Swaziland Striving For Freedom Vol 33 Jan - Mar 2019

Swaziland: Striving for Freedom
As seen through the pages of Swazi Media Commentary

Vol. 33. January – March 2019
Compiled by
Richard Rooney
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SWAZILAND: STRIVNG FOR FREEDOM
CONTENTS
Introduction 2
1 Budget and economy 3
2 Govt. financial crisis 14
3 Schools 22
4 Corporal punishment 25
5 Disability 28
6 King Sobhuza II and Apartheid 30
7 King Mswati III 35
8 Evictions 48
9 Global reports 50
10 Police and army assaults 55
11 Media 59
12 National election 61
13 Public servants 63
14 Rape 66
15 Rule of law 70
16 LGBTI 74
17 Women 76
18 … And the rest 79
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INTRODUCTION
The gap between rich and poor is widening and the kingdom faces ‘an unprecedented
economic crisis’: these were two of the main concerns of Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg
in his national budget for Swaziland where the ‘economic outlook remains subdued’. He went
on to threaten to cut public service jobs if workers did not fall into line and accept his
programme to reduce debts.
Meanwhile, the Auditor General Timothy Matsebula in his annual report stated the finances
of the Government were in such a mess that billions of emalangeni could not be accounted
for.
Public service across Swaziland are in freefall with hospitals and clinics short of vital drugs.
Schools are unable to feed vulnerable children. All because the government has not paid
suppliers.
These were some of the major themes from Swaziland over the first three months of 2019 and
published in Swaziland: Striving for Freedom: volume 33, the latest quarterly compilation
from the pages of Swazi Media Commentary.
The international spotlight has been shone on Swaziland, where King Mswati III rules as sub-
Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. The kingdom continues to be riddled with
corruption, according to Transparency International. Freedom House once again declared
Swaziland ‘not free’ in its annual Freedom in the World Index.
Closer to home, the Law Society of Swaziland Secretary Thulani Maseko criticised recent
appointments of judges, saying there was no transparency in the choices and the Swazi
Constitution was ignored.
Swazi Media Commentary is published online, updated most weekdays. It is operated entirely
by volunteers and receives no financial backing from any organisation. It is devoted to
providing information and commentary in support of human rights in Swaziland.
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1 BUDGET AND ECONOMY
Swaziland absolute king calls for stiff public spending cuts but is not making personal
sacrifice
11 February 2019
King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland /eSwatini, has demanded severe public
spending cuts across his impoverished kingdom.
But, the King who wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit of diamonds weighing kg 6
at his 50th birthday celebrations last year shows little sign of making any personal sacrifice.
Days before the celebration he had taken delivery of his second private jet. This one, an
Airbus A340, cost US$13.2 to purchase but with VIP upgrades was estimated to have cost
US$30 million.
Meanwhile, seven in 10 of the estimated 1.2 population of Swaziland live in abject poverty
on income less than the equivalent of US$2 per day (about E25).
The King has 13 palaces and fleets of top-of-the-range Mercedes and BMW cars. He and
members of his extensive Royal Family (he has had at least 15 wives) live opulent lifestyles
and are often seen in public wearing watches and jewels worth hundreds of thousands of
dollars.
The King made his call for cuts at the annual opening of the Swazi Parliament on Friday (8
February 2019). He said the kingdom’s spending had ‘surpassed sustainable levels’ and
government debts were increasing. The countries financial reserves were falling and there
was little economic growth. He warned that taxes collected in Swaziland would not be
enough to pay the bills.
King Mswati said there needed to be ‘very stiff measures and concerted effort’ to cut
expenditure. He added, ‘hard decisions will have to be taken, sacrifices need to be made and
unconventional methods of reducing expenditure need to be pursued’. He did not say what
these ‘unconventional methods’ might be.
In his budget speech in March 2018 Finance Minister Martin Dlamini said Government owed
E3.1bn (US$230 million) in total to its suppliers for goods and services.
Swaziland has been in financial meltdown for many years under a succession of governments
handpicked by King Mswati. He chooses the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers; political
parties are banned in Swaziland and cannot take part in elections. Across Swaziland at
present some schools are closed and public hospitals and clinics have run out of food and
vital medicines because the government has failed to pay suppliers.
The King’s demand for others to make sacrifices is not new. He has made similar calls at the
opening of parliament in recent years. However, he and the Royal Family have failed to make
any sacrifices of their own.
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The extent of the King’s wealth is a closely-guarded secret. However, in 2009 Forbes
magazine estimated that the King himself had a personal net fortune worth US$200 million.
Forbes also said King Mswati was the beneficiary of two funds created by his father Sobhuza
II in trust for the Swazi nation. During his reign, he has absolute discretion over use of the
income. The trust has been estimated to be worth US$10 billion.
In August 2014 the Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa reported King Mswati
personally received millions of dollars from international companies such as phone giant
MTN; sugar conglomerates Illovo and Remgro; Sun International hotels and beverages firm
SAB Millerto. He continues to receive money from these sources.
The King receives income each year from Tibiyo Taka Ngwane, which is a an investment
fund with extensive shares in a number of businesses, industries, property developments and
tourism facilities in Swaziland.
The King is the sole trustee of Tibiyo. Neither the King nor Tibiyo pay tax.
Money generated by Tibiyo is meant to be used for the benefit of the nation, Tibiyo in fact
channels money directly to the Royal Family. A report from the United States State
Department in 2016 said, ‘Tibiyo is run as a private equity investment fund for the benefit of
the King and the royal family.
It added, ‘This fund is not subject to government or parliamentary oversight.’

According to the Tibiyo 2016 annual report it held assets worth E1.8 billion.
See also
King breaks promise on restraint
No sacrifice from King Mswati
IMF calls for sacrifice from King
EU money pays for lavish Swazi King
Swaziland’s national economic recovery plan is nothing but a wish list

13 February 2019
The Government of Swaziland / eSwatini is working on a five-year strategic plan to save the
kingdom’s economy, but the details recently unofficially circulated on social media show it is
no more than a wish-list with little detail of how change can be achieved.
The plan is officially called the Strategic Road Map 2018 – 2023 and version three is
currently doing the rounds. Its ‘vision’ is to allow Swaziland to ‘attain first world status by
year 2022’. To achieve this the road map sets out a number of ‘short-term interventions’ for
economic recovery.
The plan consists only of a list of bullet points. No detail about how the plan is to be
implemented is given. Among the wish list are:
Increase in taxes by 25 percent;
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Increase speeding and court fines 100 percent;

Increase casino levies by 10 percent;
Increase fuel taxes by E1.20;
Introduce capital gains tax;
Increase ‘company tax’ rates in the banking sector to 30 percent (it also says elsewhere to
reduce ‘corporate taxes’ to 12.5 percent);
Increase minimum taxable income from E41,001 to E50,001 and introduce a 39 percent
marginal tax rate on incomes above E400,000. [It should be noted that it is estimated that
seven in ten of Swaziland’s 1.2 million population have incomes less than the equivalent of
US$2 per day or about E9,100 a year.]
Swaziland’s economy has been in freefall for years. The 2018 – 2023 road map is not the first
of its kind to be produced by Swazi governments. In 2012 the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) abandoned its support for the then-government’s Fiscal Adjustment Roadmap (FAR), a
plan for recovery that included getting more revenue through taxes and reducing the public
sector wage bill.
In 2012 the government owed E1.2 billion to creditors (that figure had grown to E3.1bn –
about US$230 million – in 2018.)
The Swazi Government drew up the plan and was aided by the IMF in its implementation
through a procedure known as the staff-monitored programme.
But, even though the FAR was the work of the Swazi government and was completely under
its control, the government failed to implement it.
Central to the plan was to reduce the public sector wage bill – that of teachers, nurses and
other civil servants – by 10 percent. The government planned to cut 7,000 public servants’
jobs. This it failed to do.
The government did force through 10 percent salary reductions for politicians, but in March
2012 MPs voted to have their pay restored because they said it was unfair that they were the
only public sector workers to have taken the cut.
In April 2012 Joannes Mongardini, head of the IMF mission to Swaziland, confirmed that it
was no longer working with Swaziland on the programme because the Swazi Government
could not come up with ‘a credible reform programme’.
At the state opening of parliament on Friday (8 February 2019), King Mswati III, the absolute
monarch of Swaziland, said his government would ‘unveil the entire strategic road map in
due course, for the nation to be well versed and be able to monitor its progress continuously’.
See also
The Strategic Road Map 2018 – 2023 is available here
Swaziland’s claim to be close to reaching ‘first world’ status far from reality
Gap between rich and poor in Swaziland continues to grow, Finance Minister reports
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27 February 2019
Swaziland / eSwatini is broke and ‘is facing an unprecedented economic crisis’, Finance
Minister Neal Rijkenberg said on Wednesday (27 February 2019) when delivering the
kingdom’s national budget.
The ‘economic outlook remains subdued’, he said. Foreign direct investment into the
kingdom ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, is getting
worse – with a contraction of 0.4 percent in Swaziland’s GDP for 2018.
‘The economy has stagnated and we are failing to attract investment as the gap between the
rich and poor continues to grow,’ Rijkenberg said. He added that for too long, ‘this economic
reality has not been addressed’.
He made no mention of the vast spending by King Mswati and his Royal Family who
continue to spend lavishly. The King has 13 palaces and fleets of top-of-the-range Mercedes
and BMW cars. He and members of his extensive Royal Family (he has had at least 15 wives)
live opulent lifestyles and are often seen in public wearing watches and jewels worth
hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The King wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit beaded with diamonds weighing 6
kg, at his 50th birthday party in April 2018. Days earlier, King Mswati took delivery of his
second private jet aircraft that with upgrades was estimated to have cost US$30 million.
In recent years public hospitals have run out of vital medicines and schools have closed
because supplies of food to feed children have run out. This is because the government failed
to pay suppliers.
In Swaziland, seven in ten of the estimated 1.3 million population live in abject poverty with
incomes less than the equivalent of US$2 per day.
In his speech Rijkenberg said, ‘A key component of our crisis is Government’s growing wage
bill – in the last ten years our wage bill has grown by 125 percent.’
He said receipts from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) were declining. He said
the Swaziland Government’s financial situation was ‘untenable, in the medium term’ as
SACU receipts were expected to decline further.
Rijkenberg said in his speech, ‘We are in trouble because our private sector is too small and
its growth is too slow. We are in trouble because we have not been balancing our books. We
are in trouble because we have not developed a strong policy framework to address the needs
of our people. We are in trouble because we have failed to leverage our natural resources,
human capital and our strengths.
‘We are in trouble because we have failed to adequately address corruption. We need a
holistic, integrated approach that immediately and radically addresses these structural
imbalances and failures - one that requires sacrifice, but that ultimately benefits every Liswati
[Swazi person], especially the poorest and most vulnerable.’
He warned, ‘We have to grow our economy, create jobs, and attract investment. We have to
educate our children, care for our sick and provide a social safety net for our most vulnerable
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citizens. We do not have the luxuries of time and infinite resources. We must act now and do
so with what we have in our hands.’
He added, ‘Recent history has shown that spending our way out of an economic crisis is not
the solution. It is clear that tough measures are required to achieve lasting prosperity.
Meaningful growth will be achieved by enabling the private sector to lead and do what it does
best, which includes growing our economy and creating employment. Government can no
longer be the employer of choice in the Kingdom as it is today.’
Rijkenberg said, ‘Government will do its part to enact new policies and pass the required
legislation to de-regulate and open the economy for business. This new, enabling
environment will allow the private sector to take the lead, unlocking results like food
security, accessible and affordable internet infrastructure, a renewable energy industry,
increased tourism and full utilisation of our Special Economic Zones.’
Swaziland Finance Minister threatens public sector job cuts if workers don’t back his
budget
1 March 2019
The Finance Minister of Swaziland / eSwatini Neal Rijkenberg threatened to cut public
service jobs if the kingdom did not fall into line and accept his programme to cut debts.
In his budget speech on Wednesday (27 February 2019) he also said there would be no cost
of living (CoLA) pay increases for public servants. Public sector unions in the kingdom, ruled
by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, have been campaigning
over the past months for a 6.5 percent increase.
Rijkenberg said the government was broke and could not afford salary increases. He said,
‘Our growing wage bill is placing insurmountable pressure on our budget and Government
has been under immense strain to pay salaries due to the cash flow crisis. For wages and
pensions, expenditure will increase from E8.2 billion in 2018/19 to E8.5 billion in 2019/20,
this is despite the current hiring freeze. Given the state of the economy, it is not prudent or
possible to budget for a CoLA in 2019/20, as the country simply cannot afford it.’
He said paying the salary increase would contribute to the kingdom’s debts. If debt increased,
he said, ‘we will have no option but to cut the wage bill.’ He did not give details but it would
mean either cuts in salaries or job losses (or both).
After Rijkenberg’s speech the Swaziland National Association of Teacher (SNAT) in a
statement said, ‘it is an open secret that the ordinary people do not benefit from the country’s
resources but the Royal Family is forever on the receiving end’.
SNAT stated, ‘It beats logic why Mr. Neal can say the country recorded an economic growth
of about 1.7 percent in 2017 and still offers 0.00 percent as CoLA for Government
employees.’
SNAT also criticised The E2.98 billion allocated in the budget for the army, police and prison
services. These security forces in the past have attacked workers on legal demonstrations.
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In September 2018 the Swazi Police were criticised by human rights groups when they
attacked workers led by the Trades Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) who were
demonstrating in Manzini for CoLA, a national minimum wage of E3,500 (US$ 234.27) a
month, and an increase in elderly grants (pensions) to E1,500. Police used teargas and stun-
grenades.
Videos and photographs of brutal police attacks were uploaded on social media.
Swaziland Human Rights Network UK in a statement at the time said, ‘The violent attack on
peacefully demonstrating TUCOSWA members is reprehensible as it was a violation of their
constitutional right to freedom of assembly and expression.’
It added, ‘The eSwatini government has turned the country into a violent police state where
the security services have been turned into tools of suppression to protect the interests of not
just the government but the regime of King Mswati III.’
SNAT said in its statement following the budget speech, ‘This means labour unions and other
civil society organisations shall be silenced, violently so and no voices of dissent will be
allowed. Citizens must keep quiet, toe the line and that equals to peace, money has been set
aside to procure guns and all sorts of artillery for that exercise. This is what dictatorships are
known for, world over.’
See also
Widespread condemnation of Swaziland police brutal attacks on workers
Swaziland public servants prepare for pay strike amid fears of renewed police
violence against them
Swaziland budget repeats failed economic policies of the past

4 March 2019
The first budget from the Swaziland / eSwatini Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg has been
largely welcomed in the media in the kingdom. But memories are short. Commentators have
failed to notice the similarities between the 2019 budget plan and the Fiscal Adjustment
Roadmap of 2010 (FAR 2010) that failed to save the Swazi economy.
FAR 2010 was a blueprint for getting the Swazi economy out of what was then described as
the worst economic crisis in its history. It was intended to be implemented between 2010 and
2015.
The similarities between FAR 2010 and Budget 2019 are many. They include reforms on tax
and increasing the efficiency of tax collection, increasing the so-called Sin taxes (tobacco and
alcohol), improving the efficiency of public services, decreasing the public service wage bill,
selling government assets, building investor confidence, attracting both private investment
and foreign direct investment.
Key to FAR 2010 was the reform of public services, privatising government assets and
ensuring ‘that the wage bill remains under control’. FAR 2010 proposed cutting 7,000 public
service jobs.
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FAR 2010 failed. As an indicator of this in 2010 total external debt was about 13.4 percent of
Swaziland’s gross domestic product (GDP). In 2018, Swaziland’s external debt was 23.3
percent of GDP. GDP is the total value of goods produced and services provided in a country
during one year.
In his budget speech delivered on Wednesday (27 February 2019) Finance Minister
Rijkenberg said Swaziland, ‘is facing an unprecedented economic crisis’. He added the
economic outlook remained ‘subdued’.
He said, ‘Foreign Direct Investment has been on average negative for a number of years.
Arrears have accumulated and we continue to draw down on our reserves. The economy has
stagnated and we are failing to attract investment as the gap between the rich and poor
continues to grow.’
He said the government wage bill was ‘a key component of our crisis’, stating in the past ten
years the wage bill had grown by 125 percent. Decreasing the public sector wage bill had
been a key objective of the FAR 2010.
He said the Swaziland economy was in trouble, ‘because our private sector is too small and
its growth is too slow. We are in trouble because we have not been balancing our books.’
Then he announced a range of polices very close to those of FAR 2010 that failed.
There is no reason to be optimistic about Swaziland’s economic future if the past few years
are a guide. FAR 2010 was never likely to succeed and Budget 2019 faces the same fate.
A key reason for failure is the nature of the political system in Swaziland. The kingdom is
ruled by King Mswati III as an absolute monarch. Political parties are banned and the King
chooses a significant number of the House of Assembly and Senate. He also chooses the
Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers.
The King chooses people who will do his will. They owe their positions to him, not to the
people who elected them. Put simply, he does not want people in power who will change the
economic structure of Swaziland. The King holds all profits from Tibiyo Taka Ngwane,
which is an investment fund with extensive shares in a number of businesses, industries,
property developments and tourism facilities in Swaziland.
He also takes 25 percent of all mining royalties in Swaziland. Neither Tibiyo nor the King
pay tax. The monies are reportedly held by the King ‘in trust for the Swazi nation’ but it is no
secret that he uses this money to finance his own lavish lifestyle. He has two private jets, 13
palaces and diamonds and gold. Meanwhile, nearly seven in ten of the 1.3 million population
live in abject poverty on incomes less than the equivalent of US$3 per day.
The first thing an independent Finance Minister should do is to take Tibiyo and mining
profits away from the King and use them to boost the economy.
A second reason for failure is that the people the King chooses for high office tend not have
the experience nor the abilities to deliver complicated policies. After the last election in
September 2019 King Mswati appointed Ambrose Dlamini as Prime Minister and Neal
Rijkenberg as Finance Minister. Neither men have any experience in politics. They do not
know how to successfully draft the necessary legislation to enact Budget 2019 (Rijkenberg
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has reportedly tabled eight new bills around the Budget 2019) and they do not know how to
deliver on policies.
Again, Rijkenberg said that in the coming year government needed to sell off assets to raise
E400 million but he also said he did not know what was to be sold. ‘An exercise’ was
underway at the Ministry of Finance to identify these, he said.
Both FAR 2010 and Budget 2019 were imposed on the people. There was no meaningful
discussion with the private sector, foreign investors or public service unions. FAR 2010 fell
almost at the first hurdle when the government tried to implement public service wage
reductions and job cuts. Even members of parliament would not take pay cuts.
A report on Swaziland from the World Bank published in August 2018 said, ‘The business
environment remains unconducive to private sector development due to perceived weak
transparency in regulatory systems and lack of clarity on government policies and
implementation.’
It added, ‘stronger commitment and leadership is required’ to implement government
policies.
The commitment and leadership is unlikely to be forthcoming.
Richard Rooney
Not enough information on Swaziland budget made available to public, U.S. Govt
reports
6 March 2019
Swaziland /eSwatini should open up its national budget for greater scrutiny. It is not always
clear how money is allocated, the latest review of ‘fiscal transparency’ in the kingdom,
published by the United States Government reveals.
It says not all of the budget is subjected to audit and oversight. Spending by King Mswati III,
the absolute monarch, and his royal family should be scrutinised.
The U.S. Department of State 2018 Fiscal Transparency Report reviewed the year 2017. It
said that while budget documents ‘provided a general picture of government revenues and
expenditures, revenues from natural resources and land leases were not included in the
budget. Expenditures to support the royal family were included in the budget but lacked
specific detail and were not subject to the same oversight as the rest of the budget.’
It added, ‘Information in the budget was considered generally reliable.’
In Swaziland King Mswati controls natural mineral rights. He holds 25 percent of mining
royalties ‘in trust’ for the Swazi Nation. The government also takes 25 percent. The Fiscal
Transparency Report stated, ‘Criteria and procedures for awarding natural resource extraction
licenses and contracts were outlined in law, but the opacity [lack of clarity] of the procedures,
which involve submitting applications for licenses directly to the King, cast doubt on whether
the government actually followed the law in practice.
‘Basic information on natural resource extraction awards was not always publicly available.
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‘eSwatini’s fiscal transparency would be improved by providing more detail on expenditures

and revenues in the budget, particularly for off-budget accounts, natural resource revenues,
land leases, and royal family expenditures; subjecting the entire budget to audit and
oversight; demonstrating applicable laws are followed in practice for awarding natural
resource extraction contracts and licenses; and making basic information on natural resource
extraction awards publicly available.’
The United States releases annual reports on fiscal transparency for countries that receive
U.S. assistance to ‘help ensure U.S. taxpayer money is used appropriately’. It said Swaziland
had shown no improvement in fiscal transparency since the last report in 2017.
The United States is not alone in expressing concerns about the lack of information on
Swaziland’s national budget.
In 2017 Swaziland received a score of three out of a possible total 100 for budget openness. It
received zero points in a section on public participation as there were no opportunities for the
public to engage in budget processes. The Transparency Open Budget Survey was produced
by the International Budget Partnership (IBP). The 2017 report is the most recent available.
In an 80-page report IBP revealed that the Swaziland members of parliament provided weak
oversight of the budget. In Swaziland political parties are banned from taking part in
elections and the Prime Minister, Cabinet and top judges and public servants are all chosen
by the King.
IBP said the Swazi parliament was unable to discuss the budget properly because it was not
provided with sufficient information. It said the government’s budget proposal should be
available two months before the start of the budget year.
Billions unaccounted for in Swaziland Govt finances, Auditor General reports

