland. In 2008, Unicef reported that one
in three girls in Swaziland were sexually abused, usually by a family member and often by
their own fathers - 75 percent of the perpetrators of sexual violence were known to the victim.
Many men in Swaziland believed was all right to rape children if their own wives were not
giving them enough sex. In 2009, men who were interviewed during the making of the State
of the Swaziland Population report said they salivate over children wearing skimpy dress
codes because they are sexually starved in their homes.
34
See also
IN SWAZILAND, CHILD RAPE NOT UNUSUAL
TWISTED SWAZI MEN RAPE CHILDREN
Order Bill blocks political parties

12 September 2016
The committee appointed to pilot Swazilands Public Order Bill has said it would not allow
political parties to be legalised in the kingdom.
At present Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati III who is sub-Saharan Africas last absolute
monarch. The King appoints the Government. No members of the Swazi Senate are elected by
the people. Political parties are not allowed to contest elections and are to all purposes banned
in the kingdom.
International pressure for Swaziland to democratise has forced the kingdom to review a number
of laws. The Public Order Bill 2016 is presently being discussed in Swazilands Parliament.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported on Wednesday (7
September 2016) that the portfolio committee announced it had no intention of allowing
political parties to exist.
The committee is led by Member of Parliament Thuli Dladla, who was not elected to the House
of Assembly, but appointed by the King.
The Observer said that the portfolio committees report said the Swaziland Constitution, did
not provide for political parties.
The newspaper said, The portfolio committees report said the constitution, instead of
providing for political parties only made reference to political associations or organisations.
The Observer made no reference to the fact that a political party is a type of political
association.
UNISWA students sleep in storerooms

14 September 2016
Students at the University of Swaziland (UNISWA) are being forced to sleep in poorly
ventilated storerooms as an accommodation crisis grows.
Students began a class boycott on Monday (12 September 2016) in protest. They also have a
35
long list of complaints against the university and the Swazi Government. They want all students
who were admitted to the university to receive scholarships.
They also want the university to scrap all debts owed to it by students. They have also made
allegations of victimisation of students.
The Swazi Observer reported UNISWA Students Representative Councils Brian Sangweni
saying that the accommodation situation was so bad students were sleeping in storerooms
which were not well ventilated.
Sangweni said the storerooms were unfit for human habitation.
36
9: CHILDRENS RIGHTS
Sick kids hidden to save Swazi image
11 July 2016
Two disabled orphan children in Swaziland have been hidden from the world after a
government official told their family it would harm the image of the kingdom if people knew
of their condition.
The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, reported on
Monday (11July 2016) that the two children might be suffering from polio.
The newspaper reported, Their family was allegedly given strict instructions not to ever show
the children to anyone or even discuss their condition in public.
It has been alleged by the head of the family where the two children stay that officials from
certain government offices barred and gave strict instructions not to show the children to
anyone because making their condition known would place the country in bad light.
The newspaper added, The children suffer from a rare disability and some of those who know
about the children suspect they suffer from polio.
The two children believed to be aged 16 and eight stay at LaMgabhi, Etiyeni. The Times
reported they had never walked since they were born and had shrunk muscles and could only
crawl. They both cannot talk.
The newspaper reported, The head of the family, Edward Hlophe, who is a step grandfather
of the children, alleged that he got an instruction from some government officials not to expose
the children to the public as such could paint a bad image of the country with the United
Nations.
It added, In an interview, Hlophe, confirmed that some government officials warned them
against revealing the children to the public. Hlophe said when the officials arrived at the
homestead to check on the children, they took some pictures of them from their back and
warned the family against allowing anyone else to do so.
The abandonment of the children is one of many examples of poor treatment of people with
disabilities in Swaziland.
A report published by SINTEF Technology and Society, Global Health and Welfare in 2011
that studied living conditions among people with disabilities in Swaziland, found, There is a
general belief that those who have a disability are bewitched or inflicted by bad spirits.
Many believe that being around people with disabilities can bring bad luck. As a result, many
people with disabilities are hidden in their homesteads and are not given an opportunity to
participate and contribute to society.
The report was the result of an extensive study in the kingdom in 2009 and 2010.
37
It also found that people with disabilities had been abandoned by the Swazi Government. The
report stated, The absence of any comprehensive laws and policies to address people with
disabilities access to equal opportunities reflect a lack of political will and a failure to
recognize disability as a human right issue contributes to the devaluing and dehumanising of
people with disabilities.
People with disabilities have the same rights as able-bodied people and they are entitled to
enjoy all citizenry rights.
See also
DISABLED PEOPLE TREATED LIKE ANIMALS
Hidden sick kids: UNICEF responds

