Swaziland Striving For Freedom Vol 31 July To September 2018

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

Vol. 31. July – September 2018
Compiled by
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Richard Rooney
SWAZILAND: STRIVING FOR FREEDOM: VOL. 31
CONTENTS
1 Introduction 2
2 Workers’ dispute 3
3 Police 26
4 Govt financial meltdown 34
5 King Sobhuza II and Apartheid 47
6 Swazi culture 51
7 Reed Dance 62
8 LGBTI 65
9 Media 71
10 Barnabas Dlamini obituary 78
11 Election 81
12 ... And the rest 139
About the author 150
Volume 30 151
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INTRODUCTION
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.
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 WORKER DISPUTES
ITUC condemns Swazi police attack

7 July 2018
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) which represents 207 million workers
worldwide has protested to the Swaziland / Eswatini Government after police attacked
peaceful demonstrators in the kingdom’s capital Mbabane.
Four people were seriously injured, with two left critical, after police fired stun grenades,
rubber bullets and water cannon.
ITUC in a letter to Swaziland Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini said, ‘We strongly denounce
the excessive brutality used to break up the peaceful demonstration.’ It said such violence
violated international conventions that the Swazi Government had signed.
The demonstration organised by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland on 29 June 2018
was over accusations that millions of dollars have been removed from the national pension
fund by the government of King Mswati III, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s
last absolute monarch. They were also calling for the introduction of a minimum wage and
amendments to employment law.
Police in Swaziland routinely attack peaceful protesters. In February 2018 police did not deny
a media report they fired live ammunition during a protest by students of Swaziland Christian
University about delays in receiving allowances and problems over graduation.
In February 2017 police fired warning gunshots at civilians when kombi drivers and
conductors brought traffic to a standstill at Mvutshini by blocking the highway and stopping
public transport. They were protesting about an alleged corrupt traffic police officer.
Also in February 2017 police fired warning gunshots as University of Swaziland students
marched with a petition to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to protest about late
payment of their allowances.
Again in February 2017 they fired live gunshots and teargas at workers at Juris
Manufacturing in Nhlangano when workers were locked out in a dispute over allegations that
management planned to purge the staff of ‘troublesome elements’.
In October 2016 police fired gunshots at protesting students at the Limkokwing university in
Mbabane. At least four students received ‘serious injuries’ during disturbances, according to
the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper.
In August 2016 riot police fired shots over the heads of striking workers outside the
Plantation Forestry Company who were protesting for an increase in pay of the equivalent of
35 US cents per hour.
In October 2015 police fired shots and teargas at protesting textile workers at the Zheng
Yong Garment factory in Nhlangano. They were protesting against the behaviour of security
guards.
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An injured protester at the march in Mbabane
See also
Police fire stun grenades at protest
Two critical after police attack
UK unions to call for Swaziland’s suspension from Commonwealth over workers’ rights
abuses
26 July 2018
The UK Trades Union Congress (TUC) is to call for Swaziland / Eswatini to be suspended
from the Commonwealth because of its poor record on workers’ rights.
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It said international institutions should take the lead in condemning workers’ rights abuses in
the kingdom where King Mswati III rules as one of the world’s last absolute monarchs.
Swaziland was ranked four out of five in a 2018 survey of the worst nations in the world for
workers’ rights published by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), indicating
a ‘systematic violation’ of rights.
In the most recent example of abuse, on 29 June 2018 police in Swaziland fired stun
grenades, teargas and water cannon at workers trying to deliver a petition to the Swazi
Government against poor service delivery, misuse of state pension funds and other issues.
Tanya Warlock, TUC Policy and campaigns support officer, writing on the TUC website,
said, ‘In the aftermath of that shocking violence, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady
wrote to the High Commissioner of Swaziland to condemn the Swazi government’s actions.
‘Now we’re calling on the Commonwealth to suspend Swaziland until the Swazi government
stops breaching fundamental human rights and ends the repression of workers.’
She added, ‘Swazi trade unions continue to suffer from brutal repression just for standing up
for workers’ rights.’
The TUC will call for the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (the disciplinary
committee of the Commonwealth) to suspend Swaziland, ‘until the government stops
breaching the fundamental principles and values that Commonwealth members have a duty to
respect’ she said.
Human rights are severely curtailed in Swaziland where political parties are banned from
taking part in elections and opponents are charged under a number of laws, including the
Suppression of Terrorism Act.
See also
UK solidarity with Swazi workers
TEACHERS
Swaziland Police shoot, wound teacher during protest over pay, tensions high on eve of
national election
25 August 2018
Police in Swaziland shot and wounded a schoolteacher when they opened fire with live
ammunition during a protest about salaries.
It happened on Friday (24 August 2018) in Manzini, the kingdom’s main commercial city.
The teacher was named on social media as Willie Dlamini, a teacher from Salesian High
School.
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The Observer on Saturday newspaper in Swaziland reported, ‘Several gunshots were heard
and bullets aimed directly at the teachers flew in all directions while stones directed at the
police officers also flew the opposite direction.’
It added at least three armed police officers clashed with teachers.
The Observer reported on Dlamini, ‘It was clear that a bullet had pierced through his arm and
first aid was administered to him before an ambulance was called to rush him to the nearest
hospital.’
Teachers were protesting against the Swazi Government’s decision not to pay them a cost of
living adjustment on their salaries.
The shooting has raised tensions in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s
absolute monarch King Mswati III). It happened the day before the first round of the national
election was due to take place. Political parties are banned from taking part and the King
appoints the Prime Minister and Government.
The Communist Party of Swaziland which previously called for a boycott of the election in a
statement on social media said, ‘The country is degenerating to unprecedented state of
lawlessness. Political activists in peaceful protests and those involve in daily mobilisation for
Democratic change are a target.’
In a separate statement it also said, ‘It has now been brought to the attention of the
Communist Party of Swaziland that Mswati has issued an order that the police must shoot
anyone they suspect of trying to sabotage his sham elections.’
Schoolteacher Willie Dlamini who was shot and wounded by police in Swaziland. Picture:
Communist Party of Swaziland Facebook
See also
Police shoot dead another man
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Teacher who tackled gun-wielding Swaziland police commander arrested

26 August 2018
Schoolteacher Maxwell Myeni who tackled a gun-wielding police commander and wrestled
him to the ground during a peaceful demonstration in Swaziland in which police shot and
wounded a demonstrator has been arrested.