12 March 2019
The finances of the Government of Swaziland / eSwatini are in such a mess that billions of
emalangeni cannot be accounted for, the kingdom’s Auditor General (AG) reported.
In his annual report for the year ending March 2018, AG Timothy Matsebula stated
government revenue, assets, and liabilities ‘were materially misstated’. He said in some cases
it was impossible to reconcile government cash books with bank statements.
The AG report revealed government bank balances had been misstated by E1.3 billion. The
amount of revenue collected in the kingdom was misstated by E1.35 billion. The amount of
income tax and road toll collected was understated by E1.34 billion.
The amount of government financial liabilities was misstated by E13 billion.
The AG report demonstrates that the government which is handpicked by King Mswati III,
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, does not have a clear idea how much money it
has and how it is being spent.
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The AG reported, ‘Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if,
individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic
decisions of users taken on the basis of these Financial Statements.’
On 27 February 2019 Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg in his annual budget said Swaziland
was broke. He said the kingdom faced ‘an unprecedented economic crisis’. Part of his
solution was to not pay public servants cost of living wage increases. He also announced tax
increases on electricity, tobacco and alcohol.
He also said, ‘This budget seeks to ensure that your hard-earned taxes and our international
partner’s financial support is spent in a sustainable, transparent manner for the betterment of
our economy and future generations.’
He added, ‘All levels of Government will be held accountable for transparent, responsive
communication and delivery on our responsibilities.’
The Auditor General report shows government finances are not transparent. The Finance
Minister does not have the correct information about the kingdom’s actual revenues and
expenditures.
In his budget speech he said, ‘We are in trouble because we have not been balancing our
books.’ A reading of the AG report suggests it is impossible to say one way or another
whether the books in Swaziland balance.
This is not the first time the Swaziland Government has been exposed for losing control of
the kingdom’s revenues and expenditures. In the previous annual report to March 2017
Acting Auditor General Muziwandile Dlamini said, ‘Bank balances were misstated by
E7,528,772,278.72 due to non-reconciliation between the government cash books and bank
statements. Some bank balances were overstated by E2,285,935,191.93 and other bank
account balances were understated by E5,242,837,086.79 thus reflecting an incorrect cash
flow position of the Government of Swaziland at year end.’
See also
Govt ministries broke law on spending
Swaziland Govt wage bill chaos as Auditor General reveals error and fraud
14 March 2019
In his budget speech Neal Rijkenberg the Finance Minister of Swaziland / eSwatini stated
that public service salaries had risen by 125 percent in the past 10 years and he threatened to
cut the kingdom’s wage bill. He said the kingdom could not afford to pay cost of living salary
adjustments (CoLA).
Now, the Swaziland Auditor General (AG) Timothy Matsebula in his annual report has
revealed that the government has no clear idea how much money it is legitimately paying out
in salaries. Matsebula reported in the year ending March 2018 the government overpaid its
workers by E6.2 million and a further E1.9 million was paid to ‘ghost employees’ – that is
workers who do not exist.
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He also said that it was impossible to tell how many ghost workers there were in schools
across Swaziland.
The AG reported the overpayments were made across a number of government departments.
The AG stated there was a total loss from public servants of E3.44 million and E15.74
million in the financial years 2017 and 2018 respectively. The figure for 2018 included more
than E6 million in unrecovered loans made to civil servants.
The AG stated, ‘These include salary payment of “ghost employees”, overpayment of
salaries, non-staggering of salaries for employees on long-term study leave, unrecovered
reimbursement of salary and training costs from officers who have abandoned official
training, and unrecovered loans. The salary payment of “ghost employees” comprises of
payment of salaries for people who have resigned or exited the public service, employees
who have not been reporting for work and/or employees who were suspended for a lengthy
period.’
The AG said financial controls were ‘weak’ and risked ‘embezzlement and fraud’. He added,
‘ghost-employees or fictitious employees are included in the payroll system and continue
being paid for an extended period of time until they are uncovered or may remain uncovered
until retirement age’. The AG also reported that at schools across Swaziland teachers were
not regularly signing registers when collecting their salary advice slips and ‘this poses a risk
as it makes it hard to see the presence of “ghost” employee(s)’. This means the number of
ghost workers in Swaziland is not known.
This chaos in government is going on at the same time that Finance Minister is threatening to
cut the public sector salary bill. In his budget speech in February 2019 Finance Minister
Rijkenberg said, ‘Our growing wage bill is placing insurmountable pressure on our budget
and Government has been under immense strain to pay salaries due to the cash flow crisis.’
He added, ‘Given the state of the economy, it is not prudent or possible to budget for a CoLA
in 2019/20, as the country simply cannot afford it.’
He said paying the salary increase would contribute to the kingdom’s debts. If debt increased,
he said, ‘we will have no option but to cut the wage bill’. He did not give details but it would
mean either cuts in salaries or job losses (or both). Rijkenberg made his bold statement
without knowing what the true public sector wage bill is in Swaziland.
AG Matsebula also reported the Swaziland Government finances were in such a mess that
billions of emalangeni could not be accounted for. Government bank balances had been
misstated by E1.3 billion. The amount of revenue collected in the kingdom was misstated by
E1.35 billion. The amount of income tax and road toll collected was understated by E1.34
billion. The amount of government financial liabilities was misstated by E13 billion. He
stated this could be down to fraud or error.
The AG report is revealing the truth in Swaziland where King Mswati III rules as an absolute
monarch and appoints members of the government and top public servants and where
political parties are banned from taking part in elections. The kingdom is in chaos and
nobody knows where the money is going.
Public sector workers should not be blamed for the crisis.
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2 GOVT FINANCIAL CRISIS

Report: patients die as Swaziland government hospital runs out of cash
4 January 2019
More evidence that public health facilities in Swaziland / eSwatini are grinding to a halt
emerged over the holiday period with news that the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the
Mbabane Government Hospital is close to shut-down because equipment is not being
maintained. People are dying because of this, it was reported.
The Government is broke and public services across the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III,
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, have been run into the ground.
On New Year’s Eve the Times of Swaziland reported the government had failed to maintain
equipment.
It said, ‘A medical staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that they had
on countless occasions raised the issue of the unfixed machines and that the response they
received was that there was no money.’
It said, ‘It has been discovered that in most departments several machines are lying idle due
to the fact that they have not been fixed for months after they developed faults. According to
impeccable sources, the most affected department currently is the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).’
It said, ‘In the past three weeks, a machine meant to provide ventilation inside the ICU
allegedly developed faults and stopped functioning.
‘The sources said the situation was so serious such that on some days, doctors were forced to
open the door just so that some fresh air could filter inside.’
The source added, ‘This is very dangerous to the patients because it puts their lives at risk.
The ICU door has to be kept closed at all times, especially because it is situated right next to
some of the wards where patients with diseases like TB are accommodated.’
It added fewer than five beds out of a total of 12 in the ICU were available for patients.
The Times added, “It has been alleged [some patients] end up dying while waiting for their
chance to be accommodated in the few beds.’
A hospital employee told the Times, ‘We are worried about the death rate here. With the ICU
being compromised, many patients’ lives are at stake. Government should do something.’
The Times said other departments also had machines such as monitors that had not been
fixed. It added, ‘The reason why the machines have been lying idle is that the hospital has
allegedly struggled to pay a company responsible for fixing them.’
Director of Health Services Dr Vusi Magagula acknowledged that they were facing a crisis in
the health sector.
This is one of a long line of cases. In September 2018 it was reported Mbabane Government
Hospital was unable to feed its patients because it had no money. There are 500 beds at the
hospital.
14
On 14 September 2018 it was reported at least six children in Swaziland had died from
diarrhoea and many more were sick because the government was broke and could not pay for
vaccines. It would cost US$6 for the vaccine to immunise a child.
Medicines of all sorts have run out in public hospitals and health clinics across Swaziland.
Nurses have been protesting to draw attention to the crisis.
In July 2018 it was reported that Swazipharm, Swaziland’s largest distributor of
pharmaceutical products and medical equipment to the healthcare system in the kingdom,
could not buy new stocks because the Ministry of Health had not paid its bill. Swazipharm
Sales and Marketing Manager Cindy Stankoczi confirmed it had cut the supply of drugs to
local health institutions.
Long before Swazipharm’s announcement medicines, including vaccines against polio and
tuberculosis had run out in many government hospitals and clinics because drug suppliers had
not been paid. In June 2017, Senator Prince Kekela told parliament that at least five people
had died as a result of the drug shortages. About US$18 million was reportedly owed to drug
companies in May 2017.
In June 2018 it was revealed there were only 12 working public ambulances in the whole of
Swaziland to serve 1.1 million people because the government failed to maintain them. It had
bought no new ambulances since 2013.
In his budget speech in March 2018 Finance Minister Martin Dlamini said Government owed
E3.1bn (US$230 million) in total to its suppliers for goods and services.
In June 2018 it was reported that children collapsed with hunger in their school because the
government had not paid for food for them. The kingdom had previously been warned to
expect children to starve because the government had not paid its suppliers for the food that is
distributed free of charge at schools. The shortage was reported to be widespread across the
kingdom.
Meanwhile, King Mswati III who rules Swaziland as one of the world’s last absolute
monarchs wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit beaded with diamonds weighing 6
kg, at his 50th birthday party in April. Days earlier he took delivery of his second private jet, a
A340 Airbus, that after VIP upgrades reportedly cost US$30 million. He received E15
million (US$1.2 million) in cheques, a gold dining room suite and a gold lounge suite among
his birthday gifts.
Seven in ten of Swaziland’s 1.1 million population live in abject poverty with incomes less
than the equivalent of US$2 per day. The King has 13 palaces. He also owns fleets of top-of-
the range Mercedes and BMW cars. His family regularly travel the world on shopping trips
spending millions of dollars each time.
See also
Swaziland nurses picket, drugs run out, lives put at risk as government fails to pay
suppliers
Medicine shortage: five die
Swazi King parties while children die
15
Another hospital in Swaziland runs out of food for patients as Govt bills go unpaid
7 February 2019
Another public hospital in Swaziland / eSwatini has run out of food and patients have been
left hungry because bills to suppliers have not been paid.
The Swazi Government is in financial meltdown and public services across the kingdom are
grinding to a halt.
The Hlatikhulu Government Hospital has run out of food and patients are being fed thin
porridge for supper, the Times of Swaziland reported on Wednesday (6 February 2019).
It added patients had been told to get their relatives to supply them with food or to send
people to buy them food at nearby outlets.
The Times reported the hospital could not pay its suppliers. It added it did not know how
much was owed but ‘certain suppliers have not been paid yet they had been owed for years’.
It reported, ‘A spot check conducted yesterday unearthed that some patients had been able to
carry on with only a plate of soft porridge which was served in the morning. A woman found
at the maternity ward said even on the previous day, they were only served soft porridge for
supper.’
It added there was only enough food in the kitchen for one day.
It said, ‘A staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the situation was so
dire such that patients might have nothing to eat from today onwards.’
Previously, it was reported Mbabane Government Hospital had run out of food because of
unpaid bills. The Times of Swaziland reported in September 2018 patients only had apples
and juice. It was unclear how much money was owed.
The newspaper reported Dr Simon Zwane, Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Health, said
there was ‘no food for the patients because the ministry had not paid the catering company
that provides food for the hospital’.
In December 2018 it was reported that the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Mbabane
Government Hospital was close to shut-down because equipment was not being maintained.
People were dying because of this, it was reported.
The Government is broke and public services across the kingdom have been run into the
ground. The Times of Swaziland reported at the time, ‘A medical staff member, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, alleged that they had on countless occasions raised the issue of the
unfixed machines and that the response they received was that there was no money.’
Health services across Swaziland are in crisis. In September 2018 it was reported at least six
children in Swaziland had died from diarrhoea and many more were sick because the
government was broke and could not pay for vaccines. It would cost US$6 for the vaccine to
immunise a child.
16
In July 2018 it was reported that Swazipharm, Swaziland’s largest distributor of

pharmaceutical products and medical equipment to the healthcare system in the kingdom,
could not buy new stocks because the Ministry of Health had not paid its bill. Swazipharm
Sales and Marketing Manager Cindy Stankoczi confirmed it had cut the supply of drugs to
local health institutions.
Swaziland to serve the population of about 1.2 million people because the government failed
to maintain them. It had bought no new ambulances since 2013.
Meanwhile, King Mswati III who rules Swaziland as one of the world’s last absolute
monarchs wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit beaded with diamonds weighing 6
kg, at his 50th birthday party in April 2018. Days earlier he took delivery of his second private
jet, a A340 Airbus, that after VIP upgrades reportedly cost US$30 million. He received E15
million (US$1.2 million) in cheques, a gold dining room suite and a gold lounge suite among
his birthday gifts.
Seven in ten of Swaziland’s population live in abject poverty with incomes less than the
equivalent of US$2 per day. The King has 13 palaces. He also owns fleets of top-of-the range
Mercedes and BMW cars. His family regularly travel the world on shopping trips spending
millions of dollars each time.
See also
Children at risk of food poisoning as Swaziland Govt’s financial crisis continues
Swazi Govt ‘runs out of cash’
Swaziland health crisis getting worse as budgets cut. Rural areas most affected
14 February 2019
The Government of Swaziland / eSwatini has cut budgets for public health services across the
kingdom and rural areas in particular are suffering, according to the latest report from the
World Health Organisation (WHO).
WHO reported there were not enough doctors, nurses and support staff. The report comes at a
time when nurses have been demonstrating across Swaziland to draw attention to the crisis in
the health service.
WHO recently conducted the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scoping exercise in
Swaziland. Its report just published stated, ‘The country has inadequate health workforce in
both numbers and skills. The distribution of health workforce is also skewed in favour of
urban areas with some rural health facilities having staffing gaps. Other health workforce
challenges include; retention of skilled staff due to frequent rotation of workers especially
nurses; and government absorption of donor funded positions.’
WHO added, ‘The distribution of health facilities and access to essential health services
create inequities between rural and urban populations.’
In Swaziland about 76 percent of the estimated 1. 3 million population live in rural areas.
17
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in an analysis of

Swaziland’s national budget for 2017/18 revealed the Ministry of Health (MoH) was
allocated E1.85 billion, representing 9.1 percent of the total budget and 3.2 percent of gross
domestic product (GDP). The allocation represented a 9.2 percent nominal decline from the
E2.04 billion allocated in the 2016/17 financial year.
In real terms, the allocation to the MoH declined by 15.7 percent from E1.94 billion to E1.63
billion mainly because the government had financial difficulties.
UNICEF reported, ‘The 2017/18 allocation significantly falls short of the requirements in the
sector.’ It estimated a minimum of E2.5 billion would be required in 2017/18 ‘to ensure an
equitable minimum package of healthcare services for all Swazis’.
In the 2018/19 budget heath was allocated E2 billion.
Public health services in Swaziland are in meltdown with reports that hospitals cannot afford
to feed patients and vital medicines have run out – all because the government failed to pay
suppliers.
In September 2018 it was reported at least six children in Swaziland had died from diarrhoea
and many more were sick because the government was broke and could not pay for vaccines.
It would cost US$6 for the vaccine to immunise a child.
Nurses have been protesting to draw attention to the crisis.
Swaziland because the government failed to maintain them. It had bought no new ambulances
since 2013.
See also
Swaziland nurses picket, drugs run out, lives put at risk as government fails to pay
suppliers
Medicine shortage: five die
Children at risk of food poisoning as Swaziland Govt’s financial crisis continues

29 January 2019
Schoolchildren in Swaziland / eSwatini are at risk of poisoning because they only have rotten
food to eat after the government failed to deliver supplies because it has run out of money.
The academic year started last week and schools, especially in rural areas, have not received
supplies. Children rely on free food to avoid starvation. The crisis has been going on for
many years and there seems to be no end.
The Times of Swaziland reported on Tuesday (29 January 2019) that some schools have had
no supplies of food since September last year. What food that is left has become rotten, it
reported head teachers saying. It is mainly beans and mealie meal.
18
It quoted one saying, ‘The food is now contaminated but we are forced to use it.’ He added,
‘We need fresh food urgently.’
The Times reported another head teacher said, ‘In these rural schools, it is impossible for us
to teach without giving food to the pupils because for many, this is their only healthy meal.’
The Times added, ‘The delay in delivering of food to schools is putting pupils’ health at a
high risk of eating contaminated and rotten food.’
The food crisis in Swaziland is long-running. In February 2018, children were warned to
prepare themselves for starvation as the government once again failed to deliver free food to
schools. The Swazi Observer reported at the time that schools relying on government aid –
known as the zondle programme – ‘must brace themselves for starvation as the Ministry of
Education and Training has failed to deliver food to schools on time’.
It quoted one school principal who wanted to remain anonymous, ‘The pupils should brace
themselves for starvation because there is no available food in the school, and they have
exhausted the food that was left last year.’
Schools have also been forced to close because of food shortages.
In June 2017 it was reported more than 200 pupils children at Mphundle High School were
treated for food poisoning after allegedly being served contaminated meat.
In a report in August 2018 the World Food Program said 45 percent of children in Swaziland
were orphaned or vulnerable. Chronic malnutrition was a main concern and stunting affected
26 percent of children under the age of five. An estimated 77 percent of Swazis relied on
subsistence farming for their livelihoods.
There seems no end to the crisis. In June 2018 headteachers and principals told the Swazi
Observer they were in huge debt and unable to pay suppliers. It said the problem was with the
government which faced financial challenges.
The Swaziland national budget has been mismanaged for years. Swaziland is broke and the
government is living from hand to mouth. In June 2018 the then Finance Minister Martin
Dlamini told the House of Assembly that as of 31 March 2018 government owed E3.28
billion. Dlamini said budget projections indicated ‘exponential growth in the arrears’.
The spotlight on spending in Swaziland intensified when in April 2018 at a party to mark
both his 50th birthday and the anniversary of Swaziland’s Independence from Great Britain,
King Mswati III, the kingdom’s absolute monarch, wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a
suit weighing 6 kg studded with diamonds. Days earlier he had taken delivery of his second
private jet. This one, an Airbus A340, cost US$13.2 to purchase but with VIP upgrades was
estimated to have cost US$30 million.
Meanwhile, seven in ten of the 1.2 million population live in abject poverty with incomes less
than the equivalent of US$2 per day.
See also
Bad food poisons 200 Swazi pupils
Lavish spending leads to food aid cut
19
Schools across Swaziland close classes as Govt fails to provide funding

8 February 2019
Primary schools across Swaziland / eSwatini have closed classes at the start of the new term
because the government has not given them funding.
This means materials including paper and chalk are not available because the so-called Free
Primary Education (FPE) grants has not been paid. Electricity bills also cannot be paid.
Government is require by the Swazi Constitution to provide free places for all primary school
children. It pays E560 per pupil. In Swaziland, seven in ten people have incomes of about
E25 per day.
The Swazi Observer reported one school principal saying, ‘It is very hard to get by without
the FPE grant because we heavily rely on it for working material. We haven’t just run out of
material but we don’t even have funds to buy electricity which is a necessity at school.
‘Lessons have come to a halt because we can’t help the situation. When schools opened, we
used the material that was left from the previous year but it was not enough to sustain us for
long and we have exhausted it.’
Meanwhile, many children have been denied places at school because they do not have
personal identity numbers (PINs). This is the second year that this problem has happened.
Deputy Prime Minister has now said the Ministry of Education and Training should start
admitting all Swazi children without PINs at schools.
The Ministry had previously said to avoid audit queries it had to pay fees against a PIN not a
name of a pupil.
The funding crisis is not new. In June 2018 headteachers and principals told the Swazi
Observer they were in huge debt and unable to pay suppliers. It said the problem was with the
government which faced financial challenges.
The Swaziland national budget has been mismanaged for years. Swaziland is broke and the
government is living from hand to mouth. In June 2018 the then Finance Minister Martin
Dlamini told the House of Assembly that as of 31 March 2018 government owed E3.28
billion. Dlamini said budget projections indicated ‘exponential growth in the arrears’.
The spotlight on spending in Swaziland intensified when in April 2018 at a party to mark
both his 50th birthday and the anniversary of Swaziland’s Independence from Great Britain,
King Mswati III, the kingdom’s absolute monarch, wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a
suit weighing 6 kg studded with diamonds. Days earlier he had taken delivery of his second
private jet. This one, an Airbus A340, cost US$13.2 to purchase but with VIP upgrades was
estimated to have cost US$30 million.
Swaziland Govt broke: up to 1,000 prisoners could be freed from jail early
13 March 2019
As many as 1,000 prisoners in Swaziland / eSwatini could be released from jail before the
end of their sentences because the government cannot afford to keep them locked up.
20
The move follows reports that His Majesty’s Correctional Services that run jails in the
kingdom could not afford to feed all inmates. Electricity has been cut off because of unpaid
bills and water has been rationed.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III who rules Swaziland
as an absolute monarch, reported on Wednesday (13 March 2019) that between 600 and
1,000 inmates could be released.
According to official figures from Swaziland published by World Prison Brief, Institute for
Criminal Policy Research, as of March 2015 the prison population in Swaziland (including
pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners) was 3,610.
The Observer reported Correctional Services Deputy Public Relations Officer Mandla Sibiya
saying special boards would meet to decide who could be freed before the end of their
sentences.
The newspaper reported Sibiya said through these early releases the Correctional Services
‘would save a lot of money that was otherwise spent on food and utilities’.
Swaziland is broke and public services across the kingdom have been cut. Children are going
hungry at because school feeding programs financed by the government have run out of
money.
In February 2019 it was reported food had run out at Hlatikhulu Government Hospital and
patients were fed thin porridge. Previously, it was reported Mbabane Government Hospital
had run out of food because of unpaid bills and patients only had apples and juice.
Health services across Swaziland are in crisis. In September 2018 it was reported at least six
children in Swaziland had died from diarrhoea and many more were sick because the
government was broke and could not pay for vaccines. It would cost US$6 for the vaccine to
immunise a child.
See also
Probe into ‘inhumane’ jail conditions
21
3 SCHOOLS
Chaos and confusion across Swaziland as new school year starts