14 July 2016
UNICEF the United Nations Childrens Fund has spoken out against discrimination of
disabled children in Swaziland.
It comes after newspaper and blog reports of two children aged eight and 16 who have been
hidden away for years because they are severely disabled. It is reported that they might suffer
the effects of polio. Neither can walk nor speak.
UNICEF wishes to remind all of us about our individual and collective legal and moral
responsibilities towards safeguarding the rights and interests of all children, including those
living with disabilities, Rachel Odede UNICEF Swaziland Representative said in a letter to
the Times of Swaziland published on Wednesday (13 July 2016).
The Times reported on Monday the family of the children, was allegedly given strict
instructions not to ever show the children to anyone or even discuss their condition in public.
Odede wrote, The Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland guarantees equality, freedom,
justice and dignity of all individuals, and specifically mandates an inclusive society for all
including Persons with Disabilities. Section 4 of the Childrens Protection Welfare Act states
that no child shall be discriminated against on the grounds of disability. Section 11 of the same
Act states that a child with disability has a right to special care, medical treatment,
rehabilitation, family and personal integrity, sports and recreation, education and training.
She added, We do not wish to see any child being discriminated against on the basis of gender,
religion, race, economic and social status, and particularly disability.
38
UNICEFs vision is to build a world in which all children, especially those who are vulnerable,
can grow up healthy, protected from harm and are educated so that they can reach their full
potential.
Article 11 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) specifically
calls on duty bearers to take necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons
with disabilities in situations of conflict, emergency and disaster, signifying the importance of
the issue.
She added, Research and studies tell us that more often than not, children with disabilities are
particularly at higher risk of deprivation and exclusion, often lacking access to basic services
such as education, healthcare as well as water and sanitation.
Their voices are not heard in society. Disability also places them at higher risk of physical
abuse, and often exclude them from receiving proper nutrition or humanitarian assistance in
emergencies.
Swazi childrens rights abused

26 July 2016
Childrens rights in Swaziland are under protected and are in a difficult situation, according
to a global survey.
The kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch, scored
6.07 out of ten in The Realization of Childrens Rights Index (RCRI).
This is a grade between zero and ten that shows the level of realization of childrens rights in
a country. The lower the score, the lower is the realisation of rights. The RCRI index classified
rights for children in Swaziland as a difficult situation.
The survey was conducted by Humanium, an international child sponsorship NGO dedicated
to stopping violations of childrens rights throughout the world.
In a report Humanium highlighted a number of areas where childrens rights were violated. It
said that some children remain starving while the King leads a lifestyle of luxury.
It reported, Along with the general economic slowdown as in all countries and the significant
increase in unemployment these factors have made numerous households already unable to
feed their own children turn away orphans or other needy children who would, in other times,
be welcomed in the name of the extended family.
Even though some schools can offer daily, adequate lunches to children thanks to external
financial aid, there are still many who remain starving, notably in the country.
It should be noted that the government is several months late in paying for aid for needy
children, yet the King leads a lifestyle of luxury.
39
Humanium added, The health, hygienic, and water supply systems are in poor condition and
have led to an outbreak of illnesses such as cholera and diarrheal sicknesses that still kill many
children.
Each day children beg their neighbors for water. Many schools do not have running water and
must count on deliveries from the government to fill their reservoirs during the dry season.
However, this doesnt always happen in zones that are further away.
It added, By necessity, many children become prostitutes to survive. Given the level of
poverty, exploitation and sexual services are rising. The lack of measures taken to raise
awareness and prevent these types of practices towards children is deplorable.
The report is not the only one to highlight the plight of children in Swaziland. In April 2016,
UNICEF the United Nations Childrens Fund reported it needed US$151,200 for its Child
Protection work relating to the drought that has hit Swaziland. In June 2016 it reported that no
money at all was forthcoming. It estimated that 189,000 children under the age of 18 were
affected by the drought.
UNICEF reported in April 2016, The UNICEF Child Protection and HIV response remains
unfunded. Consequently, activities prioritizing protection of children from violence, abuse and
exploitation and the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS, both of which are long standing
issues in Swaziland, remain to be implemented.
Disabled children are also mistreated in Swaziland. Earlier in July 2016, the Times of
Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, reported that two disabled
orphan children in Swaziland had been hidden from the world after a government official told
their family it would harm the image of the kingdom if people knew of their condition.
The newspaper reported, Their family was allegedly given strict instructions not to ever show
the children to anyone or even discuss their condition in public.
The newspaper added, The children suffer from a rare disability and some of those who know
about the children suspect they suffer from polio.
Also, a report on people trafficking in Swaziland published in 2014 said the King used forced
child labour to work in his fields. Swazi chiefs may coerce children and adults - through threats
and intimidation - to work for the King, the report from the United States State Department
said.
See also
ZERO FUNDS TO PROTECT KIDS FROM DROUGHT
KIDS FORCED TO WEED KINGS FIELDS
40
Boy, 8, flogged so hard he vomits