A photograph of Myeni tackling Station Commander Raphael ‘Sikheshekheshe’ Maseko of

the Manzini police station appeared in the Observer on Saturday newspaper and on the
Internet following the incident on Friday (24 August 2018).
Maseko had pointed his gun at Myeni moments earlier.
Willie Dlamini, a teacher from Salesian High School, was wounded in the arm when police
opened fire with live ammunition during a protest about salaries.
The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) in a statement published on social media hours
after the arrest said Myeni was taken at about 5.00 pm on Sunday (26 August 2018) at his
home in Lavumisa by the arm of the police force known as Lukhozi.
It said, ‘Six heavily armed members of this royal Lukhozi arm bulldozed their way with two
white vans into his house at Lavumisa.’
It added the Lukhozi police was ‘known for its torture of prisoners who often end up dead.
Their greater focus is often on human rights activists, unionists, youth and student activists
and members of political parties.’
It added Myeni was taken to Sigodvweni Police Station in Matsapha, a ‘notorious torture
centre’.
No charges have been announced.
Myeni tackled police commander Raphael ‘Sikheshekheshe’ Maseko who is seen still holding
the gun he pointed at him. Picture: Swazi Observer
Swaziland teacher who stopped police chief shooting into unarmed crowd appears in
court
30 August 2018
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Musa Maxwell Zondinkhundla Myeni, the schoolteacher in Swaziland who came to

international attention after he wrestled a gun-wielding police chief to the ground to stop him
firing at teachers during a protest over salaries, appeared in court on six charges.
One teacher was shot and wounded by police on Friday (24 August 2018) as members of the
Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) tried to enter their union building in
Manzini.
The Magistrates’ Court in Manzini, the main commercial city in Swaziland (recently renamed
Eswatini by the Kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III), was packed with supporters
on Tuesday (28 August 2018). In what might be a first they uploaded pictures and videos of
their protest to the Internet from inside the court room.
Myeni, aged 35, a teacher at Matsanjeni Primary School, faced six charges including public
violence, common assault and blocking the road. He was remanded on bail of E7,000
(US$485) to reappear in Manzini Magistrates’ Court on 12 September 2018.
Photographs of Myeni disarming Station Commander Raphael ‘Sikheshekheshe’ Maseko of
Manzini police appeared in newspapers in Swaziland and on Internet and social media sites
across the world. The Observer on Saturday and the Swazi News in Swaziland also published
photographs of police officers pointing guns at teachers.
Willie ‘Mawillies’ Dlamini, a teacher at Salesian High School was shot and wounded in the
arm after police fired into the crowd.
Njabulo Dlamini, a branch leader of SNAT, told the Peoples Dispatch, an online news site,
‘In most instances, the police first fire teargas to disperse protesters. But this time things were
different. The police did not even give a warning. They started firing the live bullet at
teachers.’
The Observer on Saturday newspaper in Swaziland reported the next day, ‘Several gunshots
were heard and bullets aimed directly at the teachers flew in all directions while stones
directed at the police officers also flew the opposite direction.’
It said teachers ran for safety and some pelted the police officers with stones.
The Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, reported that the Operational
Support Services Unit (OSSU), which it called ‘the police’s semi-military wing’, arrived to
back up the police.
Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati as an absolute monarch. Political parties are banned and
people advocating for democracy are routinely arrested and charged under sedition and anti-
terrorism laws. Police break up protest meetings using teargas, water cannon, rubber bullets
and sometimes live ammunition.
Following the shooting the People’s United Democratic Party (PUDEMO) the best known of
the banned political parties, released a statement. ‘PUDEMO calls upon the immediate arrest
of all the police officers who were involved in the discharging of live ammunitions against
the teachers of Swaziland. We particularly call upon the immediate arrest and prosecution of
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one Mr. Sikheshekheshe Maseko, who is said to be Manzini Station Commander, who was at
the forefront of this murderous attack on the unarmed members of SNAT.’
The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) called the arrest of Myeni, who is also a local
official of SNAT, a political move. Myeni had been arrested at his home on Sunday by six
heavily armed members of the Royal Lukhozi arm of the police. It said Lukhozi was ‘known
for its torture of prisoners who often end up dead. Their greater focus is often on human
rights activists, unionists, youth and student activists and members of political parties.’
Swazi News front page the day after the incident
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Protestors inside the magistrates’ court
See also
Swazi Police now ‘a private militia’
Swaziland ‘becoming military state’
Swaziland Court Forces Teachers To Postpone Strike, Bans Public Servants’ Action
24 September 2018
The Swaziland Industrial Court has forced teachers to postpone a strike planned to start on
Tuesday and banned outright one by public service workers.
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The rulings came days after police violently attacked legal protests by workers.
The court case was deemed so important to the state where King Mswati III rules as absolute
monarch that Swaziland’s Attorney-General Sifiso Khumalo presented it himself.
Government Press Secretary Percy Simelane was also in attendance.
On Sunday (23 September 2018) the Industrial Court heard two separate submissions; one
from the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) and the other from the
National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU). Both unions are seeking
pay increases, they have asked for 7.85 percent cost of living adjustments and the government
which says it is broke has offered zero percent.
Judge Dumsani Mazibuko ruled that the three-day SNAT strike which was due to start on
Tuesday (25 September 2018) was legal but should be postponed until 23 November 2018
until a new government was in place. Swaziland voters went to the polls on Friday and the
kingdom (recently renamed Eswatini by King Mswati III) is waiting for him choose a new
Prime Minister and government. Political parties are banned from taking part in the election
and the choice of government rests with the King.
The judge said the NAPSAWU strike which was started last week and was due to continue
could not go ahead because the union had not given sufficient notice under the kingdom’s
Industrial Relations Act. Previously, of the 3,635 civil servants who participated in a strike
ballot, 3,593 voted in favour.
In the week before the court case trade unionists organised by the Trade Union Congress of
Swaziland (TUCOSWA) staged three days of strikes and protests in Mbabane, Manzini,
Nhlangano and Siteki.
On the first day they were met with violence. Videos and photographs of brutal police attacks
were uploaded on social media throughout the day.
On the second day police turned the city of Manzini into a ‘battlefield’ and ‘warzone’ as they
fired stun grenades, teargas, teasers and rubber bullets at protestors.
Police also attacked teachers at their union headquarters in Manzini and ordered them out of
the premises before assaulting them, according to local media reports.
The Times of Swaziland reported, ‘The protesting workers were stuck at SNAT Centre as the
armed police surrounded the building and threw stun grenades, while firing tear gas canisters
at anyone leaving the venue.’