24 January 2019
Schools in Swaziland / eSwatini face chaos and confusion as the new academic year starts.
Teachers are to strike, the government cannot afford to finance education and many pupils
face exclusion because they do not have official identity documents.
Schools were due to return on Tuesday (22 January 2019) but this was in doubt following an
announcement from the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) that a series of
union meetings would take place across the kingdom during the week. SNAT will also be
joining a national strike of public service workers due for 28 January 2019.
They are in a long-running dispute with government over cost of living wage adjustments.
Unions have asked for 6.5 percent but the government says it is broke and has offered zero
percent.
Meanwhile, it is doubtful that the government can afford to pay schools the fees they need so
they can operate. Government needs to find E151.9 million for the primary schools across the
kingdom to fund free primary education (FPE). There are about 650 primary schools in
Swaziland. The Swazi Constitution requires that all children in the kingdom receive free
primary education. For eight years until last year the European Union had paid about E140
million a year toward the cost of FPE.
Initially, the EU said it would fund FPE for all primary school pupils until 2016. After the
initial period elapsed the financial support was extended until the end of 2018.
There are about 330,000 pupils at school in Swaziland, including about 240,000 at primary
schools. The government pays a minimum of E560 per pupil for primary pupils.
Minister of Education and Training Lady Mabuza told the Times of Swaziland government
did not yet have a plan to pay fees in the absence of the EU sponsorship.
‘We’ve not engaged on the issue much but the EU stated that they were withdrawing last year
and government has to take over,’ Mabuza said.
At the end of last year the Ministry of Education and Training had to pay more than E40
million to cover the cost of sending police and prison wardens into schools to invigilate
examinations while teachers were in dispute.
Meanwhile, many children will not be able to attend school because they do not have the
correct documentation. Head teachers in many primary schools say they will not accept
pupils who do not have Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) issued by the government.
Last year the government refused to fund pupils who did not hold PINs. The Ministry said to
avoid audit queries it had to pay fees against a PIN not a name of a pupil.
There are also reports that schools will not receive much needed materials such as stationery
because suppliers have not been paid. At primary school each child needs at least 14 exercise
22
books and seven text books. One supplier located in Manzini told the Times of Swaziland his
company was owed E300,000.
It is not clear whether the government has paid food suppliers. In the past two years children
who relied on government food aid – known as the zondle programme – had gone hungry
when bills were left unpaid.
The problems at schools do not end at primary level. An investigation by the Swazi Observer
in January last year revealed that some high schools charged nearly E9,000 per child per year
in top-up fees. It also found that some schools were not allowing children, including OVCs
(orphaned and vulnerable children) to attend classes until deposits on fees were paid.
The Ministry of Education then announced that no school in Swaziland had been given
permission to charge top-up fees because none had made the necessary formal request to do
so. Permission can take up to a year.
Also last year children were turned away because there were no spaces for them in classes at
High School. This was because the kingdom had in recent years introduced FPE and children
had graduated and there were not enough places for them in secondary schools. Parents were
reported by local media to be walking from school to school in unsuccessful attempts to get
their children placed.
See also
Primary schools grinding to a halt
Swaziland schools in chaos
Children told ‘prepare for starvation’
End of free Swazi primary schooling
Swaziland teachers claim victimisation as govt hits union president with disciplinary
charges
5 February 2019
The Swaziland Government is set to start disciplinary action against the president of the
kingdom’s teachers’ union in a move that is being seen as victimisation.
It came as teachers across Swaziland / eSwatini joined other public sector workers on Friday
(1 February 2019) for a march in Mbabane to deliver seven petitions to different government
departments. Public sector workers are campaigning for a 6.55 percent salary increase to
meet the rise in the cost of living. The government says it is broke and has offered three
percent starting in 2020 / 2021.
The Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) reported its president Mbongwa
Dlamini faced four charges of misconduct, including unauthorised absenteeism from his work
at Mhubhe High School.
In a statement published on social media SNAT stated, ‘Chief amongst these charges is
becoming a union leader and participating in legitimate trade union activities that were held
across the country and in different venues for the past two weeks.’
23
If found guilty Dlamini could face dismissal.

The Sunday edition of the Times of Swaziland reported (3 February 2019) he had not yet been
formally charged but had been asked to respond. It reported Dlamini saying, ‘These are
trumped up charges that I was expecting any way.’
The Times added, ‘He claimed to have received information to the effect that there had been
earlier moves to try and lay charges against him with the police for allegedly threatening
teachers who would not be part of the strike action that was eventually stopped by the
industrial court.’
It quoted Dlamini saying, ‘I think they failed with this. They are just trying to find ways to
charge me.’
SNAT Secretary General Sikelela Dlamini said the charges were clandestine moves aimed at
destabilising the union. ‘The charges are trumped up and are aimed at de-motivating our
participation in union activities,’ the Times quoted him saying.
The move against Dlamini came as about 2,000 public sector workers marched through the
Swaziland capital Mbabane. It was headed by four unions: SNAT, Swaziland National
Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP), Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union
(SWADNU) and National Public Service and Allied Workers Unions (NAPSAWU).
See also
Armed police deployed in schools across Swaziland to ensure exams take place during
teacher pay dispute
Swaziland police shoot, wound teacher during protest over pay, tensions high on eve
of national election
24
4 CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
Research in Swaziland suggests spanking children is harmful and can cause mental
problems
10 January 2019
New research from Swaziland / eSwatini and other developing countries suggests that
spanking children is harmful and can cause mental problems.
The study used data from UNICEF global children’s organisation from 62 countries,
including Swaziland.
Corporal punishment is widespread in homes in Swaziland. It was banned from schools in
2015 but continues to be used.
The study from the University of Michigan in the United States found one-third of people
questioned said they believed physical punishment was necessary to bring up, raise or
educate a child properly. Among the children studied, 43 percent were spanked, or resided in
a home where another child was spanked.
A child’s social development suffered in both cases in which he or she was spanked or during
times when a sibling had been spanked, the study showed.
Garrett Pace, the study’s lead author said, ‘It appears that in this sample ... spanking may do
more harm than good.’
Pace also noted that ‘reductions in corporal punishment might do a great deal to reduce the
burden of children’s mental health and improve child development outcomes globally’.
More effort to create policies that discourage spanking has occurred globally. In fact, 54
countries have banned the use of corporal punishment, which can only benefit children's
well-being long term, Pace and colleagues said.
In a separate report UNICEF estimated nearly nine in ten children in Swaziland suffered
‘violent discipline’.
In a report of a national survey published in August 2017, UNICEF stated ‘violent discipline
in the home, which includes physical punishment and psychological aggression, affects more
than 88 per cent of all children in Swaziland.
‘The study findings also reveal that sexual violence and bullying affects 38 percent and 32
percent of children in Swaziland, respectively. The study found that children experiencing
one type of violence were more likely to experience other types of violence.
‘One staggering statistic to emerge from the data revealed that for every girl child known to
Social Welfare as having experienced sexual violence, there are an estimated 400 girls who
have never received help or assistance for sexual violence.’
UNICEF reported one of the ‘drivers’ of violence against children was Swazi culture. It
stated, ‘The widely accepted notion of keeping family matters private to protect the family or
community over the individual was repeatedly cited as a driver of violence and was also
25
found to be a factor dissuading individuals from intervening when they suspect a child is
abused.’
Article 29(2) of the Swaziland Constitution 2005 states ‘a child shall not be subjected to
abuse or torture or other cruel inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment subject to
lawful and moderate chastisement for purposes of correction’. The Children’s Protection and
Welfare Act 2012 however provides for ‘justifiable’ discipline.
Corporal punishment was banned in Swazi schools by the Ministry of Education and Training
in 2015, but caning continues. There are many reports from across Swaziland that pupils have
been brutalised by their teachers.
In a debate in the Swazi Parliament in March 2017 members of parliament called for the cane
to be brought back into schools. The MPs said the positive discipline adopted in schools was
causing problems for teachers because they no longer knew how to deal with wayward
pupils.
There had been 4,556 cases of ‘severe corporal punishment’ of children in Swaziland’s
schools over the previous four years, Star Africa reported in March 2016.
In 2005 The International Save the Children Alliance published research into Swazi
children’s experiences of corporal punishment.
In a survey, 20 percent of children reported being hit with a hand and 59 percent of children
reported being beaten with an object at school during a two-week period. In schools, children
are most often hit with the hand, sticks, canes, sjamboks and blackboard dusters.
Children reported being subjected to corporal punishment at school due to making a noise or
talking in class, coming late to school, not completing work, not doing work correctly, failing
tests, wearing incorrect uniform items, dropping litter, losing books or leaving them at home.
Girl, 12, has fingers broken at Swaziland school in latest case of illegal caning
29 March 2019
A 12-year-old girl in Swaziland / eSwatini had her fingers broken when she was caned 25
times across her hand, in the latest case of illegal corporal punishment used in schools.
The girl at Mkhuzweni Primary School had failed 25 questions in a test. She had missed
classes previously and was not prepared for the test, the Times of Swaziland reported on
Friday (29 March 2019).
It reported, ‘This resulted in her sustaining serious injuries such that she fractured some of
her fingers. She was not the only one who was punished as her other classmates received 18-
20 strokes depending on how many questions they did not get right.
‘A teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said other parents came to complain to the
school’s headteacher about the beating of their children.’
26
The Times said Regional Education Officer of Manzini Mlimi Mamba confirmed he attended
to the case. Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho
Mnguni said the matter had been reported and investigations were ongoing.
Corporal punishment was banned in Swazi schools by the Ministry of Education and Training
in 2015, but caning continues. There are many reports from across Swaziland that pupils have
been brutalised by their teachers.
In a debate in the Swazi Parliament in March 2017 members called for the cane to be brought
back into schools. The MPs said the positive discipline adopted in schools was causing
problems for teachers because they no longer knew how to deal with wayward pupils.
There had been 4,556 cases of ‘severe corporal punishment’ of children in Swaziland’s
schools over the previous four years, Star Africa reported in March 2016.
As recently as November 2018 it was reported police were investigating St Theresa’s Primary
School, Manzini, following an allegation that teachers whipped children to make them do
better in their exams. In June 2018 teachers reportedly caned every pupil at Mbuluzi High
School for poor performance.
In August 2017 it was reported boys Salesian High, a Catholic school, were forced to take
down their trousers and underpants to allow teachers to beat them on the bare buttocks.
See also
Children fear beatings, miss school
Cane banned in Swazi schools
Teachers beat boys on naked buttocks
27
5 DISABILITY
Swaziland family treat teenager like a dog because she cannot walk and care for herself
21 March 2019
A report in Swaziland / eSwatini says a teenager with physical challenges was forced by her
family to live in a shack like a dog.
It demonstrates the extreme difficulties people with disabilities in the kingdom face. They are
often hidden away because it is thought they are cursed or bring bad luck.
The latest case involving a 17-year-old girl at Mhlaleni in the Manzini Region was reported
by the Times of Swaziland on Monday (18 March 2019). She has deformed feet and has never
been able to walk.
The newspaper reported her stepfather said at first they tried to accommodate her in the
family house but as she was physically challenged she would frequently soil herself if there
was no one around to assist her.
The Times reported, ‘The stepfather claimed that the situation was so unbearable to a point
that they decided to relocate the girl to the make-shift structure to remedy the situation.’ She
has been there for two years.
The Times added, ‘The make-shift structure is constructed out of timber with spaces in
between, allowing cold air into the structure. The structure also has a leaking roof and during
rainy days, water seeps through, a scenario that poses hazardous effects to the health of the
child.’
Her case is not unusual in Swaziland where people with disabilities are often hidden by their
families.
In 2017 Autism Swaziland Director Tryphinah Mvubu said people with Autism were often
excluded from social services because their parents kept them away from the public in fear of
embarrassment.
The Swazi Observer newspaper reported her saying, ‘Some parents refuse to accept children
with this condition as this disorder is considered to be a bad omen, hence they are locked in
the house day in and day out so they cannot be seen by members of the community. They are
so stigmatised to an extent that in some cases they are not even counted as members of the
family.’
It is not only autistic children who are hidden. In July 2016, it was reported in local media
that two disabled orphan children in Swaziland had been concealed from the world after a
government official told their family it would harm the image of the kingdom if people knew
of their condition.
It was reported that the two children aged 16 and eight might be suffering from polio. It was
said they had not walked since they were born and had shrunk muscles and could only crawl.
They both cannot talk.
28
The abandonment of the children was 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.’
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
Sick kids ‘hidden to save Swazi image’
Hidden sick kids: UNICEF responds
Disabled people ‘treated like animals’
29
6 KING SOBHUZA AND APARTHEID
Apartheid South Africa financed Swaziland kings through secret political fund
18 February 2019
The government of South Africa financed Swaziland’s then King Sobhuza II through a secret
fund during the apartheid years.
After the king died it continued to make secret payments to his successor and present king,
Mswati III. When the apartheid government fell, the South African government under
President Nelson Mandela thought it worth its while to continue making the payments.
The payments to Sobhuza and Mswati came from a secret fund set up specifically to promote
the policies of ‘white’ South Africa and to fund operations directed against the opponents of
apartheid.
The existence of the fund and the payments to the Swazi monarchs was revealed by South
Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The information was published in
October 1998 but has gone largely unnoticed in the years since.
The mandate of the TRC was set up in 1996 after the apartheid era ended to bear witness to,
record and in some cases grant amnesty to the perpetrators of crimes relating to human rights
violations, reparation and rehabilitation.
The TRC reported it had not received information on the specific nature of the activities
undertaken by those like the Swaziland monarchs who received ‘covert funding’, nor did it
investigate the actual use made of the funding. But, it added, it was clear there were funds in
‘secret bank accounts’.
The TRC said it received information about the secret funds from the reports by the Advisory
Committee on Special Secret Projects, chaired by Professor Ellison Kahn (known as the Khan
Committee) and the Secret Services Evaluation Committee.
The TRC reported, ‘The Auditor-General reported that a total of more than R2.75 billion was
expended through the Secret Services Account between 1978 and 1994. This does not,
however, constitute the full amount spent by state departments on secret and other sensitive
projects.’
The TRC reported, ‘Most projects appear to be related to the establishment of front
organisations or actions aimed at counteracting the activities of the African National
Congress (ANC) and its allies, primarily in the sphere of information, communication,
disinformation, propaganda and counter-propaganda.
It said one of the key goals of the secret projects was ‘sanctions busting’. Separately from the
TRC investigation it has been revealed that in 1978 King Sobhuza’s government lobbied the
United States and the United Kingdom not to impose economic sanctions on South Africa.
The TRC highlighted what was called ‘Project Swaziland.’ The entry in the TRC’s report
(Vol 2, Chapter 6, page 529) on Project Swaziland was based on information from South
Africa’s Department of Foreign Affairs. The full entry in the TRC report on Project
Swaziland is as follows, ‘Young King Mswati III took it for granted that, like his father, he
30
would be furnished with the part-time services of an attorney at the expense of the South
African government. Pretoria lawyer Mr Ernst Penzhorn was employed at an annual fee of
around R50,000 to advise the King generally, accompany him to conferences, draft speeches
for him, persuade him not to act in undesirable ways, and protect him from the machinations
of undesirable characters.’
King Sobhuza II
No further mention is made in the TRC report of Project Swaziland. However, the Khan
Committee had previously been tasked with going through the secret funds to recommend
which should be allowed to continue post-apartheid. Khan reported on Project Swaziland, on
19 November 1991. It called it, ‘A line function par excellence. Activity endorsed.’ This
recommendation that King Mswati should continue to receive secret funding was later
accepted.
Minutes of the South Africa Secret Services Evaluation Committee of 8 April 1993 show the
enthusiasm of South Africa’s Department of Foreign Affairs for continuing Project
Swaziland. The minute reads, ‘The Department would like to fund this from the open budget,
but there are problems with the need for secrecy for the two involved.’ It added department
officials would ‘consider other ways of providing this assistance henceforth’.
According to a profile published in the Mail & Guardian (South Africa) in February 1998,
the Pretoria lawyer Ernst Penzhorn who was employed to serve King Mswati was closely
associated with one-time President of South Africa, PW Botha. The newspaper said
Penzhorn’s speciality was, ‘the art of smoke and mirrors, and the negotiation of the shifting
sands of international realpolitik where countries have no friends, but only interests’.
31
It added he was, ‘a sort of legal agent-cum-fixer extraordinaire’.

A separate report in the Mail & Guardian in March 1995 said, ‘Penzhorn’s speciality appears
to be acting for South African agents captured in foreign countries while on clandestine
missions.’
The payments were made to King Sobhuza until his death in 1982. The payments continued
when King Mswati III succeeded him to the throne. It is not known if the payments continue
to the present day.
Sobhuza is still widely revered within Swaziland, 37 years after his death. He was chosen to
be king of Swaziland when he was only four months old and became the monarch after he
had reached the age of 21. He died aged 83. He was said to have had 70 wives, 210 children
and at least 1,000 grandchildren at the time of his death.
In 1973, five years after Swaziland’s independence from Great Britain, King Sobhuza tore up
the kingdom’s constitution and ruled as an absolute monarch. He was succeeded to the throne
by King Mswati III in 1986 who continues to rule as an absolute monarch to the present day.
During the height of the apartheid years in South Africa King Sobhuza’s Swaziland
government lobbied the US and UK Governments not to support economic sanctions on
South Africa, according to a confidential communication from 1978.
King Mswati III wearing a suit beaded with diamonds at his 50th birthday celebration
32
The then Swazi Prime Minister Maphevu Harry Dlamini said the sanctions would be
‘disastrous’ for the Swaziland economy.
The information challenges the present-day belief that King Sobuza II and his Swazi
governments were stanch supporters of the struggle for freedom in South Africa during the
apartheid era.
Dlamini was said to have ‘pleaded strongly’ with the US and UK not to support sanctions.
This was revealed in a confidential electronic telegram sent from the United States State
Department on 7 November 1978. It was distributed to the UK, Zambia, Mozambique and
France.
The electronic telegram said, ‘During 30-minute meeting in his office November 2, Prime
Minister pleaded strongly with UK and US reps to urge our governments to prevent adoption
of UN sanctions against South Africa, especially on oil, on ground that sanctions would be
not only suicidal for Swaziland but also extremely detrimental to blacks.’
The writer of the cable, who was not named, but was likely to be the US Ambassador to
Swaziland said the US and UK representatives at the meeting agreed to seek clarification of
positions from their governments ‘soonest’.
The confidential message added, ‘In unprecedented move, Prime Minister Maphevu
summoned British High Commissioner and me jointly to his office November 2 for urgent
approach on issue of UN sanctions against South Africa.
‘Prime Minister said that from series of telexes and telecons from Swazi UN representative
Malinga, he understood that United Nations was on brink of voting on sanctions issue and
that Western powers, possibly reflecting disenchantment with South Africa’s posture on
Namibian election question, were leaving impression in New York that they might not repeat
not veto a sanctions resolution.
‘Although worried about effect that any kind of sanctions would have on Swaziland’s
economy, Prime Minister was principally concerned about oil sanctions.
‘Prime Minister said he did not have to remind UK and US reps in Mbabane, who saw
situation first-hand, how dependent Swaziland economy is on South African economy.
‘Oil sanctions would be “disastrous” for Swaziland.
‘He added that one could be sure that not only Swaziland’s population, but also blacks in
South Africa itself, would be the first to feel the pinch if sanctions were imposed; he gave the
example of black entrepreneurs in South Africa, who he said would certainly be treated far
less favorably by South African authorities when rationing began.
‘Several times in his forceful half-hour presentation the Prime Minister talked as spokesman
for blacks in all of Southern Africa and not merely for Swazis.
‘He said sanctions would be “indirect killing of black people in Southern Africa”.
‘For Swaziland to vote for sanctions would be “suicidal.”
33
‘Prime Minister asked rhetorically which black leaders in South Africa itself would support
sanctions. He hoped that Western policy-makers were not taking advice from “blacks who
left South Africa ten to twenty years ago and who are now living comfortably in Europe and
America.”
‘He downplayed any hard-line advice that might be given by front-line leaders, who continue
their own economic dealings with South Africa (as Swaziland does) because there is no
alternative to such cooperation; he cited Zambian railroad move as one recent example.’
Maphevu Harry Dlamini was Prime Minister of Swaziland from 31 March 1976 until his
death on 25 October 1979.
The telegram was classified confidential when it was written in 1978, and was declassified in
2014. It is now publicly available through the Wikileaks’ Public Library of US Diplomacy.
Richard Rooney
See also
Swaziland King tore up Constitution in fear educated people might challenge his
power, CIA report suggests
34
7 KING MSWATI III