5 August 2016
An eight-year-old schoolboy in Swaziland was thrashed so hard in class he vomited. It is feared
he might have internal bleeding as a result.
And, his teacher forced classmates to hold the boy down while he whipped him with a stick.
It happened at Siyendle Primary School, near Gege, the Times of Swaziland reported on
Thursday (4 August 2016).
A group of schoolboys had been inflating condoms when they were discovered by the teacher.
The Times reported, When the teacher saw what the boys were doing, he is said to have reacted
by telling other pupils to hold the one who had the condom in his hands so that he could deal
with him. Apparently, he thrashed the eight-year-old so badly that the pupil began to throw up
in the presence of his classmates.
The boys parents suspect that the child suffered internal injuries, which might have caused
his reaction.
Schoolchildren in Swaziland are regularly subjected to fierce corporal punishment. In a report
in 2011, Save the Children said school students were being tortured. In a submission to the
United Nations review on human rights in Swaziland it said Mhlatane High School in northern
Swaziland had institutionalised corporal punishment.
Teachers can administer as many strokes [of the cane] as they desire, much against the limit
stipulated in the regulations from the Ministry of Education, Save the Children reported.
Students at this school are also subjected to all forms of inhumane treatment in the name of
punishment. The State has known about the torture of students that go on at Mhlatane High
School for a long time, but has not done anything to address this violation of fundamental
rights.
It cited Mhlatane as the worst case, but said excessive corporal punishment was rife in Swazi
schools.
It reported, The hitting of students by teachers in schools is not limited to strokes of the cane,
but includes such methods as a slap with the open hand, kicks and fists.
In one case in a school in the south of Swaziland, a young girl was kicked in the groin by her
teacher after she refused to lift up her leg during physical education classes. She had told the
teacher she cannot lift her leg up because she was wearing nothing underneath. This angered
the teacher and earned the girl a kick in the groin.
The damage occasioned led to paralysis as the girl walks with difficulty today, and her
menstrual cycle was disturbed since then. Although initially protected by the principal and
other Ministry of Education officials in Nhlangano, the teacher was eventually arrested after
intervention by the girls elder sister.
41
There had been 4,556 cases of severe corporal punishment of children in Swazilands schools
over the past four years, an international news organisation reported in March 2016.
Star Africa quoted Zanele Thabede from youth group Super Buddies, who leads a team looking
into youth and child issues, who in an interview said the number of whippings dated from 2012.
Star Africa reported Thabede saying, Corporal punishment by teachers and principals is legal
and routinely practiced and there is a growing trend of incarcerating of children and youth in
the Malkerns Industrial School for Rehabilitation because of unruly behaviour.
There is confusion in Swaziland as to whether corporal punishment has been banned in schools.
It is believed that a directive was issued to schools in 2012 not to use corporal punishment but
few teachers appear to know it had been made.
The Times of Swaziland reported in October 2015 that Phineas Magagula, Minister of
Education and Training, warned that teachers who beat pupils should be reported to the
ministry so that they could be disciplined.
As recently as June 2016 it was reported that a 20-year-old female school student had been
given nine strokes of the cane on her buttocks at Herefords High School by the male principal.
Police were informed.
See also
SWAZI SCHOOL TORTURES STUDENTS
CHILDREN CHAINED AND FLOGGED BARE
PROBE VICIOUS SCHOOL BEATINGS
SCHOOL FLOGGINGS OUT OF CONTROL
SCHOOL HEAD PUBLICLY FLOGS ADULTS
Boy, 16, held in solitary confinement

26 September 2016
A 16-year-old boy in Swaziland has been kept in solitary confinement for five months, although
he has not been sentenced for a crime.
He had been granted bail of E2,000 (US$145) but his family have been unable to raise the
money, so he has had to stay behind bars.
The boy admitted stealing five pairs of sneakers, worth E4,000.
The Swazi Observer reported on Wednesday (21 September 2016) that he had been serving
time in a solitary confinement cell for about five months. It reported the boy saying, I miss
school and I might go mad in that cell all by myself. I do not care what happens to me now as
I have already suffered enough for all my sins.
42
He has been kept in the solitary cell at the Piggs Peak Correctional facility, because he is too
young to be detained with adult prisoners.
He was originally arrested on 23 March 2016. His father appeared before the Piggs Peak
Magistrates Court to request bail in July. It was set at E2,000 by Senior Magistrate Siphosini
Dlamini. But, the newspaper reported, the boys father could not raise the bail money, forcing
the minor to continue his time in jail.
The minor will re-appeared in court on 3 October for sentencing.
See also
KIDS WHO COMMIT NO CRIME LOCKED UP
BOY, 12, JAILED FOR INSULTING GRANNY
43
10: ROYAL FAMILY EXCESS SPENDING

Kings spending: U.S. might halt aid
20 July 2016
Lisa Peterson, the US ambassador to Swaziland, has said the kingdom might not receive further
food aid from her country because of the Swazi Kings lavish spending on holidays.
She was responding to media after it was revealed that at least three of King Mswati IIIs wives
were on holiday in Orlando, Florida last week with an entourage of more than 100.
The cost of this holiday was equivalent to the drought relief that the US was currently providing
to the drought-stricken country E14 million (US$1 million).
News24 in South Africa reported Peterson saying the US had limited funds for drought relief.
She said, When we hear of the lavish spending by the Swazi royal family especially while a
third of their citizens need food aid it becomes difficult to encourage our government to make
more emergency aid available. You cant expect international donors to give more money to
the citizens of Swaziland than their own leaders give them.
South African media have been reporting that the queens, their bodyguards, protocol officials,
family and other support staff were on the trip that was expected to last eight days.
The City Press newspaper in Johannesburg reported the vacation had irritated diplomats who
were motivating for more drought relief aid for the kingdom, which is in the grips of the worst
drought in 18 years.
It reported, According to diplomatic sources, meetings were held with the King, where
objections to the holiday were raised.
Mswatis defence was that the vacation had been planned and paid for in advance, and that a
cancellation would result in an unnecessary loss of money.
As of the end of May 2016, UNICEF the United Nations Childrens Fund estimated 300,320
people in total in Swaziland were affected by drought of which 189,000 were children. It
estimated that 165,000 children affected were by drought in the two most affected regions of
Lubombo and Shiselweni.
Meanwhile, the Swazi Government has released only E22 million (US$1.5 million) of the E305
million earmarked for drought relief in this years national budget. The Swazi Observer
newspaper reported on Monday (11 July 2016) that the Deputy Prime Minister Paul Dlamini
announced this to the House of Assembly.
Swaziland is in the grip of a drought crisis and in February 2016 the Swazi Government
declared a national emergency and said the kingdom would need E248 million (US$16 million)
before the end of April 2016 for relief.
Earlier in July 2016, it was revealed that King Mswati was about to receive a 375-seater private
jet worth about US$14 million paid for by his Government.
44
Huge rise in Kings budget