In a separate incident on 24 August 2018 police fired gunshots at teachers, wounding one.
Swaziland teachers want U.S. to tell absolute monarch to stop wasting public money on
himself
28 September 2018
Schoolteachers in Swaziland want the United States to tell the kingdom’s absolute monarch
King Mswati III to ‘stop wasting public resources’ on expensive overseas’ trips and use the
money to pay salary increases to civil servants.
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The request was made in a petition delivered to the US Embassy in Swaziland on Thursday
(27 September 2018).
Teachers marched through Mbabane, the capital of Swaziland, (the kingdom recently
renamed Eswatini by King Mswati) to deliver the petition. They had been blocked from
taking part in a three-day strike this week by the Industrial Court.
Teachers and other civil servants want pay increases of 6.55 percent to meet changes in the
cost of living. The Swazi Government says it is broke and has offered zero percent.
In what is believed to be an unprecedented move, members of the Swaziland National
Association of Teachers (SNAT) asked a foreign government to intervene in a pay dispute. In
a two-page letter addressed to the US Ambassador in Swaziland Lisa Peterson it said SNAT
saw the United States as ‘defender number one of human rights and fundamental freedoms’.
Protestors were attacked by police and security forces with guns, teargas and stun grenades
during recent protests over pay and one teacher was shot and wounded at a SNAT mass
meeting on 24 August 2018.
In its letter SNAT said, ‘The Right to Freedom of Association and Assembly has been
infringed upon by the state security organs.’
The letter asked the US Embassy to press the Swazi Government to pay the cost of living
adjustment.
It also asked it to, ‘Engage members of the Royal Family, particularly the King, to stop
wasting public resources with the huge and unnecessary delegations that normally
accompany him abroad. [The King is presently at the United Nations General Assembly in
New York]. The money that caters for their allowances can be used to pay civil servants,
including teachers. The King may as well sell his private jet to fund teachers’ salaries.’
Teachers had their planned strike postponed until 23 November 2018 by the Industrial Court.
SNAT said teachers would attend school but planned a series of events that would disrupt
teaching.
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$2 per day. The King has 13 palaces. He also owns fleets of top-of-
the range Mercedes and BMW cars. His family regularly travel the world on shopping trips
spending millions of dollars each time.
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NATIONAL STRIKE
Swaziland set for days of strikes and protests in run-up to national election
17 September 2018
Waves of strikes and protests are expected in Swaziland in the days running up to the national
election.
Public servants and others are protesting about poor wages. Teachers and nurses are expected
to be among those stopping work for three days. The strike is being coordinated by the Trade
Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA).
The Ministry of Education and Training has announced schools will remain closed for the
duration of the strike starting Tuesday (18 September 2018). In a poll 98.63 percent of
teachers voted for strike action.
Workers want a national minimum wage of E3,500 (US$ 234.27) a month, and an increase in
elderly grants (pensions) to E1,500. Public sector workers also want a cost of living salary
adjustment. The Government says it is broke and has offered zero percent.
In a statement the Communist Party of Swaziland, which is banned in the kingdom, said
workers also wanted the legalisation of solidarity strikes, an increase in health and education
funding and an end to arbitrary evictions especially on the working class and poor.
Four major protests are planned for Tuesday in the cities and towns of Manzini, Mbabane,
Siteki and Nhlangano.
Among the unions expected to take part are the Swaziland National Association of Teachers
(SNAT), the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), Swaziland
Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) and the Swaziland National Association of
Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP).
The national election takes place on Friday 21 September 2018 in Swaziland (recently
renamed Eswatini by its absolute monarch King Mswati III). Political parties are banned from
taking part and people are only permitted to elect 59 members of the House of Assembly;
King Mswati appoints a further 10. None of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate are elected
by the people.
The King chooses the Prime Minister and government as well as top civil servants and
judges.
Swazi Police shoot at demonstrators during legal strike over pay

Kenworthy News Media, 19 September 2018
13
Several workers were badly injured from beatings, rubber bullets and teargas fired by police
in riot gear during demonstrations for better wages and working conditions in Swaziland on
Tuesday (18 September 2018)
Tens of thousands of people had stayed home from work and taken to the streets of
Swaziland’s capital Mbabane, commercial centre Manzini, and smaller towns Nhlangano and
Sitiki in demonstrations led by trade union congress TUCOSWA.
Great numbers and police brutality
In a statement, the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF) condemned the brutality of
the police.
– The police fiercely harassed workers who were protesting in Manzini and injured six of
them in the process. The workers had to run helter-skelter for safety. These rogue measures
by the police are simply desperate means of defending King Mswati’s passionate love for
luxury, SUDF Secretary General Brian Sangweni said.
National Organizing Secretary of trade union ATUSWA, Wander Mkhonta, was at the
demonstration in Nhlangano. The town was completely shut down for six hours by around
7000 garment workers, he said.
– We are humbled by the great numbers. It goes to show that TUCOSWA represents the
aspirations of the downtrodden majority, said Mkhonta.
Stalwart activist Mphandlana “Victim” Shongwe, who took part in the demonstration in
Siteki, said that it was time to stand up and be counted “because the power of the people is
more powerful than those in power”, he said.
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Protest action will continue on Wednesday and Thursday in Manzini, Siteki and Nhlangano,
TUCOSWA said in a statement issued on Tuesday night.
No freedom or democracy
Amid the protests, Swaziland is to hold national elections on Friday. In a survey released
Monday by Pan-African research network Afrobarometer, only 7 percent of the 1200 people
surveyed said they saw Swaziland as a full democracy and one fifth believed that they are
completely free to speak their mind.
London-based human rights organisation Amnesty International has called Swaziland’s
Suppression of Terrorism Act, which is used to charge politically active Swazis with
“terrorism” for trivial offences such as wearing a political t-shirt, “inherently oppressive”.
US-based research-NGO Freedom House rates Swaziland as a country with little political
freedom where “political dissent and civic or labour activism are subject to harsh punishment
under laws on sedition and other offenses”.
And last year, international NGO Oxfam published a briefing paper that called Swaziland the
most unequal country in the world. Two thirds of Swaziland’s 1.3 million citizens survive on
less than $2 a day, many of food aid, whilst King Mswati owns 13 palaces and is worth an
estimated $200 million.
Vicious Attack by Swaziland Police on Defenceless Workers Captured on Video

19 September 2018
Police officers in Swaziland have been captured on video viciously attacking defenceless
workers on the street in Manzini during a legal protest over pay.