Swaziland’s absolute monarch grants scholarship to student who begged him on hands
and knees
16 January 2019
King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland/ eSwatini, has granted a scholarship to a
female student who publicly got down on her hands and knees to beg him for one.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, said on Tuesday (15 January
2019) this ‘proved that he listens to the needs of the people and acts fast’.
Mphilwenhle Matsebula, aged 26, a first year student at the Southern Africa Nazarene
University (SANU) made international news in September 2018 when according to the
Observer ‘she literally begged for a scholarship’. It happened when King Mswati was touring
the International Trade Fair at Manzini.
The Observer reported, ‘Matsebula has been granted the scholarship as per His Majesty’s
order. Previously, Matsebula’s life at the institution was very difficult because government
had initially refused to grant her the scholarship. She had been told she did not qualify for it.’
Swaziland’s education system like all public services is presently in crisis because the
government, handpicked by King Mswati, is broke. In November 2018 it was reported
students were forced to sell themselves for sex to businessmen and affluent tourists because
government had not paid allowances.
The Sunday edition of the Swazi Observer reported at the time, ‘delayed payments of
allowances which themselves are meagre force girl students into availing themselves for
sexual favours in exchange for food, drinks and other goodies’.
There is an ongoing dispute between students and the government over the payment of
scholarships and allowances that cover fees, living expenses and items such as books. In May
2017, the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) launched a campaign for
scholarships for all. They want the Swazi Government to reverse a decision to prioritise
courses and cut scholarships by 60 percent. Students want all students admitted to higher
learning institutions to have scholarships, regardless of the programme they are doing or the
institution they are in.
Meanwhile, the outgoing President of SNUS Brian Sangweni told its 11th National General
Congress in 2018 that thousands of high school graduates with good grades remained idle at
home because the government would not pay them scholarships to study.
He said, ‘Those who are lucky to make it and enrol into the institutions are also not off the
hook of suffering due to lack of living allowances to enable them to live a healthy and
dignified period of study and to realise their optimal potential.’
He added students were finding it hard to concentrate to their studies and some dropped out
or committed suicide because of the pressure.
35
Mpilwenhle Matsebula begs King Mswati Swaziland’s absolute monarch (far left) for a
university scholarship. (Picture: Swazi Observer)
See also
In full public view, on hand and knees student begs Swaziland king for scholarship
Swaziland’s absolute king misses out on AU Chair because his kingdom is broke
21 February 2019
King Mswati III, the autocratic ruler of Swaziland / eSwatini, has lost the chance to be chair
of the African Union in 2020 because his kingdom is broke.
The honour will now go to the head of state of South Africa, who is presently Cyril
Ramaphosa.
King Mswati had been expected to take the chair of the AU Commission which changes each
year, but at its heads of state summit in Addis Ababa earlier in February 2019 the decision
was made to make the change.
Media in South Africa reported Swaziland missed out on the chair because it did not have the
resources to fulfil the role.
The AU is an organisation that promotes unity and solidarity among African states.
City Press in South Africa reported officials ‘made a desperate plea to South Africa’ to take
over the chair.
It added, ‘They cited “capacity constraints” as the reason eSwatini could not fulfil this duty,
according to government officials with knowledge of the meeting.’
The Daily Maverick reported, ‘There was talk initially that it was eSwatini’s turn to lead.
Officials, however, said the monarchy – which is heavily in debt – complained about
36
“capacity constraints”. The officials didn’t clarify the meaning of this, but it seems to be
about money.’
Swaziland is still expected to host the AU mid-year summit. However, following reforms
mid-year summits have been downgraded to ‘gatherings’.
Even if Swaziland does host the mid-year meeting, South Africa is reportedly expected to
meet most of the expenses, the Daily Maverick reported an official saying.
This was, ‘because it would have to provide security and logistics,’ the official said.
Swaziland does not have the military, the cars or drivers to transport all the important people
who would be attending, it was reported.
It is no secret that Swaziland is broke. Hospitals have run out of vital drugs and schools have
been forced to close because the government has not paid its suppliers. In his budget speech
in March 2018 Finance Minister Martin Dlamini said government owed E3.1bn (US$230
million) in total to its suppliers for goods and services.
Even with these debts, the government, which is not elected but handpicked by King Mswati,
allocated E1.5 billion for a conference centre and five-star hotel to house the AU summit.
This was more than the sum allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture (E1.4bn) or the Ministry
of Defence (E1.15bn). It was the biggest single capital project in Swaziland’s budget that
year. Total capital spending was set at E5.6bn.
In 2016, when King Mswati was Chair of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) he took about E40m, mostly from public funds, to host a lavish Heads of State
summit at a time when his government was so poor it could release only E22 million of the
E305 million earmarked for drought relief in that year’s national budget.
When he formally opened the Swaziland Parliament on 8 February 2019, King Mswati
demanded severe public spending cuts for the coming year. He said the kingdom’s spending
had ‘surpassed sustainable levels’ and government debts were increasing. The kingdom’s
financial reserves were falling and there was little economic growth. He warned that taxes
collected in Swaziland would not be enough to pay the bills.
See also
Kingdom fails SADC delegates
Millions ‘wasted’ on luxury vehicles at SADC summit
Absolute king takes chair of SADC
‘Dictator king not fit to chair SADC’
37
Swaziland King’s wife LaDube (31) dies, after unhappy life at royal palace
8 March 2019
Inkhosikati LaDube (Picture: Facebook)
Inkhosikati LaDube, the 12th wife of King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland /
eSwatini, has died, aged 31.
No details of the cause of death have been officially released but newspapers in South Africa
say she was being treated for skin cancer.
The King chose Nothando Dube to be his 12th wife in 2004 when she was a 16-year-old
schoolgirl. He noticed her when she was a finalist in the Miss Teen Swaziland beauty
pageant. King Mswati was aged 36 at the time.
The King has married at least 15 times, but the exact number is considered a state secret.
Another wife Inkhosikati LaMasango died in April 2018, aged 37, reportedly following an
overdose of pills. Others of the King’s wives have reportedly escaped from him and moved
abroad.
Unintentionally, during her life LaDube exposed some of the worst tendencies of King
Mswati. In 2010 she was caught in an adulterous affair in a room at the Royal Villas hotel,
Ezulwini with the then-Swaziland Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Ndumiso
Mamba.
Mamba was a childhood friend of Mswati. The King was on an official visit to Taiwan at the
time.
The affair was kept secret from the Swazi people. In Swaziland all broadcast media are under
state-control. Of the two daily newspapers, one is in effect owned by King Mswati and the
other consistently censors itself when reporting about the King and his family.
38
Media outside Swaziland reported the affair and its aftermath fully. A palace source told
AFP, the international news agency, that LaDube would dress in a military uniform to slip
out of the Lozitha palace and meet Mamba in a hotel room. AFP quoted a palace source
saying, ‘She allegedly got into her room and changed into her uniform and walked straight to
the gate and no one bothered to ask where was this soldier going. In no time a car was there
to pick the “officer” up and whisked her to Royal Villas about 10 kilometres west of the
Lozitha Palace.’
Photographs of Mamba captured by police hiding under the bed at the hotel room circulated
in South African newspapers and on the Internet.
Mamba who like the Prime Minister and all government ministers had been personally
appointed by King Mswati, quit his post.
City Press in South Africa reported that Swaziland’s military agents had been on the trail of
the adulterous pair for several months. LaDube was placed under what amounted to house
arrest and was not seen in public for a year. Mamba was at first arrested but not charged with
an offence. He has kept a low profile in Swaziland.
In July 2011, the Mail & Guardian newspaper in South Africa reported LaDube was
‘begging’ to be rescued from house arrest. It reported LaDube had been restricted to her royal
residence in July 2010. She told the Mail & Guardian that she has not seen or spoken to the
King since and that none of the members of the royal family had confronted her about the
allegations, which she denied.
LaDube said the royal security guards told her she was not allowed to see or interact with her
family and friends.
‘My side of the story was not heard. Ever since that scandal happened, we haven't been
talking with this man that I married. Things have been bad and now they are worse. I really,
really want out and I can’t, he is just not letting me go. It's like I am in prison; I am under 24-
hour surveillance,’ she said.
‘My friends and family have been banned from seeing me and I really feel like I don't want to
be here anymore because I feel like I am in jail. This is not healthy and I can't live like this
forever and I see no point of sticking around.’
She claimed she had endured abusive treatment from security guards. ‘Every time I want to
go somewhere the security guards become aggressive with me. It happens about once a week,
when I try to go somewhere. They literally hit me, they kick and they punch me. I am not
allowed to go anywhere or see anyone. I can't even see a doctor. If I am sick or anything, they
have to come to me. My family is not allowed to speak to the King. I am also not allowed to
see him. How am I not allowed to see the man that I married?’
At about the same time the Swazi Shado blog published a report that seemed to contradict
LaDube’s account. It said that she had been seen in public for the first time in about a year
and gave an interview on fashion tips to the Times Sunday, an independent newspaper in
Swaziland.
39
In November 2011, the Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa reported LaDube had been
kicked out of the royal palace following a fight with a security guard. She said she pepper-
sprayed him in the eyes to protect herself.
It added she was ordered to ‘immediately leave the palace’ by royal governor Timothy
Mthethwa, ‘who was accompanied by other senior members of the royal family’.
LaDube, who was aged 23 at the time, told the newspaper she had had an argument with a
security guard who refused to let her out of the palace. She wanted to take the youngest of her
three children, aged two, to hospital after she had injured herself while playing - but the guard
said she was not allowed to leave.
The matter was reported to the Queen Mother who, the Sunday Times reported, apparently
decided that LaDube had been disrespectful and had to be kicked out.
CNN, the US-based cable news channel, also reported LaDube had been ‘banished’ from the
palace.
In December 2011, Independent newspapers in South Africa reported she had ‘been dumped
at her maternal grandmother’s home in Hhohho’.
It added, ‘She has been separated from her children, the youngest being two years. She has no
food and the house she was dumped in has no bedding.’
It also reported LaDube was the third of King Mswati’s wives to leave the palace. She
followed LaMagwaza and LaHwala, who went to live in South Africa.
It reported, ‘LaMagwaza was accused of having a steamy sexual relationship with a South
African toy boy. Sources claimed that she was sex starved, as the King would not visit her.
‘At the height of the sex scandal, she was granted permission to visit her family home at
Mbekelweni in central Swaziland and never returned. She is reported to be living a
prosperous life after marrying an SA tycoon with whom she has a child.
‘LaHwala was also neglected by the King who would deny her conjugal rights for six months
at a time.
‘Her uncle and guardian, Simon Noge, made a special request to the King for her to visit
South Africa. She never returned.’
See also
Swazi King’s torrid life with wives
Swazi sex scandal and polygamy
‘Help rescue Swazi King’s 12th wife’
No let up on poverty in Swaziland as absolute King makes public display of his vast
wealth
23 March 2019
40
King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland / eSwatini and the man who wore a suit
studded with diamonds and a watch worth US$1.6 million at his 50th birthday celebration,
told a United Nations’ meeting he would soon issue a report on ending poverty in his
kingdom.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported on Friday (22 March
2019), ‘The King assured that government took seriously the poverty challenges and did not
want to leave any citizen behind in its development agenda.’
He spoke at the United Nations conference on South - South Cooperation held in Argentina.
There have been no shortages of reports about poverty in Swaziland in recent years. In
August 2018 a report published by the World Bank stated, ‘Poverty, inequality and
unemployment are the primary development challenges which have remained stubborn and
difficult to address.’
It said, ‘Based on the international poverty lines of US$1.9 and US$3.2 a day, it is estimated
that 38 percent of the Swazi population [estimated at 1.2 million] lives in extreme poverty
and a total of 60.3 percent is poor overall. These estimates represent a relatively small
improvement from the 2009 finding that 42.0 percent were subsisting below the $1.9 a day
line and 64.4 percent were below the $3.2 a day line.
‘In general, children, the elderly, the unemployed as well as female-headed and single-headed
households are disproportionately represented among the poor.’
In December 2018 a report published by Afrobarometer suggested poverty in Swaziland got
worse over the previous three years.
More than half the people interviewed reported going without enough food and without
needed medical care.
The numbers going without food was 56 percent (up from 51 percent from a similar survey
taken in 2015). Those going without medical care was 53 percent (up from 33 percent).
Afrobarometer, a pan-African non-partisan research network that works in 37 African
countries, identified what it called ‘lived poverty’ (a lack of basic life necessities).
It reported, ‘Afrobarometer assesses the prevalence of “lived poverty” by asking respondents
how often, over the previous year, they or their family members went without enough food,
enough clean water, needed medicine or medical care, enough cooking fuel, and a cash
income.’
It added, ‘While lived poverty had been declining in eSwatini between the years 2013 and
2015, there has been an increase since then. The share of citizens who went without enough
to eat at least once during the previous 12 months increased by 5 percentage points between
2015 and 2018, from 51 percent to 56 percent, while those who experienced a lack of clean
water grew by 7 points, from 47 per cent to 54 percent.
‘The largest increases were observed among those who experienced shortages of medical care
(from 33 percent to 53 percent) and cooking fuel (from 30 percent to 49 percent).
41
‘More than seven in 10 respondents (71 percent) say they went without a cash income at least
once during the previous year, up from 68 percent in 2015.
‘High lived poverty (or frequently going without basic necessities) was experienced by one in
four citizens and is twice as common in rural areas as in cities (27 percent vs. 14 percent). It
declines steeply as respondents’ education level increases: 62 percent of people without
formal education experienced high lived poverty, compared to 34 percent of those with
primary education, 20 percent of those with secondary schooling, and 11 percent of those
with post-secondary qualifications.
‘And lived poverty increases with age, ranging from 16 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds to 39
percent of those who are 56 or older.’
Afrobarometer was not the first organisation to identify the state of poverty in Swaziland. In
2017, the global charity Oxfam named Swaziland as the most unequal country in the world in
a report called Starting With People, a human economy approach to inclusive growth in
Africa detailing the differences in countries between the top most earners and those at the
bottom. The Oxfam report stated the government, which is handpicked by King Mswati,
‘failed to put measures in place to tackle inequality, with poor scores for social spending and
progressive taxation, and a poor record on labour rights’.
Despite the extreme poverty, the Swazi Government still found US$30 million to buy the
King a private jet plane in 2018. King Mswati now has two private planes, 13 palaces and
fleets of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars. He wore a watch worth US$1.6 million
and a suit beaded with diamonds weighing 6 kg, at his 50th birthday party in April 2018. He
received E15 million (US$1.2 million) in cheques, a gold dining room suite and a gold
lounge suite among his birthday gifts.
Meanwhile, the World Food Program said it could not raise the US$1.1 million it needed to
feed starving children in the kingdom.
See also
PM gets it wrong on poverty
Huge rise in Swazi King’s budget
King gets new jet as people starve
Swazis among hungriest in the world
Swaziland King prepares for lavish birthday celebrations, despite dire poverty in the
kingdom
24 March 2019
King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland / eSwatini, is preparing for another
lavish birthday celebration despite the poverty that ravages his kingdom.
In past years the equivalent of many millions of US dollars has been spent on his
celebrations, much of it from public funds.
It was reported locally that officers of His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS) which
deals with prisons objected to being made to donate from their salaries towards the cost of the
42
King’s birthday celebration this year. King Mswati is Commissioner General-In-Chief of

HMCS.
The King’s birthday falls on 19 April but this year that coincides with Good Friday so he has
put back his own celebrations to 26 April 2019. A public holiday for that day has already
been declared. The venue for the celebration will be the Buhleni Royal Residence in the
Hhohho region. The King has at least 13 palaces across Swaziland, a kingdom about the size
of the US state of New Jersey.
Full details of the celebration have not yet been announced.
Last year for his 50th birthday the Queen Mother gave King Mswati III a dining room suite
made of gold. The Government, whose members are personally appointed by King Mswati,
gave him a lounge suite trimmed with gold.
He also received cheques totalling at least E15 million (US$1.2 million) to help pay for his
birthday celebration that took place on 19 April 2018.
How the Swazi Observer reported the King’s 50th birthday gift from the Queen Mother
On that day he wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit weighing 6 kg studded with
diamonds. Days earlier he had taken delivery of his second private jet. This one, an Airbus
A340, cost US$13.2 to purchase but with VIP upgrades was estimated to have cost US$30
million.
This happened at a time when seven in ten of the estimated 1.1 million population lived in
abject poverty with incomes less than the equivalent of US$2 per day. The global charity
Oxfam named Swaziland as the most unequal country in the world in a report that detailed
the differences in countries between the top most earners and those at the bottom.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported at the time that many
of the King’s subjects visited him at Lozitha Palace to hand over gifts. It reported that this
took six hours to complete.
43
In 2017, just as the World Food Program (WFP) revealed that one-in-three people in
Swaziland were ‘in need of emergency food assistance’, media in the kingdom reported that
King Mswati III’s birthday cake took three months to prepare.
The Times of Swaziland reported, ‘All eyes were on the cake that was beautifully displayed in
the front during the garden party at His Majesty’s birthday celebration. Most people were
asking themselves how much time it took the bakers to prepare the cake. The company has
always made it a point that it prepares a beautiful cake every year for His Majesty’s birthday
celebrations.’
The Swazi Observer said, ‘The purple and cream white cake was set on a gold stand that
connected the 49 pieces to make it one and the artistic look was finished off with a gold lion
shaped piece.’
The WFP reported, ‘Chronic malnutrition is a main concern in Swaziland: stunting affects 26
percent of children under five years. Swaziland is vulnerable to drought in the south east. 77
percent of Swazis rely on subsistence farming for their livelihoods.’
In 2015, King Mswati hosted a birthday party for himself that cost at least E1.2 million
(US$120,000). According to a report in the Sunday Observer, 35 cattle and 1,000 blankets
were also presented to the King. The King’s subjects, through their chiefs, also contributed
69 cattle, two goats and E5,400 cash.
The newspaper said the dinner held at Ebuhleni Royal Residence was mainly sponsored by
the Indonesian Consular and businessman Kareem Ashraf.
In a speech, the King told his admirers that God blessed his party.
In 2013, his birthday party cost US$3.6 million, but Percy Simelane, spokesperson for the
Swazi Government, said this money did not come out of the kingdom’s budget for
celebrations and national events. He told Voice of America radio, ‘The King’s birthday was
privately sponsored this year, as [was] the case last year.’
He did not say who sponsored the event.
Also in 2013, the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), a banned political
party in Swaziland, reported 32 BMW cars had been delivered to King ahead of his 45th
birthday celebrations.
In 2012, the King was embroiled in a row when he took delivery of a private jet plane, worth
an estimated US$46 million. He claimed that the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 twin-engine jet
was a gift from an admirer, but declined to say who it was. This led to speculation that the jet
had been purchased out of public funds.
The King choses a different area of his kingdom to visit for his birthday celebrations. In 2012
the venue was Shiselweni, Swaziland’s poorest region. Locals were forced to give up their
cattle for the King. At the time, the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), a banned
organisation in Swaziland, called for the party to be cancelled.
It said in a statement, ‘Shiselweni is the country’s poorest region, the same area where the
country’s poorest citizens live. Areas like Lavumisa are so poverty stricken that its residents
have at times been reported to be living on poisonous shrubs. Despite this abject poverty in
44
the region, the King has insensitively decided to throw a lavish birthday party and rub his
stolen riches in the people’s poverty stricken faces.’
In 2014, the King’s birthday party received global attention when world-famous hip-hop and
soul singer Erykah Badu sang for the monarch.
King Mswati’s grip on power in his kingdom is so great that at the time magazine editor
Bheki Makhubu and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko were serving two years in jail for
contempt of court after calling the independence of the Swazi judicial system into question in
articles in a small circulation magazine, the Nation.
Also, seven people were in jail awaiting trial for wearing T-shirts supporting the pro-
democracy group PUDEMO.
It was against this background that Badu, who in the past had been a vocal supporter of
human rights, sang the King’s praises and gave him a US$100 note as a gift.
See also
Swazi Cabinet’s gift of gold
Swazi King and queens of bling
Swaziland people pay E1 billion for absolute King’s upkeep, but it’s kept a secret
25 March 2019
An independent magazine in Swaziland / eSwatini has reported that absolute monarch King
Mswati III and his family were allocated E1 billion for their spending from the national
budget in the past year, but this information has been kept secret from the public.
The Nation, a well-established monthly comment magazine, said this came at a time when the
Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg said the kingdom could not afford to pay public servants
cost of living salary adjustments.
The Nation reported (March 2019) that expenditure on the King was controlled by the Swazi
National Treasury (SNT). Although the Auditor General audits SNT accounts each year its
report is not made public. The Nation reported, ‘Audited statements of the SNT were
removed from the public eye in 1992 when then Minister of Finance, Barnabas Sibusiso
Dlamini, was stung by numerous revelations of scandals of gross misuse of public funds by
that institution.’
Dlamini went on to be appointed Prime Minister by King Mswati and held office for a total
of 17 years.
Citing an SNT report, the Nation said the E1 billion was ‘the entire budget for the royal
households’ allocated for the financial year 2018 – 2019. The sum compares to the E2 billion
budgeted for health; E1.5 billion for Defence and E1.4 billion for Agriculture.
In Swaziland nearly seven in ten of the 1.2 million population live in abject poverty on
incomes less than the equivalent of US$3 per day (about E43).
45
Swaziland has been regularly criticised by the United States for not revealing full details of
the budget to the people. The U.S. Department of State in its 2018 Fiscal Transparency
Report reviewed the kingdom’s budget and concluded that while budget documents ‘provided
a general picture of government revenues and expenditures, revenues from natural resources
and land leases were not included in the budget. Expenditures to support the royal family
were included in the budget but lacked specific detail and were not subject to the same
oversight as the rest of the budget.’
In Swaziland King Mswati controls natural mineral rights. He holds 25 percent of mining
royalties ‘in trust’ for the Swazi Nation. The government also takes 25 percent. The Fiscal
Transparency Report stated, ‘Criteria and procedures for awarding natural resource extraction
licenses and contracts were outlined in law, but the opacity [lack of clarity] of the procedures,
which involve submitting applications for licenses directly to the King, cast doubt on whether
the government actually followed the law in practice.
‘Basic information on natural resource extraction awards was not always publicly available.’
The U.S releases annual reports on fiscal transparency for countries that receive its financial
assistance to ‘help ensure U.S. taxpayer money is used appropriately’. It said Swaziland had
shown no improvement in fiscal transparency since the previous report in 2017.
Swaziland King’s plan for SADC-wide university of transformation quietly shelved