28 July 2016
Swazilands King Mswati IIIs royal budget has been increased to US$69.8 million in the
current financial year, an international news agency has reported.
The Anadolu Agency quoted official figures from the Government of the Kingdom of
Swazilands estimates for the years from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2019 report. It said the
royal budget was US$55.3 million in the last financial year, but this year it has been increased
by US$13.9 million.
The budget also has an extra US$6.7 million allocation for the kings private jet.
Details of King Mswatis budget are not made public in the kingdom he rules as sub-Saharan
Africas last absolute monarch. King Mswati is regularly criticised outside of Swaziland for
his lavish spending. At present 300,000 of his 1.3 million subjects need financial aid to stop
from starving during the present drought that has hit southern Africa.
Anadolu reported that in addition to the US$69.8 million, the budget for construction of link
roads to royal palaces has been increased by US$6.4 million. It was US$2 million in the last
budget.
The royal houses budget was also increased by US$10 million to reach US$17 million, the
agency reported.
Royal emolument and civil list, which includes salaries for the King, the Queen Mother and
others in the royal service, were allocated US$25.8 million in the current financial year.
Since the budget was announced in February 2016, a further US$14 million will be spent on a
375-seater private jet for the King.
Meanwhile, Swaziland is suffering the worst drought in memory. As of the end of May 2016,
UNICEF the United Nations Childrens Fund estimated 300,320 people in total in
Swaziland were affected by drought of which 189,000 were children. It estimated that 165,000
children affected were by drought in the two most affected regions of Lubombo and Shiselweni.
children aged six to 59 months were affected by severe and moderate acute malnutrition.
Meanwhile, the Swazi Government has released only E22 million (US$1.5 million) of the E305
million earmarked for drought relief in this years national budget. The Swazi Observer
newspaper reported on 11 July 2016 that the Deputy Prime Minister Paul Dlamini announced
this to the House of Assembly.
The Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), a pro-democracy organization, strongly criticized
the increase in the royal budget.
It's sad that the country's social expenditure always takes a back seat to satisfy the kings greed.
Its a painful act that shows that if he had his own way he would keep all the country's money
to himself, Anadolu quoted a spokesperson for SSN saying.
King Mswati also receives income from a variety of businesses in the kingdom. For example,
he holds 25 percent of all mineral wealth in trust for the Swazi nation. In reality he uses this
money to fund his lavish lifestyle, which includes 13 palaces, a private jet, fleets of Mercedes
and BMW cars and at least one Rolls Royce.
45
In March 2016, it was revealed the Kings share of the just-reopened Lufafa Gold Mine at
Hhelehhele in the Hhohho region of Swaziland could be worth up to US$149 million.
Meanwhile, seven in ten of his subjects live in abject poverty with incomes of less than US$2
per day.
Anadolu reported the royal budget was not allowed to be debated by the local parliament or
scrutinized by the Public Accounts Committee. In fact, it is a normal government practice to
not include any details about the royal budget in the budget speech, it said.
While the Kings budget soared, grants for the elderly was reduced by $488,000 from $12.3
million to $11.8 million, according to budget documents.
See also
ELDERLY STAY POOR AS KING GETS MORE
SWAZI SECURITY BUDGET SOARS
Swazi Queens history of excess
21 July 2016
The luxury trip to Florida costing about US$1 million by at least three of the wives of King
Mswati III of Swaziland and an entourage of about 100 people continues a tradition of lavish
spending by sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch and his family.
The Queens are on a week-long trip to the US state. Their trips are always shrouded in secrecy
and the media in Swaziland never report them. Not so, the international media and social media.
Here are details of some of the Swazi Royal Familys most extravagant trips in recent years.
King Mswati rules over a population of 1.2 million; seven in ten live in abject poverty with
incomes of less than US$2 a day.
In 2013, several of the Kings wives he is estimated to have 14, but the exact number remains
a secret travelled to Japan and Australia on a trip estimated to have cost US$10 million.
In 2012, they went on vacation to the gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas in the United
States. On that occasion three of the wives were accompanied by an entourage of 55 people.
Prodemocracy activists reported they stayed in 10 villas at the cost of US$2,400 per villa per
night.
In 2010, a group of the kings wives went on what was described at the time as another multimillion-dollar international shopping spree to Brussels in Belgium and London, UK. About
80 other people went on the trip to tend to the needs of the queens.
In August 2009, five of King Mswatis wives went on a shopping trip through Europe and the
Middle East that cost an estimated US$6 million.
At the time media in Swaziland were warned not to report on the trip because it would harm
the kings reputation. Media houses were told they would face sanctions, including possible
closure, if word got out. But newspapers and websites across the world followed the story.
The Times of London, for example, reported how the queens went on a shopping spree while
the subjects of King Mswati went hungry. The Australian newspaper said the king ignored the
46
Swazi poor and the newspaper reminded readers that Swaziland relied on international aid from
the European Union and the United States.
The previous year in August 2008 when a group of the kings wives went on a similar shopping
spree ordinary Swazi women were so outraged that they took to the streets of Swaziland in
protest.
King Mswati does not accompany his wives on these trips. However, he is known to spend
lavishly on himself and his wives when he does make trips. A typical example was in April
2011 when he went to London to attend the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton. The
cost of the plane alone to take him to the UK cost the Swazi people US$700,000.
The following year he was back in London to attend a lunch to mark the Diamond Jubilee of
Queen Elizabeth II. He took with him his first wife Inkhosikati LaMbikiza. She wore to the
lunch shoes trimmed with jewels that cost 995 (US$1,559). It would take seven-out-of-ten
Swazis at least three years to earn the price of the shoes.
The cost of the Kings five-day trip to the UK for the Diamond Jubilee was estimated to be at
least US$794,500.
The extravagant spending came just as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) criticised
Swaziland for diverting money that should have been used on education and health to other
spending.
As a result of this spending the IMF withdrew its team that was advising the government on
economic recovery from Swaziland.
The King is regularly criticised in media across the globe for his extravagant lifestyle, but
media in Swaziland dare not criticise him. At the time of the visit to the Diamond Jubilee the
Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, featured a report
about LaMbikizas shoes, gushing that she had received rave reviews from a UK newspaper
for her dress sense.
It did not, however, say that the same newspaper reported, Guests from controversial regimes
include Swazilands King Mswati III, who has been accused of living an obscenely lavish
lifestyle while many of his people starve.
While more than half of the Swazi population rely on some form of food aid to keep them from
hunger, King Mswati has 13 palaces in Swaziland; fleets of BMW and Mercedes cars and at
least one Rolls Royce.
Earlier in July 2016 it was revealed the King was about to receive a 375-seater private jet at an
estimated cost of US$14 million, paid for by the Swazi Government, which the King
handpicked.
See also
SWAZI CENSORSHIP ON KINGS UK TRIP
SWAZI QUEENS OFF ON SHOPPING SPREE
47
11: DROUGHT
King buys jet as UN bails out kingdom
12 July 2016
Only days after it was revealed that Swazilands King Mswati III was about to receive a
private jet worth about US$14 million paid for by his Government comes news that the
United Nations has donated US$2.8 million to feed the Kings starving subjects because the
kingdom says it cannot afford to do so.
The World Food Programme (WFP) announced it had started distributing food across the
kingdom where King Mswati rules as sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch.
About 350,000 people nearly a third of the population of Swaziland are in urgent need of
food assistance because of an extensive drought, according to the Swaziland Vulnerability
and Assessment Committee.
WFP said in a statement it planned to reach 100,000 people in August 2016 and reach
150,000 in early 2017.
The Swazi Government declared a state of emergency in February 2016 and launched its
National Emergency Response, Mitigation and Adaptation Plan requiring almost US$85
million, of which some US$61 million has yet to be secured.
The United Nations has contributed US$2.8 million to food relief through its Central
Emergency Response Fund. However, WFP said it still required more than US$10 million to
scale up its operations to meet needs of the most vulnerable through the lean season into next
year.
Meanwhile, the Swazi Government has released only E22 million (US$1.5 million) of the
E305 million earmarked for drought relief in this years national budget. The Swazi Observer
King Mswati who already owns a private jet was criticised in April 2016 when news broke of
the impending purchase of a 375-seater Airbus A340-300. Critics said the money should be
put to better use,
Swaziland is in the grip of a drought crisis and in February 2016 the Swazi Government
declared a national emergency and said the kingdom would need E248 million (US$16
million) before the end of April 2016 for relief.
King Mswati has a reputation as for lavish spending. He owns 13 palaces, a fleet of top-ofthe-range Mercedes Benz cars, a fleet of BMWs and at least one Rolls Royce. Meanwhile,
48
seven in ten of his 1.2 million subjects live in abject poverty with incomes of less than US$2
per day.
See also
SWAZI KING SET TO GET 375-SEATER JET
KING STEALS FROM CHILDREN TO BUY JET
SWAZI MPs ABOUT-TURN ON KINGS JET
$12m SPEND ON ROYAL DECOR AT AIRPORT
No funds to protect drought kids