Dozens of officers in riot gear and waving batons are seen chasing workers. At least one
officer appears to be wielding a whip. Workers are seen running fearing for their safety. The
police indiscriminately hit the fleeing workers around their bodies.
At one point in the video that lasts only 45 seconds a protester stumbles and falls to the
ground. He is face down and defenceless when at least two police officers beat him about the
body. A third officer appears to kick him in the head as he runs by. They leave him
unattended. He is later seen trying to get to his feet assisted by a witness. She is seen calling
for help. There are what appears to be blood stains on the pavement.
The police officers continue to chase the workers down the road.
The attack happened on Tuesday morning (18 September 2018) close to the PEP stores
opposite Manzini post office, next to the Limpid Pharmacy.
It was on the first day of a three day national strike organised by the Trade Union Congress of
Swaziland (TUCOSWA). Protests took place simultaneously in the towns and cities of
Mbabane, Manzini, Siteki and Nhlangano.
The strike had earlier been declared legal under Swaziland’s Industrial Relations Act.
15
In a statement the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF) reported at least six workers
in Manzini sustained serious injuries and needed hospital treatment. It said, ‘Police fiercely
harassed workers.’
It added, ‘The workers had to run helter-skelter for safety after it became clear that the police
were unleashing terror.’
Reuters news agency reported, ‘Several workers were wounded and police fired stun
grenades to disperse the crowd.’
elderly grants (pensions) to E1,500. Public sector workers also want a cost of living salary
adjustment. The Government says it is broke and has offered zero percent.
In a statement the Communist Party of Swaziland, which is banned in the kingdom, said
workers also wanted the legalisation of solidarity strikes, an increase in health and education
funding and an end to arbitrary evictions especially on the working class and poor.
Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by its absolute monarch King Mswati III) holds
national elections on Friday (21 September 2018). Political parties are banned from taking
part. People are only allowed to elect 59 members of the House of Assembly; another 10 are
appointed by the King. None of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the
people.
King Mswati chooses the Prime Minister and government members. He also chooses top civil
servants and judges.
Widespread condemnation of Swaziland police brutal attacks on workers

19 September 2018
Above and below: some of the pictures that circulated on Facebook
Condemnation of the Swaziland police’s brutal attack on protesting workers is growing.
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In the week up to the kingdom’s national election trade unionists organised by the Trade
Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) planned three days of strikes and protests
starting Tuesday (18 September 2018) in Mbabane, Manzini, Nhlangano and Siteki.
On the first day they were met with violence across the kingdom recently renamed Eswatini
by absolute monarch King Mswati III.
Armed police were deployed across Swaziland. Videos and photographs of brutal police
attacks were uploaded on social media throughout the day.
The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) in a statement on Wednesday said, ‘The
videos circulated on social media relating to police interventions yesterday indicate unlawful
police actions, and require urgent investigation.’
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.’
It said, ‘SALC condemns these police attacks on protesting workers and urge the police to act
with restraint.’
elderly grants (pensions) to E1,500. Public sector workers also want a 6.5 percent cost of
living salary adjustment. The Government says it is broke and has offered zero percent.
Many of the protestors also want the legalisation of solidarity strikes, an increase in health
and education funding and an end to arbitrary evictions especially on the working class and
poor.
The Swaziland Human Rights Network UK in a statement on Wednesday 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.
‘The routine use of firearms against unarmed and peaceful demonstrators marks a dangerous
and violent policy by the Eswatini government and we call for the immediate prosecution of
those involved in the senseless brutality against workers.’
It added, ‘We demand an immediate investigation into the violent events in Manzini. We
demand to know who gave the order to use firearms, water cannon, teargas and batons
against unarmed and peaceful workers.’
The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) in a statement on Wednesday estimated 100,000
workers marched on the streets. It said, ‘By 16h00, Tuesday 18 September 2018, the
confirmed number of workers who were injured either after receiving rubber bullet shots or
after heavy assault by police batons stood at 10. This occurred in the march that was in
Manzini.’
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National elections are due on Friday (21 September 2018). Political parties are banned from
taking part. People are only allowed to elect 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 chooses the Prime Minister and Cabinet members. He also chooses top civil
The CPS said, ‘These sham elections are undemocratic and Mswati is trying to force the
people to participate in them. Desperate to intimidate workers, he unleashed his police on
unarmed peaceful workers in Manzini.’
The strike comes after a series of protests and rallies in the last couple of weeks which saw
police violence in attempts to suppress the protestors. Police shot and wounded a
schoolteacher at a vigil protesting their salaries in late August. Nurses in the kingdom’s
capital city of Mbabane were tasered during a pay protest.
SALC said in its statement, ‘The protests are taking place in the context of vast inequality
and where the monarchy maintains a lavish lifestyle. In April, King Mswati held a lavish 50th
birthday party alleged to have cost millions of dollars. Public servants were ordered to
contribute to his birthday celebrations. During the 2018 birthday celebrations, Mswati wore
a watch worth $1.6 million and a suit beaded with diamonds. Days prior to the birthday
celebrations, the king had received delivery of his second private jet, an A340-300 Airbus.
‘According to a 2018 World Bank Report, an estimated 63 percent of the population lives
below the poverty line, and about 29 percent lives below the extreme poverty line.’
18
Police turn Swaziland city into ‘warzone’ as national strike enters second day
20 September 2018
Police in Swaziland turned the city of Manzini into a ‘battlefield’ and a ‘warzone’ on the
second day of the national strike in the kingdom.
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’.
It happened on Wednesday (19 September 2019) as workers across Swaziland continued their
protests against poor pay and other working conditions. They are on a three-day stoppage
coordinated by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA).
The Observer, one of only two daily newspapers in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by
the King) where the media are heavily censored, said the bus rank was a ‘serious battlefield’
for more than four hours as armed police and other state forces and workers ‘engaged in
fierce confrontation’.
The Times of Swaziland called it an ‘open battlefield.’
The Observer reported, ‘The situation got out of control when public transport drivers and
conductors joined the protesting workers and clashed with the police.’
The Observer reported, ‘The town was totally shut down as shops were closed and street
vendors halted business. Some terrified and frightened commuters sought refuge in offices
and shops as the “war” between the police, bus conductors and workers took centre stage,
unabated.’
The Times of Swaziland reported police threw explosive grenades and fired tear gas canisters
at the protestors.
The Observer reported police threatened ‘everybody who was wearing a red T-shirt’. People
in Swaziland wear red to show their support for trade unions. It reported, ‘TUCOSWA
quickly understood this strategy and changed their red T-shirts and wore other clothes.’