22 February 2019
The plan made by King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland / eSwatini, for his
kingdom to build a new ‘university of transformation’ to take students from across the
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) has been quietly shelved.
He made his pledge in 2016 when he was chair of the organisation. He said it would be up
and running within a year. He also said Swaziland would pay for 300 students to study at the
university.
Now, SADC has quietly dropped the idea. In a move in August 2018 that received little
publicity at the time, SADC said it would try to create a ‘virtue university’ instead. No date
for it to start operating was set.
A virtual university provides higher education programmes through electronic media,
typically the Internet. No details have been worked out yet but it is expected that programmes
would be made available through existing universities across the SADC region.
SADC said in a statement the university would ‘focus on entrepreneurship, innovation,
commercialisation, technology transfer, enterprise development, digital and knowledge
economy, to support the SADC industrialisation agenda’.
King Mswati made the SADC university the major promise of his one-year tenure as Chair of
SADC which started in August 2016.
Both the Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, and the
Swazi Observer, which is in effect owned by the King, reported on 31 August 2016 that King
Mswati told the SADC heads of state summit held at Lozitha, ‘This initiative will give new
46
hope and opportunity to our youth and our women. The intention is to have the first intake of
students prior to the 37th SADC summit in 2017.’
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 kingdom’s largest and oldest university had
been unable to start teaching that academic year because students were protesting against cuts
in 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. The King did not choose 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.
The failure to deliver the university is one of many promises the King has not met. These
included a plan partly financed from in the oil state of Qatar to build a US$4.8bn ‘world class
facility’ that would store at least a three-month supply of fuel for Swaziland. Other plans that
failed to materialise included one to build a pharmaceutical plant, a food processing plant, a
bottled water plant, a cosmetics plant and a granite and marble venture to create more than
3,000 jobs.
In April 2009 King Mswati announced the building of a multi-billion emalangeni Swazi City,
financed by international money and comprising a 25,000 sq m shopping, entertainment and
‘wellness’ centre ‘to rival the world’ creating 15,000 new jobs.
In October 2010, the Swazi Government, which is not elected but handpicked by the King,
announced its ‘fiscal adjustment roadmap’ to save the kingdom’s economy. This would
include attracting investment to create, ‘between 25,000 and 30,000 new jobs’ in the private
sector. These jobs have not materialised.
In 1998 the King was said to have teamed up with pop singer Michael Jackson to bring a
‘Netherland-style’ theme park to Swaziland.
See also
King’s new university stalls
47
8 EVICTIONS
We want our land back, King Mswati

Kenworthy News Media, 16 January 2019
Swaziland’s government has been evicting farmers from their land to expand the monarchy-
controlled sugar industry for decades. After years of empty promises that they could return,
the children of farmers from Mbuluzi are fighting to get their land back.
John Sicelo Vilane was born in the Mafucula community in Eastern Swaziland in 1984, a
year after his parents had been evicted from the village of Mbuluzi near the border to
Mozambique, and relocated to Mafucula – which in siSwati literally means ‘having been
thrown away’ – by order of Swaziland’s absolute monarch.
“The late King Sobhuza II told the residents to give their land to Simunye Sugar Estates to
expand its sugar cane growing business. They were told that the place they were being
relocated to had water, roads, proper shelter, and that 15 years later the residents would
relocate back to their land. Their houses were then demolished in front of them,” John Sicelo
Vilane, who is the Secretary General of the Media Workers Union in Swaziland, explains.
“Arriving at their new home in Mafucula, they were shocked. It was a forest with no houses,
no roads, no shelter, and no compensation. They were given caravans – the only assistance
they got up until today – and built stick and mud houses that were washed away by the
cyclone Domonia in 1984, the year I was born,” Vilane continues.
No security of tenure
Swaziland is an absolute monarchy where the word of the King is law. He appoints the
government and controls parliament, the judiciary and the economy, and he also controls and
benefits personally from the country’s largest export industry, sugar.
Swaziland, with a population shy of 1.5 million, is the fourth largest sugar producer in Africa,
and sugar accounts for a fifth of its GDP. For decades the monarchy has been harassing,
evicting and forcefully relocating poor subsistence farmers without compensation to make
way for sugar-cane fields controlled by King Mswati III.
For many years their plight was more or less overlooked, but in recent years the stories of the
farmers are finally being listened to. In December Zingiswa Losi, the President of trade
federation COSATU from neighbouring South Africa, Swaziland’s largest trade partner by
far, met with sugar cane farmers from Mafucula, Vuvulane and Shewula – a meeting that
John Sicelo Vilane attended. Here she promised to help them regain their land.
In a report from last year, Amnesty International described two cases of forced and unlawful
evictions in Swaziland, concluding that the evictions were in violation of international and
regional human rights law, and were a symptom of “a deeper underlying problem” to do with
a lack of security of tenure.
And in a report from 2016, detailing the land confiscation in Swaziland’s sugar industry, the
International Trade Union Confederation described how “the EU and the USA must realize
48
that by supporting Swaziland through sugar markets they are, in fact, propping up the Swazi
regime.”
‘We want our land back’
American independent watchdog organization Freedom House stated in a press release from
2013 that the Swazi police “are increasing pressure on farmers resisting their unlawful
evictions from land that they have occupied for generations.” A report from the organization
on Swaziland from the same year concluded that, “in Swaziland, property is insecure, and
rightful owners have no effective redress in the legal system which places the king above all
laws.”
So the farmers and their children from Mafucula, as well as other evicted Swazi farmers,
have been forced to accept that they will not be given their land back without a fight.
When it was time to return to Mbuluzi 15 years later, as promised by King Sobhuza, the
committee formed by the around 3.000 inhabitants of Mafucula was rebuffed by King Mswati
III’s chief in the area and the sugar company.
“At the time we lacked those brave warriors who could have told the chief to pave way for
negotiations with the company to resume. Now we, as the youth, have taken it upon ourselves
to work the issue and take another step as a community,” John Sicelo Vilane says.
“Land is power and land is everything. Land is for us all to use, distribute and share equally.
All that we want is justice, all we want is our our land back, and the delaying tactics from the
sugar company won’t solve anything,” he insists.
See also
COSATU to help evicted Swaziland sugar cane farmers regain control of land from
King
EU money pays for lavish Swazi King
Human suffering and Swazi sugar
King exploits sugar workers
49
9 GLOBAL REPORTS
Swaziland continues to be riddled with corruption, new global report shows
31 January 2019
Swaziland / eSwatini continues to be riddled with corruption, according to the latest annual
report from Transparency International.
The kingdom ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch scored
38 out of a possible 100 in the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2018. In 2017 it scored 37 on
a scale where zero is ‘highly corrupt’ and 100 is ‘very clean’. The index ranks countries by
their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople.
Transparency International did not publish details of the corruption in Swaziland, but it is
already widely known. In November 2018 national police Deputy Commissioner Mumcy
Dlamini told an event for International Fraud Awareness Week Swaziland lost E30 million
from the economy because of banking fraud alone during the previous year.
In an annual report ending March 2017, Acting Auditor General Muziwandile Dlamini said
government financial accounts were incomplete, billions of emalangeni were unaccounted for
and laid-down rules, guidelines and procedures were ignored. The offices of the Prime
Minister, National Commissioner of Police, Defence Department and Correctional Services
were among a string of government departments and agencies that broke the law by spending
tens of millions of emalangeni on vehicles and transport running costs without authority.
In December 2017, Swaziland’s Anti-Corruption Commission issued a report suggesting that
79 percent of 3,090 people interviewed in a survey believed that corruption within
government was ‘rife’.
The survey suggested that corruption was perceived to take place mostly in rural councils.
The perceived major causes of corruption were poverty (58 percent), unemployment (54
percent) and greed (41 percent). The survey was conducted by the Swazi Ministry of Justice
and Constitutional Affairs through the ACC.
In June 2017, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) reported the kingdom,
was riddled with corruption in both private and public places.
It said, ‘The results of grand corruption are there for all to see in the ever increasing wealth of
high-level civil servants and officers of state.’
It added, ‘For a long time the police, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce,
Industry and Trade as well as the Department of Customs and Excise have often been
implicated in corrupt practices.’
It gave many examples including the case of the government propaganda organisation
Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Service (SBIS) where E 1.6 million was paid to
service providers for the maintenance of a machine that was neither broken nor in use. The
officer who authorised the bogus job cards has since been promoted and transferred to
another government department.
50
The report called The effectiveness of anti-corruption agencies in Southern Africa stated,
‘This type of behaviour is common albeit covert and therefore difficult to monitor as goods
and services are undersupplied or rerouted for personal use. The results of grand corruption
are there for all to see in the ever increasing wealth of high-level civil servants and officers of
state.’
See also
Corruption rife among security firms servicing Swaziland Government and public
enterprises
Swaziland ‘riddled with corruption’
‘Army among most corrupt in world’
Swaziland declared ‘not free’ in latest global review of human rights

6 February 2019
Swaziland / eSwatini has once again been declared ‘not free’ in Freedom House’s annual
Freedom of the World Index.
The 2019 report just published scores Swaziland 16 out of a possible total of 100. For
political rights it scores seven; for civil liberties it scores six. Each rating is from one to
seven, with one representing the greatest degree of freedom and seven the smallest.
Freedom House reported that countries that score seven for political rights, such as
Swaziland, ‘have few or no political rights because of severe government oppression,
sometimes in combination with civil war. While some are draconian police states, others may
lack an authoritative and functioning central government and suffer from extreme violence or
rule by regional warlords.’
It said countries that score six for civil liberties, as Swaziland does, ‘have very restricted civil
liberties. They strongly limit the rights of expression and association and frequently hold
political prisoners. They may allow a few civil liberties, such as some religious and social
freedoms, some highly restricted private business activity, and some open and free private
discussion.’
Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
Political parties are banned from taking part in elections. The people are only allowed to
select 59 members of the House of Assembly; the King appoints a further 10. None of the 30
members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people. Swaziland held an election in
September 2018 but although the winners in each constituency have been announced the
numbers of votes cast for each candidate have not been made public.
Freedom House is not the only international organisation to highlight the lack of human
rights in Swaziland. The United States in its annual report on the kingdom for 2017 (the most
recent available) stated, ‘The most significant human rights issues included: arbitrary
interference with privacy and home; restrictions on freedoms of speech, assembly, and
association; denial of citizens’ ability to choose their government in free and fair elections;
institutional lack of accountability in cases involving rape and violence against women;
51
criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct, although rarely enforced; trafficking in persons;

restrictions on worker rights; and child labor.
‘With few exceptions, the government did not prosecute or administratively punish officials
who committed abuses. In general perpetrators acted with impunity.’
Amnesty International in a review of Swaziland for 2017 / 2018 stated, ‘Forced evictions
continued to be carried out. The Public Order Act and the Suppression of Terrorism Act
(STA) severely limited the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful
assembly. A ban on opposition parties continued. Gender-related violence remained
prevalent.’
It added, ‘King Mswati approved the Public Order Act on 8 August, which curtailed the
rights to freedom of assembly and association, imposing far-reaching restrictions on
organizers of public gatherings. The Act also failed to provide mechanisms to hold law
enforcement officials accountable for using excessive force against protesters or public
gatherings.’
Human Rights Watch in its report on events in Swaziland in 2016 stated Swaziland,
‘continued to repress political dissent and disregard human rights and rule of law principles in
2016. Political parties remained banned, as they have been since 1973; the independence of
the judiciary is severely compromised, and repressive laws continued to be used to target
critics of the government and the king despite the 2005 Swaziland Constitution guaranteeing
basic rights.’
See also
Legitimacy and credibility of Swaziland election hampered by political parties ban,
UN group reports
Swazi law used against human rights
Swaziland ‘not free’ as King keeps grip on power, Freedom House reports
28 February 2019
King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland /eSwatini, continues to hold a tight grip
on power and all aspects of life in the kingdom, a review of human rights has concluded.
Freedom House scored Swaziland 16 out of a possible 100 points in its Freedom in the World
2019 report. It concluded that Swaziland was ‘not free’.
Freedom House stated, ‘The king exercises ultimate authority over all branches of the
national government and effectively controls local governance through his influence over
traditional chiefs. Political dissent and civic and labor activism are subject to harsh
punishment under sedition and other laws. Additional human rights problems include
impunity for security forces and discrimination against women and LGBT (lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender) people.’
National elections took place in Swaziland in 2018. Freedom House scored Swaziland zero
out of a possible 12 points for its ‘electoral process’. It stated, ‘The king, who remains the
52
chief executive authority, is empowered to appoint and dismiss the prime minister and
members of the cabinet. The prime minister is ostensibly the head of government, but has
little power in practice. Ambrose Dlamini was appointed prime minister in October 2018,
although he was not a member of Parliament at the time of his appointment, as required by
the constitution.
‘Traditional chiefs govern their respective localities and typically report directly to the king.
While some chiefs inherit their positions according to custom, others are appointed through
royal interventions, as allowed by the constitution.
‘The 69-member House of Assembly, the lower chamber of the bicameral Parliament,
features 59 members elected by popular vote within the tinkhundla system, which allows
local chiefs to vet candidates and influence outcomes in practice; the king appoints the other
10 members. The king appoints 20 members of the 30-seat Senate, the upper chamber, with
the remainder selected by the House of Assembly. All members of Parliament serve five-year
terms. After the parliamentary elections in September 2018, the king appointed six members
of the royal family to the House of Assembly, and eight to the Senate. The elections, which
were tightly controlled and featured a slate of candidates almost entirely loyal to the king, did
not offer voters a genuine choice.
‘In August, a senior official at the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) reported that
members of the House of Assembly were accepting bribes in exchange for their votes in
Senate elections. At year’s end, no apparent consequences had followed.’
Freedom House scored Swaziland one point out of a possible 16 for ‘political pluralism and
participation’ stating, ‘The king has tight control over the political system in law and in
practice, leaving no room for the emergence of an organized opposition with the potential to
enter government. The vast majority of candidates who contested the 2018 general elections
were supporters of the king.’
Political parties are banned from taking part in elections. Freedom House stated, ‘Over the
years, political parties seeking legal recognition have suffered court defeats, including a
Supreme Court ruling in September 2018 rejecting a challenge by the Swazi Democratic
Party (SWADEPA) to the ban on political parties competing in elections.’
Swaziland scored zero out of a possible 12 points for ‘functioning of government.’ The king
appoints the Prime Minister and government ministers. Freedom House stated, ‘The king and
his government determine policy and legislation; members of Parliament hold no real power
and effectively act as a rubber stamp in approving the king’s legislative priorities. Parliament
cannot initiate legislation and has little oversight or influence on budgetary matters. The king
is also constitutionally empowered to veto any legislation. The absolute authority of the king
was demonstrated by his decision to rename the country in April 2018 [from Swaziland to
eSwatini] without any constitutional process or parliamentary approval.
Freedom House is not the only international organisation to highlight the lack of human
rights in Swaziland. The United States in its annual report on the kingdom for 2017 (the most
recent available) stated, ‘The most significant human rights issues included: arbitrary
interference with privacy and home; restrictions on freedoms of speech, assembly, and
association; denial of citizens’ ability to choose their government in free and fair elections;
institutional lack of accountability in cases involving rape and violence against women;
53
criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct, although rarely enforced; trafficking in persons;

restrictions on worker rights; and child labor.
‘With few exceptions, the government did not prosecute or administratively punish officials
who committed abuses. In general perpetrators acted with impunity.’
Amnesty International in a review of Swaziland for 2017 / 2018 stated, ‘Forced evictions
continued to be carried out. The Public Order Act and the Suppression of Terrorism Act
(STA) severely limited the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful
assembly. A ban on opposition parties continued. Gender-related violence remained
prevalent.’
It added, ‘King Mswati approved the Public Order Act on 8 August, which curtailed the
rights to freedom of assembly and association, imposing far-reaching restrictions on
organizers of public gatherings. The Act also failed to provide mechanisms to hold law
enforcement officials accountable for using excessive force against protesters or public
gatherings.’
Human Rights Watch in its report on events in Swaziland in 2016 stated Swaziland,
‘continued to repress political dissent and disregard human rights and rule of law principles in
2016. Political parties remained banned, as they have been since 1973; the independence of
the judiciary is severely compromised, and repressive laws continued to be used to target
critics of the government and the king despite the 2005 Swaziland Constitution guaranteeing
basic rights.’
See also
54
10 POLICE AND ARMY ASSAULTS
Swaziland High Court rules army assaulted civilian, must pay him damages
22 March 2019
The High Court in Swaziland / eSwatini has ruled that the army tortured a civilian and has
order it to pay him damages.
High Court Principal Judge Qinisile Mabuza also criticised the kingdom’s police for not
investigating alleged assaults on civilians by members of the army, known officially as the
Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF).
The case followed an incident at Vuvulane in the Lubombo region in October 2003 when
soldiers attacked Themba Maziya and kicked him with heavy boots, punched him with fists
and immersed him in a canal full of water and assaulted him with an electric cable. Soldiers
had accused him of stealing an Army vehicle.
The High Court was told Maziya was assaulted all over the body and the head. As a result he
suffered temporary loss of memory, he had scars all over the body and severe trauma.
The UEDF denied assault.
In her judgement Judge Mabuza said soldiers put Maziya into a van and drove him to a river
where they tied his hands and legs and put him into the river head first. ‘They assaulted him
on the head with the cable and stabbed him on the head with sigeja. They assaulted him on
his back with the cable, kicked him and threw stones at him. He says that a nerve/vein on his
left temple burst due to the assault and from that day be became mentally disturbed.’
The assault continued for two hours until police rescued him and took him to Good Shepherd
Hospital at Siteki where he was admitted for treatment and kept in for a day. He was
subsequently admitted at the psychiatric hospital in Manzini where he stayed for three weeks.
Giving her judgement Judge Mabuza said she was concerned that the police failed to
investigate alleged assaults on civilians as it gave the perception that they protected members
of the UEDF. She said the matter ought to have been investigated by police and the
perpetrators charged with a criminal offence.
Maziya was awarded E70,000 damages.
This was not the only time UEDF forces have been accused of assault. As recently as October
2018 soldiers were accused of torturing farmers who crossed the border with South Africa at
Dwalile to retrieve their straying cattle.
Residents told the Sunday Observer newspaper in Swaziland at the time they were abused
each time they crossed a collapsed fence dividing the two countries to collect their livestock,
which often strayed into South Africa.
The newspaper reported the farmers said members of the UEDF ‘would dip them in a nearby
swamp’ in their clothes.
55
It added, ‘They are also made to do frog jumps, rolled on the ground and some are assaulted
and kicked by the soldiers. Most of the abuse lasts for over an hour and had left some of the
farmers sick.’
In a separate case in June 2018 three soldiers were charged with assault for burying a man
alive after they accused him of stealing a phone from them at Mbekelweni.
In December 2017 soldiers were accused of routinely sexually assaulting women as they
crossed border posts with South Africa. The Observer on Saturday reported at the time, ‘The
army troops have been accused by women of abusing their powers by touching them
inappropriately as they lay their hands on their buttocks just to allow to cross either to South
Africa or into Swaziland.
‘Some women when being searched for illegal goods alleged that they are touched almost
everywhere by the male army officers and these informal crossings.’
The newspaper said the inappropriate behaviour took place ‘almost every day’ around the
Ngwenya informal crossing.
In July 2017 soldiers reportedly forced a bus-load of passengers to strip naked after it crossed
the Mhlumeni Border Gate into Mozambique. Local media reported it happened all the time.
The Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, reported they
were ordered to strip ‘stark naked’ as part of a ‘routine body search’. The newspaper said the
passengers had been on vacation in Mozambique.
In June 2017 it was reported women at the informal crossing situated next to the Mananga
Border Gate with South Africa were made to remove their underwear so soldiers could
inspect their private parts with a mirror. The Swazi Army said it happened all the time.
Soldiers were said to be searching for ‘illegal objects’ using a mirror similar to that used to
inspect the underside of cars.
Once the practice became public knowledge, the Army said it would continue to strip people
and if people did not like it they should stop crossing the border.
In September 2015, the Swazi Parliament heard that soldiers beat up old ladies so badly they
had to be taken to their homes in wheelbarrows. Member of Parliament Titus Thwala said
that the women were among the local residents who were regularly beaten by soldiers at
informal crossing points between Swaziland and South Africa.
The assaults are not confined to border areas. In 2011, a man was reportedly beaten with guns
and tortured for three hours by soldiers at Maphiveni who accused him of showing them
disrespect. He was ordered to do press ups, frog jumps and told to run across a very busy road
and was beaten with guns every time he tried to resist.
In July 2011, three armed soldiers left a man for dead after he tried to help a woman they
were beating up. And in a separate incident, a woman was beaten by two soldiers after she
tried to stop them talking to her sister.
He said that he did more than 50 press ups and he was beaten with guns every time he asked
to rest.
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See also
Army tortures recruitment cheats
Army sexual assaults at border posts
Soldiers inspect woman’s private parts
Another Swaziland magistrate tells police stop beating suspects as number of cases
increase
9 January 2019
Another magistrate in Swaziland / eSwatini has spoken out about the increasing number of
suspects who appear in court with bruises claiming they have been assaulted by police.
Magistrate Sindisile Zwane at Mbabane said she had noticed a number of suspects came
before her in court with bruises and swollen faces and other parts of their bodies.
The Swazi Observer reported on Thursday (3 January 2019) the numbers were increasing
significantly. The newspaper added she said police should be able to question people without
beating them up.
She made her comments during a trial of Jules Tsabedze who was charged with obstructing
two police officers. The Observer reported, ‘The magistrate noticed that the suspect’s face
was swollen and asked why this was the case. Tsabedze narrated that he was beaten by the
police from Eteni all the way to University of Eswatini while in the back of the police
vehicle.’
This was not the first time a magistrate in Swaziland has made a public rebuke of police. In
March 2018 Principal Magistrate at Manzini David Khumalo told police they must not beat
suspects after a man appeared in court with injuries all over his body.
The Swazi Observer reported at the time, ‘The Principal Magistrate warned that accused
persons are citizens of the country and they have rights too. He said they have a right to assist
police with investigations but they cannot be forced to do that by being assaulted.’
Blessing Bakhe Maseko, aged 22, of Madonsa, informed the court through his attorney that
he was heavily assaulted with a sjambok [whip] while inside police cells.
There have been many allegations of police assault in recent times. In November 2018 it was
reported a man from Mangwaneni was left close to death after being allegedly assaulted by
two officers at a police station. He suffered severe internal bleeding, heart seizures, the
swelling of his kidneys and nerve damage on both his arms and legs.
In September 2018 four women were reportedly beaten with sjamboks and pipes and scalded
with boiling water at Siteki police station. Two of them needed hospital treatment for burns
and blisters. They were accused of stealing from shops.
In March 2017 a man accused of multiple murders told Manzini Magistrates’ Court he was
tortured by police for 11 days to force him to confess. He said he was suffocated with a tube
and assaulted all over his body, resulting in many serious injuries. The alleged attack was
said to have taken place at Lobamba Police Station.
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In January 2017 local media reported police forced a 13-year-old boy to remove his trousers
and flogged him at Ngwenya police station with a sjambok, to make him confess to stealing a
mobile phone.
In June 2016 a United Nations review panel looking into human rights in Swaziland was told
in a joint report by four organisations, ‘In Mbabane [the Swazi capital], police tortured a 15-
year-old boy after his mother had reported him for stealing E85.00 (US$6). The boy alleges
that he was beaten with a slasher (metal blade tool for cutting grass) and knobkerrie [club] for
five hours. While enduring the pain, he alleges that he was made to count the strokes aloud
for the police to hear. Instead of being charged, the boy was physically assaulted and made to
sit in a chair for thirty minutes before he was sent back home.’
The report was submitted to the United Human Rights Council Working Group on the
Universal Periodic Review of Swaziland by the Swaziland Multi-Media Community
Network, Swaziland Concerned Church Leaders, Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic
Organisations and Constituent Assembly – Swaziland.
See also
‘Horror tale of Swazi police torture’
Police ‘brutally assault’ workers
More police torture in Swaziland
58
11 MEDIA
First community radio station registered in Swaziland after 19 years trying