13 July 2016
While the Swaziland Government fails to deliver on its promise to fund drought relief in the
kingdom, the global agency UNICEF has reported that it has been unable to raise a single
dollar to protect children from the effects of the drought.
UNICEF the United Nations Childrens Fund has been making monthly updates on the
humanitarian situation in Swaziland, where it was revealed in early July 2016 that King
Mswati was about to receive delivery of a private 375-seater jet plane at a cost of about
US$14 million paid for by the Swazi people.
In a report in April 2016 UNICEF said it needed US$151,200 for its Child Protection work.
In June 2016 it reported that no money at all was forthcoming. It estimated that 189,000
children under the age of 18 were affected by the drought.
UNICEF reported in April 2016, The UNICEF Child Protection and HIV response remains
unfunded. Consequently, activities prioritizing protection of children from violence, abuse
and exploitation and the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS, both of which are long
standing issues in Swaziland, remain to be implemented.
It added, Funding for the response is a significant limiting factor, alongside the capacity of
implementing partners to expand to meet the needs of the most affected. Without sufficient
funding, UNICEF and partners supporting the drought response remain without the financial
and human capacity to support the Governments national drought response.
UNICEF reported it needed US$2.98 million before the end of 2016 and so far had received
only US$342,000; an 89 percent shortfall.
As of the end of May 2016, UNICEF estimated 300,320 people in total in Swaziland were
affected by drought of which 189,000 were children. It estimated that 165,000 children
affected were by drought in the two most affected regions of Lubombo and Shiselweni.
49
E305 million earmarked for drought relief in this years national budget. The Swazi Observer
Drought: People died of hunger
15 July 2016
People have died of hunger in Swaziland because the Swazi Government has failed to deliver
food to drought-stricken areas, a member of the House of Assembly has said.
James Simelane, Member of Parliament for Sandleni Constituency in the Shiselweni region,
was reported in the Swazi Observer newspaper saying people had started dying of hunger in
his constituency.
The Observer reported on Friday (15 July 2016) that he said, We have started burying
people who are dying of hunger. Its just that each time a community member dies, there is
always a disease that is associated with the death when in fact the disease itself has been
accelerated by the hunger.
The newspaper reported him saying there had been no agricultural activity at all in his
constituency for two ploughing seasons.
Simelane reportedly said that government trucks carrying bags of food drove past his
Sandleni Constituency to Shiselweni 1 and other nearby constituencies, while his electorate
watched in utter amazement and disgust.
The newspaper reported, He said some of the residents in the various communities under his
constituency were now suspecting that he was the one behind governments failure or refusal
to distribute food in the constituency.
He said his people could not understand why others were receiving food and they were not.
Simelane reportedly said his constituents thought the Swazi Government would suspend
some of its projects to channel the funds to the fight for hunger but that was unfortunately not
happening.
The news of the deaths comes just as it was revealed that King Mswati III, who rules
Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch, was about to take delivery f a 375seater private jet at a cost of about US$14 million.
As of the end of May 2016, UNICEF the United Nations Childrens Fund estimated
300,320 people in total in Swaziland were affected by drought of which 189,000 were
50
children. It estimated that 165,000 children affected were by drought in the two most affected
regions of Lubombo and Shiselweni.
E305 million earmarked for drought relief in this years national budget. The Observer
51
12: KM III AIRPORT