It added, ‘Efforts by the police to chase away onlookers proved futile as the public made it
clear that they are not going anywhere until the strike is over and the kombis [buses] were
back at the bus rank.
The Observer reported, ‘As early as 7 am, police officers and warders were sweeping the
streets of Manzini, insulting and threatening to beat up anyone who was wearing a red T-
shirt.
‘This prompted some TUCOSWA members to change their red colours and wear different T-
shirts. The police went on to block any worker who tried to make an entrance to Somhlolo
Park where members were supposed to join other workers.’
It added, ‘Police tried firing stun grenades and teargas at the protesting workers who were
marching towards the Manzini bus rank. In that moment, a police officer threw a stun
grenade at kombi conductors who had mingled with protesting workers.
19
‘This sparked trouble for the police as conductors made it clear that they will not watch while
their customers were being abused by the police. The public transport operators said since the
roads were blocked, they could not carry out business anymore. All hell broke loose when
conductors threw stones at the police officers and burnt tyres on the road.’
Police attacked members of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) at their
union headquarters in Manzini. The Observer reported TUCOSWA Secretary General
Mduduzi Gina, ‘said they received reports that some of the police officers stormed the SNAT
Centre and ordered the teachers out of the premises but they told the police that they were in
a meeting as the place was a private property, to which the police retaliated by throwing
grenades at them inside the premises.’
The newspaper reported him saying, ‘While the teachers were running away for cover, they
were assaulted by the police and some are reportedly missing.’
It added, ‘Gina said according to the report they received, one of the injured teachers was
apprehended while trying to get medical attention from the paramedics who were at the scene
when the attack happened.’
The Times of Swaziland reported, ‘The protesting workers were stuck at SNAT Centre as the
armed police surrounded the building and threw stun grenades, while firing tear gas canisters
at anyone leaving the venue.’
Protests have been taking place in major towns and cities, including Mbabane, Manzini,
Nhlangano and Siteki.
In Nhlangano, several union leaders were detained by the police, including SNAT Secretary
General Sikelela Dlamini. The Observer reported, ‘There was pandemonium earlier in the
morning when protesters clashed with the police at Zheng Young textile factory. Teargas was
fired to disperse the strong crowd of workers. In town, police prevented people from walking
in groups.’
The Observer reported that in Siteki, ‘people wearing red shirts had difficulty getting into
town as uncompromising police officers prevented them from stepping foot into town. Also,
people in the same T-shirts were told to immediately leave town.’
Armed police were deployed in Siteki as early as 8 am and union leaders who were known to
the police were barred from entering the small town.
The Observer added, ‘Meanwhile, members of the public were also barred from entering the
Siteki Park as it was used as a meeting point by protesters.’ Most schools in Siteki remained
closed.
Swaziland holds its national election on Friday (21 September 2018). Political parties are
banned from taking part. People are only allowed to elect 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 chooses the Prime Minister and Cabinet members. He also
chooses top civil servants and judges.
20
Burning tyres at Manzini bus rank
TEXTILE WORKERS
Swaziland Police fire gunshots during textiles dispute, third attack on workers in a
week
21
1 September 2018
Swaziland police fired several gunshot blasts while textile workers, mostly women, protested
about poor pay. It was the third police attack on workers in a week and one of many in recent
times.
More than 200 paramilitary police and correctional facility warders with riot shields, helmets
and batons guarded the entrance to Juris, one of the major factories, according to a local
media report.
It happened on Thursday (30 August 2018) at Nhlangano when five firms closed after
management locked gates after workers gathered.
The Times of Swaziland reported, ‘Police were called to the scene and several gunshots were
fired.’
It added, ‘Some of the employees said batons were also used by the police to disperse the
workers, which resulted in the crowd becoming aggressive.
‘The workers felt they were being aggressively intimidated by the police and threatened with
violence, while their union leaders were locked up in a series of meetings with management.
‘There was complete pandemonium after the gunshots were fired as a group of workers
confronted the police, demanding answers on why some of their colleagues had been beaten
up.’
Social media later reported that a pregnant woman had to be taken to hospital.
This was the third attack in a week by police on workers in Swaziland (recently renamed
Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch, King Mswati III). On the previous Friday
police shot and wounded a schoolteacher during a march in Manzini. On Wednesday in
Mbabane nurses were tasered. Both groups were protesting at the Swazi government’s
decision to offer a zero increase in their salary cost of living adjustment.
Swaziland police often fire live weapons and rubber bullets during worker protests. In
November 2017 they shot a woman in the head with a rubber bullet at a Poly Pack textile
factory at Ngwenya where workers were asking for a 20 percent pay rise.
Police in Swaziland, where political parties are banned from contesting elections, often
intervene on behalf of management in labour disputes.
In February 2017, police fired live gunshots and teargas at Juris in Nhlangano where workers
had been locked out during a dispute. There had been a long-running row at the factory about
management style and accusations of racism by one boss in particular.
In September 2016, media in Swaziland reported women strikers were ambushed by armed
police and ‘brutally attacked’ at the Plantation Forest Company, near Pigg’s Peak. Police had
previously used rubber bullets and teargas against the strikers and had fired live rounds to
disperse a crowd.
In 2013, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) reported that Swaziland
was becoming a police and military state.
22
It said things had become so bad in the kingdom that police were unable to accept that
peaceful political and social dissent was a vital element of a healthy democratic process, and
should not be viewed as a crime.
These complaints were made by OSISA at an African Commission on Human and Peoples'
Rights (ACHPR) meeting in The Gambia on 10 April 2013.
OSISA said, ‘There are also reliable reports of a general militarization of the country through
the deployment of the Swazi army, police and correctional services to clamp down on any
peaceful protest action by labour or civil society organisations ahead of the country’s
undemocratic elections.’
OSISA was commenting on the trend in Southern Africa for police and security services to be
increasingly violent and abusive of human rights.
In 2015, Swaziland was named as one of the ten worst countries for working people in the
world, in a report from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
See also
More Police guns against workers
Police fire rubber bullets on strikers
Police fire shots at workers’ protest
Kingdom one of worst in world for workers
NURSES
Police in Swaziland attack nurses with taser during peaceful protest over pay
30 August 2018
Police in Swaziland attacked nurses with tasers during a peaceful demonstration against pay
in the kingdom’s capital. The attack was unprovoked, according to the Times of Swaziland
newspaper.