7 March 2019
Lubombo has become the first community radio station to be registered in Swaziland /
eSwatini after 19 years of trying. It still has to apply for and be granted a licence before it can
start broadcasting.
Nearly all broadcast media in Swaziland is state controlled and they operate as a propaganda
arm for King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
Lubombo Community Radio made the announcement of registration on its Facebook site,
saying it hoped to mobilise resources so it could apply for the licence to operate. Lubombo
which is in eastern Swaziland has in the past been granted a one-day licence to broadcast
events surrounding the King’s birthday.
A ‘community’ radio station is usually a non-profit service that is owned and managed by the
particular community the radio station serves. If such stations were set up in in Swaziland and
truly served the interests of their community they would challenge the present news media
that is dominated by the needs of political, social and business elites in the kingdom.
At present in Swaziland the broadcast news agenda is manipulated in favour of King Mswati.
Political parties are banned from taking part in elections in Swaziland and the King appoints
the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, as well as top civil servants and judges. No opposition to
the King or his government is allowed on the airways.
A report from UNESCO called Assessment of Media Development in Swaziland, and
published in 2017, revealed the extent to which news is manipulated. It stated, there is a ‘lack
of editorial independence in the state-controlled broadcast media’. It added, ‘Swazi TV and
radio are effectively departments of the civil service and government mouthpieces.’
It stated, ‘In the case of the SBIS [Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Services], which
operates the radio station, the broadcast journalists are considered civil servants first and
journalists second. As they are employed as information officers, they are part of the civil
service and are thus expected to abide by the Government General Orders.
‘As government information officers they are expected to censor disruptive or critical
information likely to compromise national security and frustrate government’s realisation of
socioeconomic development goals, which clearly contravenes the spirit of editorial
independence.
‘In addition, the ICT [Information, Communications and Technology] Ministry has invoked
the Public Service Announcement (PSA) Guidelines to control the state broadcasters. These
guidelines bar all Swazi citizens, irrespective of their status, from airing their opinions on the
radio and television stations before their opinions have been cleared by their chiefs. Thinly
veiled as public announcement guidelines, the PSA guidelines regulate all operations and
activities of the state broadcasters.’
It said no PSA is allowed on air, ‘that is negative or does not support Government’s agenda’.
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UNESCO reported, ‘According to the Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Services

Code of Conduct and Operational Procedures of 1987, all state events and occasions which
involve the presence of the King, Indlovukazi (Queen Mother) and Prime Minister shall
receive priority coverage.
‘Article 3 of the same code stipulates that SBIS is a national radio station fully supported by
the government and therefore broadcasters must abide by the policies and should not allow
their political affiliations to intrude into broadcast messages.’
UNESCO reported this was contrary to international standards on public service
broadcasting, ‘which caters for all people irrespective of their social or economic status in
society. It provides programming for everyone; be it the general public or minority
audiences.’
Broadcasting, UNESCO reported, should be, ‘A meeting place where all citizens are
welcome and considered equals. It is an information and education tool; accessible to all and
meant for all, whatever their social or economic status.’
See also
MPs block Swazi state-radio funds
No chance of open broadcasts
Govt has total control of TV news
The case for community media
60
12 NATIONAL ELECTION
Swaziland absolute king declares national election ‘success’ but full results not released
12 February 2019
King Mswati III, the absolute king of Swaziland / eSwatini, has declared last September’s
national election in his kingdom a ‘success’, even though the full results have never been
published.
The King told the state opening of parliament on Friday (8 February 2019) there was ‘over 60
percent’ voter turnout.
However, there is no way to confirm this because the Kingdom’s Elections and Boundaries
Commission (EBC) has not published the full results, nearly five months after the poll.
After the House of Assembly election took place on 21 September 2018 the EBC promptly
announced the winners at the 59 constituencies (known as tinkhundla) but no break-down
giving the number of votes cast for each candidate has been released.
This is not new in Swaziland: the full results of the previous election held in 2013 have never
been published.
In Swaziland, political parties are banned from taking part in elections and the people are
only allowed to select 59 members of the House of Assembly; the King appoints a further 10.
No members of the 30-strong Swazi Senate are elected by the people; the King appoints 20
members and the House of Assembly elects 10. Following the election King Mswati
appointed six members of his Royal Family to the House of Assembly and eight members to
the Senate.
He also appointed a Prime Minister in contravention of the Swazi Constitution.
The EBC has not released the results of the House of Assembly election, although they are
known. The two national newspapers in Swaziland published some results from individual
tinkhundla as they were announced on the night of the election.
The EBC has the capacity to publish the results. After the first round of the election (known
as the Primary Election) on 24 August 2018, the EBC uploaded on its website all the results.
An analysis of that data discovered a total of 156,973 people voted for members of the House
of Assembly at the Primary Election; 28.83 percent of those who had registered.
In June 2018 after revising the figure the EBC announced that 544,310 people had registered
to vote. It said earlier that 600,000 people in the kingdom were eligible to register. This
meant, according to EBC figures, that 90.7 percent of eligible people had done so. The EBC
figure was questioned after allegations were made of election law breaking. No copy of the
national electoral roll was made public.
The size of the turnout in the Primary Election is important as voting is the only way people
in Swaziland have to demonstrate their support (or lack of it) for the political system. In
1973, King Sobhuza II tore up the constitution, banned political parties and began to rule by
decree. Although a new constitution came into effect in 2006, little has changed and King
Sobhuza’s son King Mswati III continues to rule as an absolute monarch. Political opposition
61
is banned in Swaziland and those who campaign for democracy are often charged under the
Suppression of Terrorism Act.
The voting figures for the Primary Election suggested a lack of support for the political
process. The results of the primary Election have since been removed from the EBC website.
The final round of the election (known as the Secondary Election) was marred by violence
and accusations of bribery, vote-rigging and other malpractice.
Following the election the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) reported the
‘legitimacy and credibility’ of the election was ‘significantly hampered’ because political
parties were banned. It said the King had ‘excessive powers’ in the appointment of the
Government, Parliament and the judiciary.
In its report the HRC said, ‘The legitimacy and credibility of the elections was significantly
hampered by the design of the electoral mechanisms as a culture of political pluralism is
lacking. There is no freedom of genuine and pluralistic political debate, political parties are
unable to register, contest elections, field candidates or otherwise participate in the formation
of a Government.’
In its election report the African Union (AU) called on Swaziland to end the ban on political
parties. AU mission head James Michel, the former Seychelles president, said, ‘The mission
encourages the eSwatini authorities to consider reviewing the 1973 decree on the ban on
political parties and allow them to freely participate in the election.’
The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Election Observation Mission in its
report said the election had been successful, ‘in line with the Constitution of the Kingdom of
Eswatini, and the guiding Legal Framework’. Unlike the AU, it did not have a mandate to
consider whether Swaziland was a democracy.
The Eswatini Elections Support Network which operates under the auspices of the
Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) made no comment about the election being ‘free
and fair’.
See also
Swaziland election observer groups say vote was ‘peaceful’ but fall short of ‘free and
fair’
Violence, corruption, vote-buying reported in Swaziland election. Journalists barred
from entering counting centres
Swaziland (Eswatini) Election 2018: Links to Information and Analysis From Swazi
Media Commentary
Organised Certainty, Why elections in Swaziland are not democratic
62
13 PUBLIC SERVANTS
Swaziland public servants prepare for pay strike amid fears of renewed police violence
against them
25 January 2019
Public servants in Swaziland / eSwatini are due to start a national strike on Monday (28
January 2019) in a dispute over pay. State police have been put on alert and there are fears
they might use violence to disrupt protests as they have done in the past.
Government offices, ministries, departments, schools, clinics, transport departments,
healthcare centres and hospitals, are among areas that could be affected. The strike is
expected to last for five days. It could be repeated each month after that.
Four unions are involved: the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT);
Swaziland National Association of Government Accountants Personnel (SNAGAP);
Swaziland Nurses Association (SNA) and the National Public Service and Allied Workers
Union (NAPSAWU). All are affiliated to the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland
(TUCOSWA).
Workers have been campaigning for the past two years for cost of living salary increases of
6.5 percent. The government says it is broke and has offered zero percent. Unions say
inflation in Swaziland has risen by 14.5 percent over the past two years. In a statement ahead
of the strike the government said, ‘The taxpayers of Eswatini cannot pay cost of living
adjustments (COLA) to Government employees for 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 while other
stakeholders remain unpaid, while there are unfunded deficits and while Government salaries
are already at unsustainable levels.’
Unions dispute this and say the government wastes money on ‘lavish’ spending on ‘non-
priority and capital projects such as the construction of the International Convention Centre
[ICC], funding of festivities such as the Umhlanga Reed Dance, 50/50 celebrations for the
King’s birthday and Independence Day celebrations and catering for huge delegations to
international trips.’
There are fears of police violence during the strike. In the past police fired live bullets, rubber
bullets and teargas at workers and demonstrators who had been legally protesting. In
September 2018 during a three-day strike the streets of Manzini, the kingdom’s main
commercial city, were turned into a ‘battlefield’, according to local media. The Swazi
Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, the kingdom’s absolute monarch,
said the bus rank in Swaziland’s major commercial city was ‘turned into a warzone as stun
grenades, teargas, teasers and rubber bullets became the order of the day’.
The Times of Swaziland , the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, called it an ‘open
battlefield’.
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Armed police had been deployed across Swaziland. Videos and photographs of brutal police
attacks were uploaded on social media. The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) in a
statement said the videos showed ‘unlawful police actions’.
It added, ‘Several workers were wounded after police fired stun grenades to disperse the
crowd in Manzini. These police officers then unleashed a wave of assaults against striking
workers in an effort to quell the protests.’
See also
Police turn Swaziland city into ‘warzone’ as national strike enters second day
Widespread condemnation of Swaziland police brutal attacks on workers
Industrial Court stops Swaziland public servants strike at last minute

28 January 2019
The Industrial Court in Swaziland / eSwatini stopped the national strike by public servants
hours before it was due to start.
At an urgent hearing on Sunday (27 January 2019) Court President Sifiso Nsibande ruled the
strike could not go ahead because there was still a case to be heard before the court.
The strike over a pay claim had been called by four unions: the Swaziland National
Association of Teachers (SNAT); Swaziland National Association of Government
Accountants Personnel (SNAGAP); Swaziland Nurses Association (SNA) and the National
Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU). All are affiliated to the Trade Union
Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA).
Ahead of the strike Swaziland Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini threatened workers they
would be sacked from their jobs if they went ahead and each could face a fine of up to
E10,000. In Swaziland six in ten people have income less than E25 per day.
Following the Industrial Court ruling, SNAT said it would hold a meeting of members on
Monday (28 January 2019) to discuss the way forward.
Swaziland Govt accused of ‘looting’ billions from its workers’ pension fund
1 February 2019
The Government of Swaziland / eSwatini has been accused of ‘looting’ the Public Servants
Pension Fund of E2 billion.
It has taken money without the knowledge of pensioners, it was claimed.
Former Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) President and current member
of the Swaziland Public Pensioners Association Sibongile Mazibuko told a meeting of public
sector workers E2 billion (US$150 million) had been taken from the fund by the government.
The PSPF was established in 1993 for the management and administration of pensions for
government (public sector) employees. According to the PSPF annual report for 2017 it had
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assets of E20.5 billion but liabilities of E27 billion. It has 40,496 active members and 26,035
retired pensioners.
The Swazi Observer reported on Tuesday (29 January 2019), ‘She was highlighting that the
workers could find themselves having nothing to live on during their retiring days because
seemingly, government was looting funds from PSPF. She based what she was speaking
about on a PSPF 2017 annual report.’
It added, ‘Mazibuko said what government was doing was tantamount to looting because it
borrowed the money without the knowledge of pensioners.’
The Observer reported, ‘Civil servants make a certain contribution to PSPF so that they can
live on monthly annuities when they retire. However, it became clear to some of them that
they could find themselves having nothing to live on after they retire.’
In April 2018 pensioners marched to protest against the government taking full control of the
PSPF. They were led by the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) with the
Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), Swaziland Youth Congress
(SWAYOCO) and representatives of other trade unions. They delivered petitions to
government ministries in Mbabane, and to parliament at Lobamba.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported at the time the
pensioners said the PSPF was ‘now at risk of being depleted by government’. It added they
said ‘government will find it easy to loot the pensioners’ money’.
Pensioners feared money in the PSPF would be misused by government. The march came as
King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland, took delivery of an A340 Airbus, his
second private jet. It was paid for out of public funds and may have cost as much as US$30
million. The King also has 13 palaces and fleets of top-of-the range BMW and Mercedes
cars.
Meanwhile, seven in ten of the estimated 1.2 million population live in abject poverty with
incomes less than the equivalent of US$2 per day.
See also
Pensioners march to stop ‘looting’
Swazi Govt steals pension funds
65
14 RAPE
Alleged rape of two-year-old in Swaziland covered up in name of local culture