Kings airport passengers flop
18 September 2016
Fewer than 80 passengers a day on average flew out of the KM III International Airport in
Swaziland during the three months ending June 2016, latest figures reveal.
If the statistics revealed by the Ministry of Home Affairs are correct this is down from 327
passengers a day that Swaziland Tourist Authority (STA) said departed the airport in January
2015.
The Ministry of Home Affairs in its first quarter performance report for 2016/2017 recorded a
total number of 6,717 arrivals between the month of April and June 2016 and recorded a total
number of 7,138 departures. These figures were published in the Swazi Observer newspaper
on Thursday (15 September 2016).
The King Mswati III airport, named after the kingdoms absolute ruler, has been mired in
controversy since its inception. It was built in a wilderness at Sikhuphe and replaced Matsapha
airport which was close to the kingdoms capital Mbabane and its main commercial city
Manzini.
KM III officially opened in March 2014 and since then there have been variously exaggerated
claims about the number of people travelling through it and the number of airlines wishing to
use it.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported twice in April 2015
that the Swaziland Tourist Authority (STA) said there were 10,138 passengers departing the
airport in January 2015 and 6,592 passengers arriving, making a total of 16,730 passengers. If
these figures were repeated each month of the year, 200,760 passengers would travel through
the airport in a year.
But, Swazi Media Commentary exposed these statistics as entirely bogus. There are only three
flights per day departing the airport and another three arriving. The airport serves only one
route to OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. Swaziland Airlink is the only
passenger airline that uses the airport. Airlink uses the Embraer J135 aircraft which has a
maximum seating capacity of 50.
If every flight was full a maximum of 150 people per day could depart the airport, which would
make a maximum of 4,500 per month.
Despite the obviously fraudulent figures the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWACAA)
Marketing and Corporate Affairs Director Sabelo Dlamini said in April 2015, We are noting
that the figures are rising and for us, it points to a brighter future in aviation. It is also an
affirmation of the massive work the government of Swaziland has done over the past five years
to do right in the civil aviation industry, in particular the construction of an airport facility
travellers are happy with.
52
The newspaper reported, Dlamini further noted that the drop in numbers that had been
projected by critics had not happened at all.
The Observer, which was described as a pure propaganda machine for the royal family by
the Media Institute of Southern Africa in a report on media freedom in the kingdom, reported
on 12 May 2015, SWACAA Director General Solomon Dube saying only 70,000 people per
year used the airport. He did not give any evidence to support the figures. The 70,000
passengers represented 35 percent of the 200,760 claimed in April 2015.
SWACAA had previously said the KM III Airport would need at least 300,000 passengers a
year to break-even.
The Times of Swaziland reported on 12 May 2015 that Dube also announced that Egyptair had
offered Swaziland a 268-seater aircraft. The newspaper reported him saying, the main
objective of this initiative is to increase airplane passengers by up to 200,000.
The Times reported, Dube said courtesy of well-managed diplomatic relations between the
two States, Swaziland had been offered to utilise services of one of Egyptairs flights to
transport passengers between Swaziland and South Africa for 10 hours a day. He said using
the flight for at least 10 hours a day could translate to about five or seven flights to the
neighbouring republic, on a daily basis.
No Egyptair flights have taken place.
This claim from Dube was one of a long line of empty promises made about the attractiveness
of the airport.
In November 2013, SWACAA said that the Swazi Government was ready to recreate the
defunct Royal Swazi National Airways Corporation (RSNAC0) and would set about
purchasing a 100-seater jet, at a cost estimated by the Times of Swaziland of E700 million
(US$70 million). This compared to the E125 million budgeted for free primary school
education in Swaziland that year. It never happened.
See also
AIRPORT MOVE WILL BANKRUPT AIRLINK
PROOF: KINGS AIRPORT POINTLESS
SWACAA said RSNAC would fly to 10 destinations in Africa and Asia. Observers estimated
RSNAC would probably need a minimum of 10 aircraft to service the routes. For that to
happen, Swaziland would have to spend about E7 billion on aircraft. Such a sum of money
would bankrupt the kingdom. To put the cost in context the Central Bank of Swaziland has
estimated the kingdoms gross official reserves were E8.24 billion at the month ended
November 2013.
There has also been constant misinformation about the prospect of airlines choosing to use the
airport.
53
In October 2009, King Mswati claimed Etihad Airways from the Gulf State of Abu Dhabi was
showing deep interest in using the airport. Nothing has been heard since.
In May 2011, the Swazi Observer reported Sabelo Dlamini saying, We have established
possible routes which we want to market to the operators. Some of the proposed routes from
Sikhuphe are Durban, Cape Town, Lanseria Airport in Sandton, Harare and Mozambique.
Nothing happened.
In June 2012, he told Swazi media that at least three airlines from different countries had
shown interest in using the airport, but he declined to name them. He remained optimistic
about the prospects for the future and said SWACAA was talking to airlines in other countries
as well. Nothing happened.
Then in February 2013 SWACAA Director General Solomon Dube told media in Swaziland,
We are talking to some including Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airline and various Gulf airlines.
Nothing happened.
In March 2013, SWACAA claimed five airlines had signed deals to use the airport when it
eventually opened, but an investigation by Swazi Media Commentary revealed that two of the
airlines named did not exist. It also said Botswana Airways would use the airport, but it has
not.
In October 2013, SWACAA claimed it had targeted small and medium business travellers to
use the airport. It said low-cost airlines were interested in using it for business travellers who
might want to fly to nearby countries on a daily basis.
AS recently as March 2016, Minister of Public Works and Transport Lindiwe Dlamini said Air
Mauritius would fly from the airport.
In January 2016, the Swazi Observer reported Swazi Air was ready to fly to Dubai, Cape Town,
India and Durban.
KMIII Airport was built in a wilderness in Swaziland on the whim of King Mswati, who rules
as sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch. No research was undertaken to determine the
need for the airport.
Critics of the airport argued for years that there was no potential for the airport. Major airports
already existed less than an hours flying time away in South Africa with connecting routes to
Swaziland and there was no reason to suspect passengers would want to use KMIII airport as
an alternative.
During the 11 years it took to build, the airport was called Sikhuphe, but the name was changed
in honour of the King when it officially opened in March 2014.
The airport cost an estimated E2.5 billion (US$250 million) to build.
In October 2013 a report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the
airport was widely perceived as a vanity project because of its scale and opulence compared
with the size and nature of the market it seeks to serve.
54
Since it opened only one commercial passenger airline, Swaziland Airlink, which is part-owned
by the Swazi Government, has used the Airport. The airline was forced to move from the
Matsapha Airport, even though an independent business analysis predicted the airline would
go out of business as a result.
No other airline has publicly said it wanted to use the airport.
55
13: ELECTION RESULTS