It came days after police shot live ammunition into a crowd of schoolteachers who were also
demonstrating about salaries.
It happened on Wednesday (29 August 2018) when hundreds of trade unionists led by the
Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) marched through Mbabane. They were
going to the Ministries of Public Service and Health to deliver petitions.
The Times reported ‘tensions reached beyond boiling point’ when there was a dispute
between police and union leaders about the route they were allowed to follow.
It said some nurses ‘claimed that police manhandled and used tasers on them during their
march to the two ministries’.
One nurse identified a police officer who she said had attacked her with a taser. The attack
was reported to Mbabane Police Deputy Station Commander Amos Dlamini.
A taser is a weapon that gives someone an electric shock and makes them unable to move for
a short time.
23
Public service workers are in dispute with the government of Swaziland, recently renamed
Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III. They have been offered zero
percent increase in their annual cost of living allowances.
On Friday teachers were attacked by police who fired live ammunition at them. One man was
wounded.
Swaziland police confront nurses protesting about health cuts, medicine shortages.
baton broken in two
8 September 2018
Police in Swaziland blocked nurses who were legally trying to deliver a petition to
government as part of their ongoing campaign against service cuts.
One local newspaper reported a policeman’s baton was broken in two during the
confrontation.
It was the fourth time in the past two weeks that police had attacked workers who were taking
action legally.
The latest happened on Friday (7 September 2018) in Mbabane, the capital of Swaziland,
recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III.
The Observer on Saturday newspaper in Swaziland reported, ‘A police officer saw his baton
break into two pieces while he was trying to control nurses from marching on their way to
deliver a petition through one of the streets of Mbabane.
‘There was a brief confrontation between the nurses and members of the police service,
which resulted in pushing and shoving as the police blocked the march by the nurses.
‘That is when one of the police officers saw his baton broken into two pieces after a shoving
by the nurses.’
It added, ‘During the confrontation with the police officers, the nurses asked why they were
being blocked yet they had permission to hold the march.’
The newspaper reported, ‘Journalists on the ground were also on the receiving end of the
angry police officer who called them young boys while walking with his broken baton. This
was when one of the journalists enquired about what had happened to his baton and he rudely
told him to go and ask the nurses.’
Nurses, along with other public service workers are protesting about a freeze on their cost of
living pay adjustment. Nurses are also protesting about the shortage of medicines and other
health equipment in government hospitals and clinics across Swaziland.
Police tried to redirect the march away from an agreed route when the trouble began.
The Observer reported, Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) President Bheki
Mamba, told the nurses, ‘We’re seriously not happy with many Emaswati [Swazi people]
losing their lives because government cannot provide drugs in hospitals. We’re saddened that
people die before us and we are left with nothing to save their lives.’
24
During the past two weeks police in Swaziland fired several gunshot blasts at Nhlangano
while textile workers, mostly women, protested about poor pay. Police shot and wounded a
schoolteacher in Manzini and in Mbabane nurses were tasered during protests about pay.
25
2 POLICE
Swazi Police Shoot Dead Another Man
3 July 2018
Police in Swaziland / Eswatini shot and killed a suspect as he fled from them after they had
stormed his home.
At least 30 police officers were involved, according to one news report.
It is one of a long line of unusual police shootings in the kingdom.
It happened at about 6 a.m. on Monday (2 July 2018). The Times of Swaziland reported the
dead man Vusi Ntimane, aged 33, was wanted by police for a number of offences, including
the bombing of an ATM machine.
The Times reported that Ntimane emerged from a Matsebula homestead after police had
surrounded it.
It reported a witness saying, ‘When they got to the homestead, he was ordered out of the
place and he came out running and bolted to the forests and down the stream. After crossing
the stream, he came across more police officers, who were already shooting at him. We
watched from a distance and saw all the events which eventually led to his death. The police
fired so many shots and each was carrying a pistol. the suspect was shot several times before
he drew his own gun and attempted to shoot at the team of police officers.’
The Swazi Observer reported about 30 police officers were involved.

Police in Swaziland have a long history of shooting suspects in unusual circumstances.
In January 2018 Police Information and Communication Officer Khulani Mamba said that a
suspect who was wanted for murder committed suicide at Makhungutja by taking weevil
tablets after he was shot in the ankle by police during a raid at the homestead where he was
hiding.
In August 2017 Siboniso Brian Mdluli, aged 22, who police wanted in connection with armed
robbery was reportedly killed at point blank range in ‘cowboy style.’ His family demanded
an inquiry saying Mdluli was assassinated by trigger happy police officers for no apparent
reason.
In November 2015 police shot a man at close range after he overturned rubbish bins and then
ran away from them. The Times of Swaziland, reported at the time that a 21-year-old man had
been suspected of throwing rubbish in the road and pelting vehicles with stones. The
newspaper said, ‘he was shot by police at close range after refusing to board their vehicle’.
A plain-clothed policeman shot an unarmed man in the back killing him while on a public bus
in February 2014. The man had allegedly stolen some copper wire before boarding the bus,
travelling from Siteki, in eastern Swaziland to Manzini. The Times Sunday newspaper
reported at the time the driver of the bus Majahonke Zikalala said, ‘the man was attempting
to force his way out of the bus, the police officer shot him in the back, near the spine… the
26
man fell on the floor after which he was handcuffed while he bled’. He died of his injures at
the scene.
In March 2013 Swaziland police shot a man dead in front of his 11-year-old child as he held
his hands up in an attempt to surrender to them. Thokozani Mngometulu, aged 31, was killed
as he got out of his car at his homestead in Dlakadla, in the Shiselweni region of Swaziland.
Thokozani’s family, who also witnessed the killing, say he was shot in the pelvis at close
range by a police officer.
In June 2012 a serial rapist suspect Bhekinkhosi Masina, popularly known as Scarface, was
shot by police as they cornered him for arrest. Police say they only shot him in the thigh and
he unexpectedly died of his injuries. The Times of Swaziland newspaper later revealed he had
been shot six times, including in the head and back.
In July 2012 a mentally ill man, Mduduzi Mngometulu, aged 34, was shot seven times by
police and died of his injuries. He had four holes in his stomach, one in the leg and two bullet
wounds on the left side of his chest.
These are not isolated incidents in Swaziland where police across the kingdom have a
growing record of killing or maiming suspects before arrest. The cases have largely gone
unreported outside of the kingdom itself.
In one example, police executed a suspect Thabani Mafutha Dlamini at Nkwalini in Hlatikulu
in the presence of his colleagues and home boys in what local media called ‘cowboy style’.