14 January 2019
The alleged rape of a two-year-old child in Swaziland / eSwatini has been covered up by her
family because Swazi culture does not permit it to be reported to authorities. It is another
example of how culture allows adults to mistreat children, often violently.
The Swazi News reported on Saturday (12 January 2019) that the child had allegedly been
raped by her grandfather but had been denied justice in the name of tibi tendlu which it said
meant ‘sweeping matters under the carpet’.
The newspaper gave details of the rape allegation and added, ‘According to a source close to
the minor, some family members have been threatened with death if they reported the matter
which occurred in March last year.’
In 2017 a report from the University of Edinburgh, backed by the global children’s
organisation UNICEF, said that children in Swaziland were subjected to extreme violence,
often in their homes. It highlighted the place of tibi tendlu in covering up family secrets.
It reported, ‘The widely accepted notion of keeping family matters private to protect the
family or community over the individual was repeatedly cited as a driver of violence and was
also found to be a factor dissuading individuals from intervening when they suspect a child is
abused.’
It added cultural norms prevented children from telling anyone about the violence they
experience; kept community and family members from intervening when they saw a child
being harmed; presented community and institutional barriers to professionals and others
such as teachers seeking to help the child and gave the perpetrator a sense of impunity – such
that they could continue abusing children without consequences.
Data from Swaziland suggested violent discipline in the home, which included physical
punishment and psychological aggression, affected more than 88 percent of all children. The
study findings also revealed that sexual violence and bullying affected 38 percent and 32
percent of children in Swaziland, respectively. The study found that children experiencing
one type of violence were more likely to experience other types of violence. For every girl
child known to Social Welfare as having experienced sexual violence, there were an
estimated 400 girls who had never received help or assistance for sexual violence.
See also
Child’s rights abused in Swaziland
Kids forced to weed King’s fields
Police in Swaziland beat 14-year-old who went to report she had been raped by her
father, court told
15 January 2019
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A young woman in Swaziland / eSwatini told a court police beat her up when she went to
report she had been raped by her father. She was 14 years old at the time.
She said he had repeatedly raped her up to three times a day for years. After she reported him
to police he raped her again as punishment.
The case at Pigg’s Peak Magistrates’ Court was reported by the Times of Swaziland on
Monday (14 January 2019). The newspaper said the woman who it called Nani (not her real
name) reported her father in 2014 when she was 14 years old.
It said she was allegedly beaten up by female officers inside the Siphofaneni police station
where she had gone to seek refuge.
‘She alleged that a police officer hit her using a case register while another officer held her
hands,’ the Times reported.
It added, ‘In 2016, Nani gave birth to a baby girl whom she said was born from the alleged
continued rape by her father. She believes that had the police arrested her father when she
first reported the rape in 2014, she would not have fallen pregnant.’
The court was told the father allegedly began to rape his daughter when she was aged seven.
Nani told the court that her father often had sex with her three times a day until February
2018.
The Times reported that the father allegedly raped her again immediately after she had
reported him to police ‘as a way of punishing her’.
The father was eventually arrested by an officer from the Buhleni Police Post. The case
continues. The father has yet to testify.
Rape and sexual abuse of children is common in Swaziland. In 2013, 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.
A report in Swaziland in 2009 suggested many men in Swaziland believed it was all right to
rape children if their own wives were not giving them enough sex. 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.’
Recorded figures on rape have shown Swaziland to have the fourth highest rate of rape in the
world. In 2015 a report from a US organisation ABCNewspoint stated there were 77.5
registered cases of rape among 100,000 people.
Police in Swaziland have been criticised for their lack of concern over rape victims. In July
2017 the Swazi Observer said rape victims reported their plight was not being treated
seriously by police and often they were simply dropped off at hospital and made to find their
own help. It came at a time when 1,082 rapes had been reported in Swaziland in the previous
two years.
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The newspaper detailed one rape victim who reported her case to police and was taken to
hospital two hours later. ‘On arrival, she was dropped off at the emergency gate from whence
she had to find her way through the hospital after the police pointed her to the general
direction.’
Not knowing the correct procedure she waited in line to be examined by a nurse. The
Observer reported, ‘In the midst of the patients waiting to see nurses was a schoolgirl, in full
uniform, dirty and beaten up, also an alleged survivor of sexual assault. It was only after
several hours of waiting, in her bloody and mud caked clothes that the survivor was assisted
and taken to the Gender Based Violence (GBV) Unit ,which was recently constructed.’
A teacher at a primary school in the outskirts of Manzini told the newspaper she had assisted
a pupil who had been attacked on her way to school and took her to hospital. ‘The process of
getting the rape reported is traumatising the survivors,’ the teacher said. ‘The confusion and
helplessness that comes with such violation is further confounded by the process that it takes
for one to get assistance.’
The teacher added, ‘On reaching the hospital, having secured transport on a taxi, we were
told to go to the police station first in order to enable her to be attended as assault and rape
cases only get attention after being reported to the police.’ She said they were sent from one
police post to another and finally had to wait two hours before being taken to hospital.
The teacher said, ‘If the experience was this traumatic for me as a person assisting, how much
more those who go to the police without assistance and get haphazard reception?’
See also
‘Dad rapes daughter to test virginity’
Custom law lets husbands rape wives
In Swaziland, child rape not unusual
Swaziland students hold hostage lecturers accused of rape and sexual assault
28 March 2019
University lecturers in Swaziland / eSwatini were reportedly held hostage in their offices
amid allegations that they had raped and sexually assaulted students.
It happened at the Kwaluseni campus of the University of Eswatini (formally UNISWA –
University of Swaziland) on Wednesday (27 March 2019) and followed continuing
allegations of mistreatment of students by academic staff.
A lecturer allegedly raped a 21-year-old student from the university last Friday, the Swazi
Observer reported.
The newspaper reported, ‘Students stormed the offices of the lecturers alleged to have
sexually abused students and held them hostage. They proceeded to write messages on the
doors to their offices, making it clear that they were tired of lecturers who abused students.’
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It followed a separate allegation reported in the Observer’s Sunday edition (24 March 2019)
that a lecturer beat a pregnant student in full view of her colleagues. The newspaper reported
the two had been in a persona relationship.
UNESWA Vice Chancellor Professor Justice Thwala said the lecturers had been suspended
pending an independent inquiry. The police have been informed about the rape allegation.
Students have suffered sexual harassment for many years at the university, which has
Swaziland’s absolute monarch King Mswati III as its Chancellor. In 2017 details of
harassment that had been taking place for years was made public. This included a male
administrator showing his private parts to women students and demanding sexual favours
from them before offering assistance.
In November 2012 it was reported at a Colloquium on Sexual Harassment in Higher Learning
Institutions held at the University of Swaziland that some male lecturers demanded sex in
return for good grades.
Women in all walks of life in Swaziland suffer sexual harassment routinely. In 2017 Women
and Law in Southern Africa - Swaziland (WLSA) reported male bosses demanded sexual
favours from their domestic workers.
In July 2016 it was reported that women temporary employees at Swaziland’s Central
Statistics Office (CSO) had allegedly been forced to have sex with their bosses to keep their
jobs.
See also
Parents trade own girls for sex
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15 RULE OF LAW
Renewed criticism that rule of law in Swaziland is ignored as new judges appointed
30 January 2019
The Law Society of Swaziland Secretary Thulani Maseko has criticised recent appointments
of judges in the kingdom saying there was no transparency in the choices and the Swazi
Constitution was ignored.
This was not the first time Swaziland / eSwatini which is ruled by absolute monarch King
Mswati III has been criticised for ignoring the rule of law.
Maseko said five recent appointments to the kingdom’s High Court and Industrial Court
‘undermined the integrity, independence and accountability of the judiciary’. He said the
appointing process had to be fair, transparent and competitive in line with Section 173 (4) of
the constitution which also states appointments should be made on the basis of suitable
qualifications, competence and relevant experience.
He said, ‘If these appointments were done in an open, transparent and competitive way, it
would be clear that some of the appointees would not [have] passed the standard of integrity
required of the judicial office.’
He added the appointments put the judiciary and the entire justice system into disrepute and
undermined the rule of law.
The rule of law is a principle in governance which means that all people – including those in
authority – are subject to the law. Under this principle the law is supreme, setting out
acceptable limits for behaviour and safeguarding against abuse of power.
The independence of judges in Swaziland has been questioned for many years. In 2015, the
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in a submission to a United Nations panel that was
reviewing human rights in Swaziland called for an overhaul of laws and regulations in the
kingdom to take power away from the King.
The ICJ which is composed of 60 eminent judges and lawyers from all regions of the world
said, ‘The judges’ appointment process continues to pose a threat to judicial independence
and impartiality. The Constitution of Swaziland provides that the judges are appointed by the
King after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
‘The King has the ultimate and final say in respect of the appointments to the bench.
‘Moreover, the composition of the JSC and the appointment of its members undermine
confidence in the independent discharge of its mandate, including the consultative role in the
appointment of judges. The JSC is chaired by the Chief Justice, and in addition comprises
two legal practitioners, the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission and two other persons.
All of these individuals are appointed by the King.’
The ICJ added, ‘In addition, some recent judicial appointments have given rise to concern
about the lack of qualification of those appointed. Certain appointments have been publicly
questioned by Swaziland’s legal practitioners and by the Law Society.’
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The ICJ called for an overhaul of the legal system in Swaziland. ‘The authorities of
Swaziland must immediately review the laws and regulations pertaining to the JSC with a
view to bringing them in line with regional and international law and standards, including by
removing the Crown’s [the King’s] control over the JSC’s composition,’ it said.
In a separate report in 2016 the ICJ said the kingdom’s constitution needed to be changed to
bring it in line ‘with regional and universal international law and standards, in particular on
the separation of powers and respect for judicial independence’.
It added, ‘Swaziland’s constitution, while providing for judicial independence in principle,
does not contain the necessary safeguards to guarantee it. Overall, the legislative and
regulatory framework falls short of international law and standards, including African
regional standards.’
In 2014 Caroline James of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) wrote the judiciary
under the then Chief Justice MichaelRamodibedi had ‘become a puppet of King Mswati III,
and the courts, which are supposed to hold the other branches of government to account,
instead further his interests and protect his actions.
‘In 2011 the Chief Justice issued an official practice directive that no courts could entertain
any legal suits filed against the King and his office. This directive shields the King from
constitutional challenges brought against him as head of government, as well as actions
brought against him in his personal capacity. This allows him to act with impunity, and
completely removed any mechanism for accountability.
‘Later that year, one of the few independent thinking judges on the High Court bench, Judge
Thomas Masuku, was impeached and removed from his position. Without Masuku the
number of judges willing to apply the law impartially has been reduced, and as the Chief
Justice himself allocates all cases before the High Court, he is able to ensure that any
politically sensitive matters are given to judges he knows will rule in the government’s
favour.’
She said the judiciary was being used to punish those who dared to speak out.
‘The offence of contempt of court exists to protect the integrity of the judiciary and prevent
interference with justice, and not to prevent legitimate criticism of judges and their conduct.
However, the range of conduct covered by the offence appears to have been widened, and is
being used in Swaziland to shield judges from criticism. This broad interpretation has
removed any certainty individuals may have over what they may or may not say about the
judiciary.’
See also
Jurists: deep flaws in legal system
Swazi judicial crisis: King’s word is law
Not enough Supreme Court judges so Swaziland Terrorism Act appeal postponed
20 March 2019
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The Supreme Court in Swaziland /eSwatini postponed hearing the government’s appeal
against a judgement declaring parts of the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act and
Suppression of Terrorism Act unconstitutional because it did not have enough judges to form
a bench.
Usually, the Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala sits with four other judges. The Times of
Swaziland on Wednesday (20 March 2019) reported there were seven judges in the Supreme
Court and Maphalala said a majority of them had dealt with the matter one way or the other
in the past.
He said the case would be postponed until they could find sufficient judges.
The case had originally been tabled for October 2017 but did not go ahead because the
government’s representatives did not attend court. The case was reinstated in March 2018 and
has taken a year to get to its current position.
Both Acts have been used by successive governments of King Mswati III who rules
Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch to stop advocates for democratic
reform. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections and the King chooses the
Prime Minister, the Cabinet and all senior judges.
In September 2016, Swaziland’s High Court ruled that sections of the two Acts were
unconstitutional. Judges said the Acts contravened provisions in the Constitution on freedom
of expression and freedom of association.
The ruling was delivered after years of campaigning to have the Acts overturned.
In 2015 Amnesty International renewed its criticism of Swaziland for the ‘continued
persecution of peaceful political opponents and critics’ by the King and his authorities.
The human rights organisation called for the two Acts to be scrapped or drastically rewritten.
It said the Swazi authorities were using the Acts, ‘to intimidate activists, further entrench
political exclusion and to restrict the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression,
association and peaceful assembly.’
Amnesty said the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act violated Swaziland’s human rights
obligations. It placed the onus on the accused to prove that their alleged acts, utterances or
documents published were not done with ‘seditious intention’.
The Act also obliged courts to conduct proceedings in camera relating to an offence under the
Act if so requested by the prosecution.
Amnesty also said the Suppression of Terrorism Act was incompatible with Swaziland’s
human rights obligations because of, ‘The failure to restrict the definition of ‘terrorist act’ to
the threatened or actual use of violence against civilians;
‘The failure of the definition to meet the requirements of legality, that is, accessibility,
precision, applicability to counter-terrorism alone, non-discrimination and non-retroactivity.’
It added offences were, ‘defined with such over-breadth and imprecision that they place
excessive restrictions on a wide range of human rights, including the right to hold opinions
without interference and the right to freedom of expression.’
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See also
Scrap Swazi Terror Act – Amnesty
No amnesty in ‘terror’ cases
Swazi Terror Act stops free speech
‘Opposition to King is terrorism’
73
16 LGBTI
‘Bisexual’ pastor suspended by Swaziland church in latest example of LGBTI
discrimination
5 March 2019
A pastor in Swaziland / eSwatini has been suspended from his church after being accused of
being a bisexual.
The Times of Swaziland newspaper on Monday (4 March 2019) published details of an audio
recording it said included the pastor from Siphofaneni ‘proposing love to another man’.
The Times did not name the pastor or the church for ethical reasons.
It reported, ‘Subsequently, elders of the church suspended the pastor from all church
activities, including ministering the Word of God.’
The pastor reportedly locked the church which forced people to worship under a tree.
Churches in Swaziland where homosexual acts are illegal are at the lead in encouraging
discrimination against LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) people.
In the past Melusi Simelane, spokesperson for Rock of Hope, an LGBTI advocacy group,
said, ‘It is worth noting that many in the religious circles, continue to spew hate speech and
show utter disregard for the deeds of the Lord, by being judgmental and expelling some of
the LGBTI community from their places of worship.’
Gender Links, an advocacy group based in Johannesburg, South Africa, reported LGBTI
people in Swaziland expressed concern about the lack of respect shown to them because of
their sexual orientation.
Sifiso Nhlabatsi, writing on the website of Gender Links, an advocacy group based in
Johannesburg, South Africa, said LGBTI people in Swaziland had tried to engage churches to
sensitize them about their rights but had little success.
Nhlabatsi wrote about a meeting held between pastors and members of the LGBTI
community in August 2018. ‘During the meeting which was attended by over 20 pastors and I
was also part of, pastors made it clear that they cannot allow gay people to “flaunt” their
behaviour in front of congregants. Pastors said what is being done by LGBTI community is
“demonic” and through prayer maybe can be healed.’
Nhlabatsi added, ‘The meeting which started off on a good note ended on a sour note as the
two parties had a clash of opinions. Senior Pastors in the country did not even bother to
attend the dialogue.’
Swaziland is a tiny landlocked kingdom with a population of about 1.3 million people, mostly
living in rural communities. It is ruled by King Mswati III who is one of the world’s last
absolute monarchs who reportedly described homosexuality as being ‘satanic.’
In May 2016 four organisations jointly reported to the United Nations about LGBTI
discrimination in Swaziland. Part of their report stated, ‘LGBT[I]s are discriminated and
condemned openly by society. This is manifest in negative statements uttered by influential
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people in society e.g., religious, traditional and political leaders. Traditionalists and
conservative Christians view LGBT[I]s as against Swazi tradition and religion. There have
been several incidents where traditionalists and religious leaders have issued negative
statements about lesbians.’
On a more progressive note, Ark of Joy International Ministry, a church that welcomes and
supports LGBTI people, relaunched in Coates Valley, Swaziland in December 2018.
See also
LGBT Pride film shows what it’s like to live with prejudice and ignorance in
Swaziland
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17 WOMEN
Woman, 36, in Swaziland beaten and ordered to leave home because she is not married
18 January 2019
A 36-year-old woman in Swaziland / eSwatini was beaten by three of her close relatives and
ordered to leave home because she had no job and was not married.
The case which was reported in local media shines a spotlight on the plight of women in the
male-dominated kingdom ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute
monarch.
The Times of Swaziland reported on Wednesday (16 January 2019) that the woman whom it
named had been beaten by three close relatives, including a woman. They hit her in the face
with a brick. The newspaper published a photograph of her with a swollen face.
The Times reported, ‘She was given strict instructions to leave the homestead and get
employment or find a husband to marry her.’
The newspaper added she said, ‘she was being blamed for misfortunes by relatives at the
homestead because she was not married’.
The case highlights the position of women in Swaziland where by tradition they are
considered to be owned by their fathers or their husbands.
Women remain oppressed in Swaziland and a main reason for this is King Mswati III who
rules as an absolute monarch, according to report on women in the kingdom published in
2016.
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.’
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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 Women’s Rights in Swaziland 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 was 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.
In March 2018 the European Union in Swaziland began funding a three-year project called
Supporting Women Empowerment & Equality in Swaziland (SWEES) to advocate for and
support women’s rights in the kingdom.
In 2009 a report conducted by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on behalf of the
Swaziland Ministry of Economic Planning and Development found, ‘Unfortunately, the
status of women is so lower than that of men, that she will not eat until everyone has eaten.’
During meal times, the women waited for the men and the youth to eat before they did.
‘Eating last also means that her choice of food is limited,’ the report said. ‘Traditionally, she
does not consume milk and its products at her marital home, unless she earns permission
through the offer of liphakelo beast by her husband.’ This is when the husband gives the
woman a cow for her own use.
In September 2018 a report published by Afrobarometer found women’s rights continued to
be ‘a challenging issue’ in Swaziland.
‘Violence and abuse are a major development concern in eSwatini profoundly affecting
women and children,’ the report stated.
About one in three women experienced some form of sexual violence as a child, and one in
four experienced other forms of physical violence as a child.
After surveying 1,200 adults in Swaziland, Afrobarometer reported people thought the Swazi
Government was doing well in promoting opportunities and equality for women but fewer
than one in three (29 percent) of people thought that these had actually improved ‘compared
to a few years ago’.
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The survey suggested, ‘Strong majorities of the Swazi population support equal rights for
women when it comes to land and work. About seven in 10 (69 percent) say women should
have the same right as men to own and inherit land, and almost two-thirds (64 percent)
disagree with the idea that men should have more right than women to jobs when
employment is scarce.
‘However, when it comes to gender roles in the home, seven in 10 respondents (71 percent)
prefer that a woman, rather than a man, take care of the household and children.’
See also
Rise in gender-based violence
Sex bill highlights culture issues
Shocking lives for Swazi women
Wives say husbands can rape them
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18 AND THE REST …

Couple in Swaziland face up to 15 years jail under new sexual offences law for making
love in front of a child
7 January 2019
A couple in Swaziland / eSwatini might face up to 15 years in jail because they had sex in
front of a child.
It is thought to be the first case of its kind brought under the new Sexual Offences and
Domestic Violence (SODV) Act.
Nkosinathi Mamba, aged 24, and Nonhle Ndlovu, aged 23, have been remanded on bail by
Siphofaneni Circuit Court on 29 March 2019.
The court was told that the couple had sex in front of a nine-year-old who was accompanied
by an elderly man. The man reported them to the police. They pleaded guilty at court,
according to the Times of Swaziland.
They were charged under Section 41 of the SODV Act which came into force in 2018 and
states it is illegal to compel or cause a child to be present or to watch that person while
committing a sexual act.
The Times reported Mamba told Siphofaneni Circuit Court they thought the man and child
were asleep.
It took about 10 years for the SODV Bill to go through the Swaziland Parliament before it
was finally passed in 2018. Its main aim was to prevent violence against women but it also
contained a number of clauses that offended traditionalists in the male-dominated society.
Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. He had
15 wives before one ran away and another died.
Commenting in 2018 on the SODV Bill before it was passed the International Commission of
Jurists (ICJ) said attitudes in Swaziland towards domestic violence demonstrated strong
support for traditional gender roles, high levels of rape-supportive attitudes and tolerant
attitudes for violence.
The ICJ said, ‘For example, only 51 per cent of men have been surveyed as believing that a
woman may refuse to have sexual intercourse with her husband, while 88 per cent believe a
woman should obey her husband and 45 per cent believe a husband has a right to punish his
wife if she does something he deems is wrong.’
Other offences under the SODV Act include having sex with animals (maximum 10 years
jail); having sex with a dead person (15 years jail) and flashing genitals or anus (5 years).
See also
‘Urgent need to pass sex offences bill’
Dad rapes daughter (16) to test her virginity
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Poisonous chemicals in Swaziland river affects thousands. Children eat dead fish
11 January 2019
Poisonous chemicals have been dumped into the Mlumati River in Swaziland / eSwatini
killing hundreds of fish and affecting more than 3,000 people who rely on its water.
It happened near Lufafa Gold Mine. The Mlumati River supports communities at Lufafa,
Hhelehhele, Mbasheni, Ntfonjeni, Zibonele, Emvembili, Matsamo, Timphisini and
Driekoppies. It also serves parts of neighbouring South Africa.
According to the Swazi Observer poisoned waste entered the river on Monday (7 January
2019).
Hhelehhele caretaker chief Prince Nkhosi Mankenya said children gathered dead fish, cooked
and ate them. He said, ‘It is a sad truth that people, mostly children, are collecting and eating
the dead fish. I have asked community police to try and remove as much of the dead fish as
possible from the community for disposal into dug up pits.’
The eSwatini Environment Authority has collected water samples for testing.
Communications Officer Belusile Mhlanga told the Observer, ‘These samples are to be
analysed in a laboratory to identify the cause of death in the fish. After establishing the cause
of death, we will then approach the suspects with evidence in hand. At this particular point,
the suspects will be given time to explain if the toxic water dumping was intentional or an
accident.’
She added, ‘After this grace period, the suspects are then arrested and brought before court
for the illegal disposal of toxic waste. If found guilty, they face a fine of E250,000
[US$18,000] for their reckless disposal of the waste. It is important to note that most
organisations have government permits to dispose of their waste after treating it.’
National Disaster Management Agency Communications Officer Wandile Mavuso said

currently the incident could not be labelled a disaster but people should be careful and avoid
eating the dead fish until all information is collected.
The poisoning highlights the poor state of water provision in Swaziland. According to
WaterAid almost one in three of the kingdom’s 1.3 million people do not have clean water
and two in five have nowhere to go to the toilet. More than 200 children aged under five die
each year from diarrhoea.
According to the eSwatini Environment Authority the main sources of pollution in rivers in
Swaziland are agricultural activities. Pollution from fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and
other agrochemicals is thought to be increasing. Another source of agricultural pollution is
livestock excreta.
See also
King makes poor use filthy water
Gold mine adds to Swazi King’s wealth
Swaziland chief bans alcohol. Shows how chiefs have complete control in area they rule
80
21 January 2019
A chief in Swaziland / eSwatini has banned alcohol in his area. It is another example of how
chiefs in the kingdom have complete control over their people.
The ban happened in Qomintaba. Chief Gasa waNgwane Dlamini issued the ban after youths
allegedly got drunk and attacked elderly people with spears.
Chiefs are appointed by King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland. They rule in
his name and have unlimited powers; sometimes literally of life and death.
The international news agency AFP reported a spokesperson for the chief saying, ‘The
violent behaviour of drunk youths who spear and assault elderly people is the reason why the
chief decided to ban alcohol.
‘In this area we have a problem of a high rate of drinking among youths caused by high
unemployment.
‘This causes them to spend a lot of time drinking traditional concoctions and smoking dagga
(marajuana).’
Chief Gasa waNgwane Dlamini was in the news ahead of Swaziland’s national election in
September 2018. In April there was a campaign at Lavumisa that includes Qomintaba.
The Swazi Observer reported at the time people were angry at ‘the draconian laws imposed
allegedly by the leadership of the area’.
Lavumisa Chief Gasa WaNgwane’s main royal residence is Qomintaba. There are almost 16
mini-chiefdoms in Lavumisa, all which report to Qomintaba. Constituencies under Lavumisa
include Sigwe, Somntongo and Matsanjeni South.
The Observer reported, ‘There has been instability in the area with some of the residents,
including close family members of the ruling household, questioning Gasa WaNgwane’s
leadership style. It is said some of the close family members and residents no longer
participate in activities organised by the leadership.’
Chiefs in Swaziland are appointed by King Mswati and wield tremendous power over their
subjects. They can, for example, determine whether people are allowed to live in the area, or
whether children can attend universities and colleges. In some cases they decide who lives
and who dies as they are in charge of distributing international food aid to starving
communities. About a third of the population of Swaziland receive food aid each year.
Chiefs can and do take revenge on their subjects who disobey them. There is a catalogue of
cases in Swaziland. For example, Chief Dambuza Lukhele of Ngobelweni in the Shiselweni
region banned his subjects from ploughing their fields because some of them defied his order
to build a hut for one of his wives.
Nhlonipho Nkamane Mkhatswa, chief of Lwandle in Manzini, the main commercial city in
Swaziland, reportedly stripped a woman of her clothing in the middle of a street in full view
of the public because she was wearing trousers.
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In November 2013, the newly-appointed Chief Ndlovula of Motshane threatened to evict

nearly 1,000 of his subjects from grazing land if they did not pay him a E5,000 (about
US$500 at the time) fine, the equivalent of more than six months income for many in
Swaziland.
In March 2017 the Swazi Observer reported the EBC told residents during a voter education
exercise at Engwenyameni Umphakatsi, ‘it was not acceptable have elected politicians to
behave as if they were above community leaders’.
It added, ‘Chiefs remain superior to any other person in communities as they are the
administrative arm of His Majesty King Mswati III.’
See also
Chief punishes residents with fine
King's defiant subjects ‘will burn’
Chief forces subjects to greet King
Bullying chiefs rule in Swaziland
Chief makes woman in pants strip
Swaziland court threatens jail to man who wore his shorts in ‘sagging’ style
4 February 2019
A court in Swaziland / eSwatini sentenced a man to five months in jail with the option of a
fine because he allowed his shorts to slip down over his buttocks and expose his underwear in
the fashion style known as ‘sagging’.
Mbuyave Maziya, aged 24, was found guilty of breaking the Urban Areas Act.
The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom ruled by King
Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, reported on Friday (1 February
2019) Maziya from Mankayane was stopped by a police officer when he was out with his
mother.
The newspaper reported he said, ‘I was wearing my sagged shorts and vest and the officer
demanded that I pull my pants up.’
The Times added Maziya said he was a young man who expressed himself through his
fashion sense and music and he was also a rapper.
He was sentenced to five months imprisonment with a fine option of E500 by Mankayane
National Court. In Swaziland seven in ten of the 1.2 million population have incomes less
than E25 per day.
This was not the first time in Swaziland that people have been victimised because of personal
choices they made.
In October 2017 it was reported people had been refused national identity cards because of
their hairstyles. It happened at a time when schoolchildren across the kingdom queued for
IDs following a new rule that they had to have them to sit examinations.
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The Swazi Observer reported at the time officials at BMD [registration] offices refused to
take photographs of applicants they considered had inappropriate hairstyles.
The newspaper said, ‘They said they were told by one of the officers that if they had
hairstyles, they had to fix them and return to the BMD offices with their natural hairstyles.’
One boy interviewed by the newspaper had a Mohawk hairstyle.
In a separate case, at the national election in 2013 Mana Mavimbela, aged 18, drew
international attention when she tried to have herself nominated to stand in the primary
election for the House of Assembly. The official presiding officer, employed by the Elections
and Boundaries Commission, refused to allow her to do so because she was dressed in jeans.
Mavimbela was not the only woman discriminated against at the nominations because she
was wearing pants. Fakazile Luhlanga of Ndvwabangeni in the Mhlangatane constituency
was also not allowed permission to nominate a candidate as she was wearing cargo pants.
Local media reported Luhlanga saying she was told that she was dressed like a man and
would be a bad influence to the community members as they would want to emulate her.
Some chiefs across Swaziland imposed a ban on women wearing trousers, shorts or mini-
skirts at nomination centres. Chief Petros Dvuba of Mpolonjeni in Mbabane, the kingdom’s
capital, said people who would be going to the nominations should dress properly and show
respect as it was King Mswati III’s exercise. He told local media, ‘Even those who have
relaxed hair should cover their heads when going to that place.’
In a separate incident away from the election, Nhlonipho Nkamane Mkhatswa, chief of
Lwandle in Manzini, the main commercial city in Swaziland, reportedly stripped a woman of
her clothing in the middle of a street in full view of the public because she was wearing
trousers.
Also, three women in Dvokolwako in Swaziland were summoned by ‘traditional authorities’
for wearing trousers after elders in the area had banned them. One woman said someone
reported her after she was spotted wearing jeans as she was walking to the shops. Another
woman was said to be wearing pants at her home when she was charged.
See also
Woman in pants banned from election
‘Secret plan’ to create National Intelligence Agency in Swaziland