2013 election results still not known
6 July 2016
Swazilands Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has yet to announce the number of
votes cast for candidates in the September 2013 national elections, nearly three years after they
took place. Nor has the total number of people who voted been given.
This was noted in a report just published by Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA).
In the report called Swazilands Downward Spiral ACTSA stated the elections were
illegitimate.
It stated, Under the Tinkhundla system, local chiefs who report directly to the King vet
candidates who are nominated by a show of hands (candidates require 10 people to support
them).
Successfully nominated candidates then compete in popular elections at the chiefdom level,
with winners going on to compete at the Inkhundla (an administrative subdivision) level, where
the new Members of Parliament (MPs) are selected by popular vote.
ACTSA stated, This system gives local chiefs undue influence over the electoral process. It is
more a selection than a free election process.
In the 2013 elections, some candidates said they were not nominated as they failed to catch
their chiefs eye. A former MP, Jennifer Dupont, lost her husband on the eve of the election.
The local chief ordered his subjects not to vote for her, as a widow under Swazi law and custom
is deemed unclean.
Another chief ordered his subjects not to vote for a woman wearing trousers. Only one woman
was elected to parliament.
ACTSA reported, The 2013 elections were criticised by most international observers. They
failed to meet most of the SADC principles for conducting democratic elections. The African
Unions (AU) Election Observation Mission said that Swaziland should change its constitution
so that it conforms with international principles for free and fair elections.
Furthermore, the Mission urged the Swazi government to to respect, protect and fulfil the
rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of assembly.
In addition, the Commonwealth Observer Mission noted the presence of police at polling
stations, compromised privacy in polling booths and identifying factors on ballot papers that
prevented anonymity. The Mission recommended that the constitution should be revisited,
ideally through a fully inclusive, consultative process with all Swazi political organisations
and civil society to harmonise provisions which are in conflict to ensure that Swazilands
commitment to political pluralism is unequivocal.
ACTSA reported, The Swaziland Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), which ran
the election, has still not announced the total election turnout or the number of votes cast for
56
unsuccessful candidates. Some have questioned the independence of the EBC, which is chaired
by Chief Gija Dlamini.
He was appointed to the position by his half-brother, King Mswati III. According to the
constitution, the chair of the EBC should be a judge: Chief Gija is an electrical engineer.
Following the election, the King re-appointed his half-brother, Barnabas Dlamini, as Prime
Minister. Ten of Mswati IIIs siblings were among the Kings appointments to the House of
Assembly and the Senate.
Political parties are banned from taking part in elections in Swaziland. The House of Assembly
is composed of 65 members; the people select 55 and 10 are appointed by the King. The Senate
has 30 members; 20 are appointed by the King and 10 are appointed by the House of Assembly;
none are directly elected by the people.
See also
CALL FOR GLOBAL PRESSURE ON GOVT
VOTE BOYCOTTERS FACE TREASON CHARGE
TWO YEARS ON POLL RESULT NOT KNOWN
POLL OBSERVERS: REWRITE CONSTITUTION
57
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richard Rooney was associate professor at the University of Swaziland 2005 2008, where
he was also the founding head of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department.
He has taught in universities in Africa, Europe and the Pacific. His academic research which
specialises in media and their relationships to democracy, governance and human rights has
appeared in books and journals across the world.
His writing regularly appears in newspapers, magazines and on websites. He was a full-time
journalist in his native United Kingdom for 10 years, before becoming an academic.
He has published the blog Swazi Media Commentary since 2007 and also has other social
media sites that concentrate on human rights issues in Swaziland.
He holds a Ph.D in Communication from the University of Westminster, London, UK.
He presently teaches at the University of Botswana, Gaborone.
58
Publications from Swazi Media Commentary available online free-of-charge
BOOKS
2013. The beginning of the End? 2012, a year in the struggle for democracy in
Swaziland
This compilation of newsletters from Africa Contact in collaboration with Swazi Media
Commentary contains an assortment of news, analysis and comment covering the campaign
for freedom in Swaziland throughout 2012. These include the Global Action for Democracy
held in September; campaigns for democracy spearheaded by trade unions and students and
the continuing struggle for rights for women, children, gays and minority groups.
2012. The End of the Beginning? 2011, a year in the struggle for freedom in Swaziland
This book looks at activities in the freedom movement in 2011. It starts with a section on the
unsuccessful April 12 Uprising followed by separate chapters looking at events in each
month of 2011, including the Global Week of Action held in September. They also highlight
the numerous violations of rights suffered by the poor, by children, by women and by sexual
minorities, among others, in the kingdom.
2011. Voices Unheard: Media Freedom and Censorship in Swaziland.