The Swazi Observer newspaper reported the incident in December 2011 saying, ‘Police had
previously warned the mother of the dead man to “budget for funeral expenses” as they
intended to remove him. He was said to be on a police “wanted list”’. Dlamini was unarmed.
In a separate case in February 2011 a Swazi policeman shot Mbongeni Masuku, described in
media as a Form IV pupil, in the head in what was later described as ‘an execution-style
killing’. The killing happened outside a bar in Matsapha, an industrial town in Swaziland.
Masuku’s uncle Sigayoyo Maphanga said Mbongeni had been dragged out of his car by
police. He told the Swazi Observer, a policeman whom he named, ‘shot my nephew at the
back of the left ear and he fell on the ground with blood oozing from his mouth and ears. We
were all shocked and angered by such brutality from police officers.’
In May 2011 Mathende Matfonsi was shot dead by police while he was attending a field of
dagga (marijuana) inside the remote forests of Lomahasha near the border with Mozambique.
His family accused the police of ‘cold-blooded murder’. Matfonsi was shot dead at
Ebhandeni, the same area where Nkosinathi Khathwane had previously been shot dead by
soldiers at night.
In March 2010 police shot a man as he was trying to surrender to them. This time the victim,
Mncedisi Mamba, did not die. His mother Thoko Gamedze said Mamba had his hands up and
was surrendering to police, but they shot him anyway.
27
See also
Police shoot man, he ‘commits suicide’
Police killing family demand answers
‘Police execute man cowboy style’
Police shoot surrendering man
Swazi Police ‘murder’ suspect
Police ‘execute’ suspect in street
Swazi Police shoot-to-kill again
Police shoot and kill mentally ill man
Police ‘shot accused rapist in head’
Police shoot-to-kill on bus
Police kill surrendering man
Swazi Police shoot-to-kill
Report Says Swaziland Police Spying On Legal Protests

2 August 2018
Police in Swaziland / Eswatini are video recording and keeping data of protest marches by
political parties and labour federations. They then use the information to deprive people of
college scholarships, jobs in the army, police, and correctional services or promotions in
government departments, an online newspaper reported.
The protestors who are usually seeking democratic reforms or workers’ rights are seen as ‘a
major threat to the state’. Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati III as one of the world’s last
absolute monarchs. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections and people
campaigning for democracy are prosecuted under the Suppression of terrorism Act.
The Swaziland News reported (25 July 2018) the Police Intelligence Unit had been captured
filming a protest march organised by the Trade Congress Union of Swaziland (TUCOSWA)
in June 2018. It said this was a common practice.
The newspaper reported, ‘It is alleged that the information is further used to identify and
subsequently conduct surveillance on protesters who are seen to be a major threat to the
State.’ It added many people ‘believe the information is manipulated to victimize members of
the various banned political movements’.
It quoted Vusi Shongwe, President of the Swaziland People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM)
saying, ‘The recording of the TUCOSWA march proceedings by members of the regime’s
forces although a standard practice in the policing fraternity, in Swaziland it seeks to serve
two main objectives. To instil a cloud of fear and intimidation to the marchers. It is also used
to single out the ringleaders when the videos are reviewed later.’
Mfanafuthi Tsela, Deputy President of the People’s United Democratic Movement
(PUDEMO) said the purpose of recording protesters was to intimidate and keep information
about protesters with the intention of victimizing them.
28
“The purpose is both intimidate and to keep information about protesters, in order to
victimized them. It’s a thing that they have been doing for some time” he said.
The newspaper said the information was ‘used to deprive Swazis scholarships, jobs in the
army, police, and Correctional Services or promotions in government departments’.
There is a long history of police and state security forces spying in Swaziland. In September
2017 police in Swaziland disguised themselves as news reporters at a march of public
servants in Mbabane.
The Sunday Observer in Swaziland at the time 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 August 2017 it was reported that police infiltrated a Pensioners’ Association meeting to
make notes on proceedings.
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.
The Times of Swaziland newspaper reported at the time that at the same sitting of the House
Lobamba MP Majahodvwa Khumalo said his cellphone had been bugged ever since he
started being ‘vocal against some people’.
In May 2013 the Media Institute of Southern Africa reported that police spies had infiltrated
journalism newsrooms in Swaziland, which had led to a heightened climate of fear.
It is legal in certain circumstances to tap phones in Swaziland. The Suppression of Terrorism
Act gives police the right to listen in on people’s conversations if they have the permission of
the Attorney General.
When the Act came into law in 2008 Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini said that
anyone who criticised the government could be considered a terrorist sympathiser.
In 2012 it came to light that the Swaziland Army had attempted to buy cameras and phone
monitoring equipment worth US$1.25 million. The Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force
(USDF) – the formal name of the Swaziland Army – was sued in the Swaziland High Court
because it ordered the equipment, but did not pay for it.
In 2011 a journalist working in Swaziland for the AFP international news agency reported on
her blog that her phone calls were being listened in to.
29
In August 2011 Wikileaks published a cable from the US Embassy in Swaziland that revealed
the Swazi Government had tried to get MTN, the only mobile phone provider in the kingdom,
to use its network for ‘surveillance on political dissidents’.
Tebogo Mogapi, the MTN chief executive officer (CEO) in Swaziland, refused to comply
and later did not have his work permit renewed and so had to leave the kingdom.
Police Spy Discovered And Ejected From Swaziland Teachers’ Union Conference
4 September 2018
Teachers in Swaziland discovered a police spy at their union conference and threw him out.
His name and photograph and a picture of the car he was using was published on social
media.
It was one in a number of cases where police and security forces in Swaziland (recently
renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III) have been
discovered spying on legitimate meetings.
It happened at the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) conference at

Esibayeni Lodge in Matsapha on Sunday (2 September 2018).
A week before the conference police shot and wounded a schoolteacher when they fired into
a group of teachers during a protest over pay.
This is only one in a long list of cases of police and security forces spying in Swaziland. In
July 2018 it was reported that police were video recording and keeping data of protest
marches by political parties and labour federations. They then used the information to deprive
people of college scholarships, jobs in the army, police, and correctional services or
promotions in government departments, the online newspaper Swaziland News reported.
The newspaper said the Police Intelligence Unit had been captured filming a protest march
organised by the Trade Congress Union of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) in June 2018.
In September 2017 police in Swaziland disguised themselves as news reporters at a march of
public servants in Mbabane. The Sunday Observer in Swaziland at the time 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.