19 February 2019
There is a secret plan in Swaziland / eSwatini to set up a National Intelligence Agency,

an investigative website has reported.
The new body would report directly to King Mswati III, the kingdom’s absolute monarch, the
Swaziland News said.
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The former National Commissioner of Police and present senator Isaac Magagula is said to
be spearheading the move.
The new body would work closely with the police and correctional services in Swaziland
which make up the kingdom’s present civilian security services, the Swaziland News
reported.
The website reported Government Spokesperson Percy Simelane saying it was normal for
countries within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to have national
intelligence agencies. He added he had not been told of any developments in Swaziland.
The website reported that ‘sources within the security forces’ told it that in November 2018
Senator Edgar Hillary sought an appointment with the new Prime Minister Ambrose
Mandvulo Dlamini to convince him to establish the NIA ‘and that he [Edgar Hillary] was the
rightful person to head it’.
No details of the objectives of the new NIA have come to light. In other countries,
intelligence agencies are run by the government (often in secret) to collect information in
support of national security and military objectives.
One of the most famous intelligence agencies was South Africa’s Bureau of State Security
(BOSS) which operated during the apartheid years.
There is a long history of police spying in Swaziland. Police routinely video legal public
demonstrations and protest marches. They then use the information to deprive people of
college scholarships, jobs in the army, police, and correctional services or promotions in
government departments, the Swaziland News reported in July 2018.
In September 2017 the Sunday edition of the Swazi Observer newspaper reported police in
Swaziland disguised themselves as news reporters at a march of public servants in Mbabane.
It called it ‘spying’ and said it had happened before at other public demonstrations, ‘They
[police] are always plain clothed and carry traditional journalistic tools including cameras and
notebooks,’ the newspaper reported.
It added police took video and still photographs of marchers. The newspaper speculated that
these might be used to later track down and intimidate participants. The march was legal. A
police spokesman said they were not spying because the march took place in a public place.
In June 2017 some senior politicians in Swaziland reported fears their phones were being
tapped. One also thought his car might be bugged.
In July 2013 it was reported that police in Swaziland were spying on the kingdom’s members
of parliament. One officer disguised in plain clothes was thrown out of a workshop for MPs
and one MP reported his phone had been bugged. Ntondozi MP Peter Ngwenya told the
House of Assembly at the time that MPs lived in fear because there was constant police
presence, in particular from officers in the Intelligence Unit.
In Swaziland, political parties are banned from taking part in elections and King Mswati rues
as an absolute monarch. Pro-democracy campaigners are routinely prosecuted under the
Suppression of Terrorism Act and the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act.
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See also
Top Swazi politicians’ ‘phones bugged’
State police spy on Swazi MPs
Police spies infiltrate media
Swaziland ‘becoming military state’
Swaziland youth calls for democracy at National Congress

Kenworthy News Media, 18 February 2019
The biggest youth movement in Swaziland, the Swaziland Youth Congress, called for
democracy at its 12th National Congress last weekend. The congress was held in South Africa
because of repression in Swaziland against organisations who call for democracy.
The main theme of the first National Congress of the Swaziland Youth Congress
(SWAYOCO) since 2013 was democracy and “reawakening youth zeal for liberation.”
“We are committed to a peaceful transition from the current dictatorship under the monarchy
to a democratic Eswatini [Swaziland]. As young people, we want liberation now, because the
injustice to Swazis has long overstayed its time,” says newly elected President Sonkhe Dube.
Dube, a teacher by profession, had told congress that it was an “enormous task to build
[SWAYOCO into] an effective organization capable of transforming its beautiful slogans into
action.” The congress came at a time when SWAYOCO has been “battered by the regime” in
recent years, the organization said in a statement.
In the statement, SWAYOCO also said that it would work with the labour movement and
marginalized groups in Swaziland such as the LGBTI-community, and that the organisation
was seeking international help to achieve democracy in Swaziland.
Liberation and social justice
SWAYOCO, a member of the International Union of Socialist Youth, was formed in 1991, as
the youth league of Swaziland’s largest democratic movement, the People’s United
Democratic Movement. Both organisations were proscribed under Swaziland’s Suppression
of Terrorism Act, an act that Amnesty International called “inherently repressive” when it
was implemented in 2008.
Amongst other things, SWAYOCO has previously launched campaigns against Swaziland’s
“undemocratic elections” and for political awareness in Swazi schools, demanded smart
sanctions against the country’s royal family, and that the International Criminal Court arrest
Swaziland’s absolute monarch King Mswati III.
“The renewal of SWAYOCO will inspire the youth to demand their rights and define their
role in the creation of a new kingdom of Eswatini [Swaziland]. We will sell the idea of
liberation and social justice to the people,” says President Sonkhe Dube.
Outgoing President Bheki Dlamini agrees. “I am delighted to hand over the baton to other
comrades. I have dedicated all my youth to fighting Mswati’s oppression. I shall continue to
support the new leadership and the broader struggle for democracy,” Dlamini said.
85
A dangerous job
Sonkhe Dube has, along with many other SWAYOCO-members, personally experienced
Mswati’s oppression. In 2009 and 2011, he was detained and tortured by police at peaceful
SWAYOCO rallies. And in 2013, he fled to exile in neighbouring South Africa after again
having been arrested by police, tortured and threatened that they would “come back and deal
with me.”
Because being a member of SWAYOCO, let alone President, is a dangerous job.
SWAYOCO’s first President Benedict Didiza Tsabedze died in a mysterious car accident
next to the royal palace in 1996 after having been taken to the hospital by the police.
SWAYOCO member Sipho Jele was found hanged in his cell under mysterious
circumstances, after having been arrested for wearing a PUDEMO t-shirt.
Several other former SWAYOCO leaders, including Wandile Dludlu, Maxwell Dlamini and
Bheki Dlamini, have all been tortured by police, detained, and later released without charge.
Bheki Dlamini after having spent nearly three years in prison.
SWAYOCO member Zonke Dlamini served a long prison-sentence for charges he insists he
only admitted to under torture. And other SWAYOCO members have been beaten up, tear-
gassed and shot with rubber bullets by police, as well as detained, shot and killed.
Amnesty International described in 2017 how “repressive legislation” and “politically
motivated trials and laws that violate the principle of legality … continue to be used to
suppress dissent” in Swaziland.
See also
Youth want democracy in Swaziland
How Swazi state harasses activists
Death penalty available in Swaziland, but no plans to use it, Justice Minister says
11 March 2019
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in Swaziland / eSwatini Pholile Shakantu
said the kingdom was not ready to use the death penalty, even though it remained lawful to
do so.
Shakantu was speaking at a portfolio committee at the Swaziland Senate.
There has been confusion over the use of the death penalty for many year. Section 15 of the
Swaziland Constitution that came into effect in 2006 allows for the death penalty but states it
is not be mandatory. The last execution in Swaziland was in 1983.
In 2016 Swaziland voted at the United Nations on a global suspension of executions but
made no attempt back home to ban the death penalty.
The Swazi Observer reported on Monday (11 March 2019) that Shakantu, speaking at the
Swazi Senate, said the kingdom did not embrace the death penalty in practice.
86
Shakantu said the kingdom had not made any move towards abolition as it was up to
Parliament to amend laws that included the death penalty.
As recently as 2012 an advert was placed in local media seeking a hangman. No suitable
applications were received, the then Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Chief
Mgwagwa Gamedze told parliament.
There are believed to be at least three people on ‘death row’ in jail awaiting execution,
including David Simelane who was convicted in 2011 of killing 28 women.
See also
Swazi killer sentenced to hang
Swaziland wants to appoint hangman
Death penalty test for human rights
Muslims in Swaziland fear xenophobia as plan to build mosque rejected

20 February 2019
Muslims in Swaziland / eSwatini have accused local government councillors of being

‘xenophobic’ because they refused to allow a mosque to be built in Matsapha, one of the
kingdom’s major industrial towns.
They said councillors told them that they were of the Christian faith and therefore they could
not allow the mosque to be built.
This was stated during a commission of inquiry set up by the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Development into the affairs of Matsapha Town Council.
Newspapers in Swaziland reported that the plan for a mosque was made in 2017 and rejected.
The Times of Swaziland reported, ‘They [the Muslims] labelled the council as having a
xenophobic attitude after it threw out their application.’
The Swazi Observer reported, ‘The community submitted that the councillors told them that
they were of the Christian faith, therefore, they cannot allow the construction of that
mosque.’
The Observer added, ‘All they wanted from the Council was to be granted permission to
build the house of worship. They explained that the construction site or plot legally belonged
to them, they were not asking for land.’
The Observer added other towns in Swaziland had allowed mosques to be built.
Muslims in Swaziland, who are almost all of Asian heritage, have faced prejudice in the past.
In November 2016 the Observer on Saturday reported Swaziland’s Director of Public
Prosecutions Nkosinathi Maseko saying, ‘most nationals of Asian origin were associated with
terrorist activities’. It reported he told this to a parliamentary select committee set up to
investigate what the newspaper called an ‘influx of illegal immigrants’ into the kingdom.
87
The newspaper reported Maseko had said, ‘it was public information that most nationals of
Asian origin were associated with terrorist activities; and their continued entry illegally put
the country and its citizens at high risk of being a nucleus for terrorist activities.’
Maseko and the Observer gave no evidence to support this.
In September 2016 it was reported undercover police were infiltrating Muslim mosques to
attend Friday prayers. The Times, reported that undercover police were also suspected of
monitoring the Muslim community.
‘We do not understand the perception of the local people regarding the Islamic religion,’ one
source told the Times. He added that Muslims were perceived as people who wanted to
perpetuate violence.
At about the same time, the Muslim community in Swaziland were 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.
In November 2016, Muslim visitors to Swaziland said they were ‘terrorised’ by local police.
The Imam of Ezulwini Islamic Centre, Feroz Ismail, said guests had visited the kingdom
from across Africa for a graduation and Jasla Ceremony. The Times reported him saying the
guests, ‘were abused while in the country. They informed me that they were terrorised by the
police while visiting some tourist attraction areas including the glass and candle factory.’
He said police demanded that the visitors produce their passports and other documents
required for visitors to be in the country.
The Times reported Ismail saying, ‘They were ferried in police vehicles to their hotel rooms
as the officers demanded that they immediately produce documents which proved that they
were in the country legally.’
In 2017 the Swazi Government, which is not elected but appointed by King Mswat III, who
rules as an absolute monarch, announced that Christianity would be the only religion to be
taught in schools.
When the present Swaziland Constitution which came into effect in 2006 was being drafted it
was decided not to insist that Swaziland was a Christian country. This was to encourage
freedom of religion.
According to the CIA World factbook religion in Swaziland is broken down as Zionist (a
blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40 percent, Roman Catholic 20
percent, Muslim 10 percent, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30
percent.
See also
All Asians banned from Swaziland
Asians evicted from home
88
ABOUT THE EDITOR
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 edits a weekly email newsletter with news from and about Swaziland, compiled in
collaboration with Africa Contact, Denmark (www.afrika.dk) and sent to all with an interest
in Swaziland - free of charge. To subscribe mail to: SAK-Swazinewsletter-
subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk
89
Swaziland Striving for Freedom Vol 32 October to December 2018 is available free of
charge here
King Mswati III demonstrated how powerful he is as the absolute monarch of Swaziland /
eSwatini by ignoring provisions in the constitution when he selected a Prime Minister and
other members of parliament following the September 2018 election. He also appointed eight
members of his Royal Family to the kingdom’s Senate and six to the House of Assembly.
Full results of the elections, which were widely recognised outside the kingdom to be
illegitimate because political parties are banned from taking part, have still not been released.
There were also reports of bribery and other voting irregularities.
These were some of the stories that appeared on the Swazi Media Commentary website in the
final three months of 2018.
Swaziland faces a period of continued unrest because the elections were unable to change
anything, according to global analysts Fitch Solutions. Risks to stability in the kingdom are
growing, it said. The Government – handpicked by King Mswati – continued to lurch from
one financial crisis to another and pensions were not paid to the elderly.
On a more positive note a church in Swaziland openly welcomed LGBTI people but
discrimination against this group of people remains rife. A ground-breaking documentary on
life as an LGBTI person in Swaziland was released on YouTube and focussed on the first
ever Pride event that took place in June 2018.
Workers continued to be oppressed and riot police invade a hospital during peaceful nurses’
protest. Police were sent into schools to invigilate exams during teachers’ pay dispute. A
conference revealed four in ten sex workers in Swaziland had been raped by uniformed police
officers.
90
Swaziland Striving for Freedom Vol 31 July to September 2018 is available free of
charge here
Police in Swaziland / Eswatini turned the city of Manzini into a warzone when they attacked
a legal protest by workers demanding pay improvements. It was one of a number of police
attacks on legal demonstrations in which bullets, stun-grenades, water cannon and teargas
were fired. A video of an indiscriminate attack by police on defenceless people went viral on
the Internet. The police violence was condemned globally.
Police also fired gunshots, grenades and rubber bullets during Swaziland’s election as voters
protested against what they believed was malpractice. The election was largely recognised
outside the kingdom to be undemocratic. Political parties are banned from taking part and at
its conclusion King Mswati III the absolute monarch in Swaziland appointed six members of
the Royal Family to sit in the House of Assembly. No members of the Swazi Senate are
appointed by the people. The election was riddled with reports of bribery, vote-rigging, and
violence.
These are some of the reports in this edition of Swaziland: Striving for Freedom which
includes reports from Swazi Media Commentary published July to September 2018. Among
others are the financial meltdown of the Government with health and education services
failing. There were reports of hunger and deaths as a result of the government’s inability to
pay its suppliers. Meanwhile, King Mswati and his family continue to spend lavishly on
themselves. Barnabas Dlamini, a stanch ally of the ruling elite who was recognised globally
as a serial abuser of human rights in Swaziland, died after a long illness.
It was also revealed in a once-secret CIA report that the revered King Sobhuza II supported
the white-ruled Apartheid government in South Africa because he was afraid that change
there would encourage people to press for political reform in his own kingdom.
91
Swaziland: Striving for Freedom Vol. 30: April to June 2018 is available free of charge
here
Swaziland might never be the same again. King Mswati III demonstrated his absolute power
by renaming his kingdom Eswatini. He did this during the so-called 50-50 Celebrations to
mark his own 50th birthday and the half-century of Swaziland’s independence from Great
Britain. The King also made headlines when he wore a watch worth $1.6 million and a suit
beaded with diamonds at his birthday party. His lavish spending is notorious; days earlier he
took delivery of his second private jet, this one costing about $30 million after upgrades.
These were some of the stories published by Swazi Media Commentary over the second
quarter of 2018 and published in this Swaziland: Striving for Freedom Volume 30. While the
King and the Royal Family continued to spend millions on themselves the kingdom’s
economy was in freefall with the government admitting it was broke. Suppliers remained
unpaid and public services ground to a halt. Hospitals were without medicines and
schoolchildren went hungry as food supplies dried up.
Registration for the national elections to take place in September descended into chaos with
reports of inefficiency and corruption. The election board’s claim that 90 percent of the
eligible population signed up to vote was met with scepticism. Political parties are banned
from taking part in the election which is widely regarded outside of Swaziland as bogus. King
Mswati chooses the Prime Minister and Government ministers and no members of the Senate
are elected by the people.
Swaziland saw its first ever LGBTI Pride parade in June. Unwittingly it demonstrated how
conservative and backward Swaziland is. Newspapers took the opportunity to demonise
LGBTI people but despite this the event proved a success.
Laws in Swaziland have been used by the State as weapons against human rights defenders, a
major investigation of the kingdom by the International Commission of Jurists revealed.
Separately, the United Kingdom reported it was to undertake an investigation into human
rights abuses in Swaziland and in its annual report on the kingdom the United States
highlighted, ‘The most significant human rights issues included: arbitrary interference with
privacy and home; restrictions on freedoms of speech, assembly, and association; denial of
citizens’ ability to choose their government in free and fair elections; institutional lack of
accountability in cases involving rape and violence against women; criminalization of same-
sex sexual conduct, although rarely enforced; trafficking in persons; restrictions on worker
rights; and child labor.’
92
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Swaziland: Striving for Freedom

As seen through the pages of Swazi Media Commentary

1 BUDGET AND ECONOMY

It added, ‘This fund is not subject to government or parliamentary oversight.’

Swaziland’s national economic recovery plan is nothing but a wish list

Increase in taxes by 25 percent;

Increase speeding and court fines 100 percent;

Swaziland budget repeats failed economic policies of the past

‘eSwatini’s fiscal transparency would be improved by providing more detail on expenditures

Billions unaccounted for in Swaziland Govt finances, Auditor General reports

2 GOVT FINANCIAL CRISIS

In July 2018 it was reported that Swazipharm, Swaziland’s largest distributor of

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in an analysis of

Children at risk of food poisoning as Swaziland Govt’s financial crisis continues

Schools across Swaziland close classes as Govt fails to provide funding

Chaos and confusion across Swaziland as new school year starts

If found guilty Dlamini could face dismissal.

6 KING SOBHUZA AND APARTHEID

It added he was, ‘a sort of legal agent-cum-fixer extraordinaire’.

7 KING MSWATI III

Inkhosikati LaDube (Picture: Facebook)

King’s birthday celebration this year. King Mswati is Commissioner General-In-Chief of

Swaziland King’s plan for SADC-wide university of transformation quietly shelved

We want our land back, King Mswati

Swaziland declared ‘not free’ in latest global review of human rights

criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct, although rarely enforced; trafficking in persons;

criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct, although rarely enforced; trafficking in persons;

10 POLICE AND ARMY ASSAULTS

First community radio station registered in Swaziland after 19 years trying

UNESCO reported, ‘According to the Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Services

Industrial Court stops Swaziland public servants strike at last minute

Alleged rape of two-year-old in Swaziland covered up in name of local culture

18 AND THE REST …

National Disaster Management Agency Communications Officer Wandile Mavuso said

In November 2013, the newly-appointed Chief Ndlovula of Motshane threatened to evict

‘Secret plan’ to create National Intelligence Agency in Swaziland

There is a secret plan in Swaziland / eSwatini to set up a National Intelligence Agency,

Swaziland youth calls for democracy at National Congress

Muslims in Swaziland fear xenophobia as plan to build mosque rejected

Muslims in Swaziland / eSwatini have accused local government councillors of being

ABOUT THE EDITOR

He holds a Ph.D in Communication from the University of Westminster, London, UK.

Swazi Media Commentary

Containing information and commentary in

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