This volume of pages from Swazi Media Commentary focuses on media freedom and
censorship. It starts with some overview articles that set out the general terrain, moving on to
look at repressive media laws. Other sections of this book relate the daily threats journalists
in Swaziland face when they want to report, but are not allowed to.
59
OCCASIONAL PAPERS SERIES

No. 1. 2013. Cynicism Eats Away at Swaziland Journalism: The State of Swazi
Journalism, 2013
One thing that shines out about journalists and their editors in Swaziland is the deeply cynical
way they operate. Swazi journalists claim to be upholders of fine ethical traditions of honesty
and inquiry, but instead they are often publishing lies or playing with readers emotions to
boost company profits.
This article explores the state of newspaper journalism in Swaziland, a small kingdom in
Africa, ruled over by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africas last absolute monarch. Editors
are deliberately misleading their readers by publishing material that is intended to provoke
controversy and reaction, even though they know it also contains lies. This is done in order to
boost profits for owners.
No. 2. 2013. Swaziland Broadcasting Not For The People
A review of broadcasting in Swaziland that demonstrates through research that radio in the
kingdom only serves the interests of King Mswati III and his intimate supporters. All other
voices are excluded from the airwaves. The paper contrasts a public broadcasting service
with public service broadcasting and demonstrates that changes in the kingdoms
broadcasting cannot be made until it becomes a democratic state.
No. 3. 2013. Swaziland Media Need Code of Conduct for Covering Elections
A review of how media have covered past elections in Swaziland highlighting a number of
areas for improvement. The paper includes a suggested code of ethical conduct that Swazi
journalists can adopt in order to improve performance.
No.4. 2013. Swaziland Press Freedom: The case of Bekhi Makhubu and the Nation
magazine
In April 2013 Bheki Makhubu the editor of the Nation magazine and its publishers,
Swaziland Independent Publishers were convicted of scandalising the court after two
articles criticising the judiciary were published in 2009 and 2010. The purpose of this paper is
to bring together details of the story so far (May 2013). It is an attempt to bring under one
cover all the available information on the case in order to assist those people in the future
who might need a quick primer.
No.5. 2013. Media Coverage of Swaziland Election 2013.
A review of media coverage of the Swaziland national election, most notably in the only two
newspaper groups in the kingdom, and at international media. It notes that generally
newspapers in Swaziland ignored the real issue, that of the non-democratic nature of the
elections, and concentrated instead on trying to justify the governance system to their readers.
60

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61
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Volume 23: July to September 2016

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

Swazi terror decision to be appealed

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

2: ASIANS AND RACISM

All Asians banned from Swaziland

Asians evicted from home

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

The incident happened at Mgazini, according to the Observer on Sunday newspaper in

Racism in Swazilands Times Sunday

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

The hungry defy Christian leaders

Undercover police infiltrate mosque

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

3: KING MSWATI CHAIRS SADC

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

Dictator King not fit to chair SADC

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

Botswana Opposition rejects King

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

New SADC Chair exploits child labour

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

Kings new unworkable university

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

4: KINGS PRIVATE JET PURCHASE

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

King buys jet, but no money for food

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

5: KING MSWATI III

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

King to blame for womens inequality

31 percent of women are HIV-positive (UNAIDS, 2014);

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

Swazi King pardons Activist Rudd

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

Police fire rubber bullets on strikers

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

Swaziland Agriculture and Plantations Workers Union (SAPWU) Chairperson Sibusiso

Police brutally assault workers

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

Torture police investigate themselves

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

Dispute over Reed Dance safety

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

The not-so-generous Swazi King

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

Swazis camp out to beg King for jobs

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM

Custom law lets husbands rape wives