The march was legal. A police spokesman said they were not spying because the march took
place in a public place.
In August 2017 it was reported that police infiltrated a Pensioners’ Association meeting to
make notes on proceedings.
In June 2017 some senior politicians in Swaziland reported fears their phones were being
tapped. One also thought his car might be bugged.
30
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.
The Times of Swaziland newspaper reported at the time that at the same sitting of the House
Lobamba MP Majahodvwa Khumalo said his cellphone had been bugged ever since he
started being ‘vocal against some people’.
In May 2013 the Media Institute of Southern Africa reported that police spies had infiltrated
journalism newsrooms in Swaziland, which had led to a heightened climate of fear.
It is legal in certain circumstances to tap phones in Swaziland. The Suppression of Terrorism
Act gives police the right to listen in on people’s conversations if they have the permission of
the Attorney General.
When the Act came into law in 2008 Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini said that
anyone who criticised the government could be considered a terrorist sympathiser.
In 2012 it came to light that the Swaziland Army had attempted to buy cameras and phone
monitoring equipment worth US$1.25 million. The Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force
(USDF) – the formal name of the Swaziland Army – was sued in the Swaziland High Court
because it ordered the equipment, but did not pay for it.
In 2011 a journalist working in Swaziland for the AFP international news agency reported on
her blog that her phone calls were being listened in to.
In August 2011 Wikileaks published a cable from the US Embassy in Swaziland that revealed
the Swazi Government had tried to get MTN, the only mobile phone provider in the kingdom,
to use its network for ‘surveillance on political dissidents’.
Tebogo Mogapi, the MTN chief executive officer (CEO) in Swaziland, refused to comply
and later did not have his work permit renewed and so had to leave the kingdom.
See also
Top Swazi politicians’ ‘phones bugged’
State Police spy on Swazi MPs
Police spies infiltrate media
AFP journalist’s phone bugged
Security forces ‘spy on candidates’
Swaziland Police Whip Women Theft Suspects, Scald With Boiling Water. Two Need
Hospital Treatment
16 September 2018
Police in Swaziland are taking the law into their own hands by whipping women they suspect
of stealing from shops.
31
It adds to growing evidence that police in the tiny kingdom (recently renamed Eswatini by
absolute monarch King Mswati III) are out of control.
In the latest case four women were reportedly beaten with sjamboks [whips] and pipes and
scalded with boiling water. Two of them needed hospital treatment for burns and blisters.
It happened at Siteki police station, the Swazi Observer reported on Friday (14 September
2018).
The newspaper interviewed one victim who admitted they were‘professional shoplifters’ who
regularly stole from grocery shops. They would resell the goods.
The women from Mbabane operate across the kingdom and were caught stealing at a store in
Siteki.
One of the women Bonsile Miya, aged 48, was reported by the Observer saying, ‘We were
questioned about the theft but we refuted everything. The police bashed us with sjamboks and
rubber water pipes.’ She said they were also scalded with boiling water.
The newspaper added they were released but had to return to the police station later that day.
Two of the women were so badly injured they had to be carried because they could not walk.
She told the Observer, ‘We have committed an offence, but we do not deserve to be beaten
like that. Being a thief does not mean we do not have rights.’
The Observer added, ‘Chief Police Information and Communications Officer, Superintendent
Phindile Vilakati said the police were aware of these kinds of thieves but they usually arrest
not beat them up.’
There are numerous reports of police assaults in Swaziland. In March 2017, A man accused
of multiple murders told a 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,
the Manzini Magistrates’ Court was told.
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 September 2016, women were reportedly ambushed by armed police and ‘brutally
attacked’ by police during a strike at the Plantation Forest Company, near Pigg’s Peak.
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.’
32
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.
They also reported the case of Phumelela Mkhweli, a political activist who died after an
alleged assault by police after they arrested him.
The report also stated, ‘In April 2011, a 66-year-old woman was confronted by three police
officers regarding the wording on her t-shirt and headscarf. The police allegedly pulled off
her T-shirt, throttled her, banged her head against the wall, sexually molested her, kicked her
and threw her against a police truck.
‘The US Department of State reported on many allegations of torture and ill-treatment by
police; including beatings and temporary suffocation using rubber tube tied around the face,
nose, and mouth, or plastic bags over the head,’ the report stated.
It is not only the regular police force that assaults people. In June 2018 five community
police officers at Ngoloweni in Sandleni attacked a man described as ‘mentally disturbed’
and beat him close to death. They suspected the 44-year-old man had attempted to rape a girl
aged six.
In April 2018 it was reported that two community police officers at Malindza stripped a man
naked, tied him to a tree and flogged his bare buttocks with sticks until they bled profusely.
They had accused him of stealing pots from his grandfather’s house.
In March 2018 a court heard that three community policemen from Dvokolwako gang-raped
a 17-year-old schoolgirl at knifepoint and forced her boyfriend to watch. One of them
recorded it on his cellphone. The teenager was in her school uniform while she and her
boyfriend walked to a river after a school athletics competition. The community policemen
told them they were on patrol to make sure none of the pupils committed any offences during
the athletics competition.
In 2014 three Malindza community police beat to death a mentally challenged man who had
escaped from the National Psychiatric Centre.
In 2011 community police in Kwaluseni reportedly threatened to murder democracy activist
Musa Ngubeni if he was released on bail pending trial on explosive offences. Residents
accused the community police in the area of being involved in criminal activities.
See also
Police must not beat suspects: court
Brutal police attack caught on video
Police shoot up ‘drink-driver’s’ car
33
3 GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL MELTDOWN
Swaziland Freezes Govt Recruitment and Promotions as Cash Crisis Bites, But PM Will
Still Get Retirement Home
13 August 2018
The Government of Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini) has frozen all job hiring,
promotions and creation of new posts because it is broke.
The decision had been long expected but was finally confirmed at the beginning of August.
Evart Madlopha, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, announced this to
principal secretaries and heads of departments through Establishment Circular No. 3 of 2018.
It read in part, ‘This state of affairs has been necessitated by the current financial situation in
the country and the cash flow problems faced by government.’
Meanwhile, the Swazi Government confirmed it would go ahead with building the outgoing
Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini a retirement home worth at least E3 million.
According to a report in the Observer on Saturday newspaper in Swaziland (11 August 2018)
the government plans E560 million (US$40 million) in cuts, including more than E49 million
to upgrade schools and colleges in the kingdom. E50 million will be cut from the health
budget.
As of 30 June 2018 Swaziland owed a total of E12.9 billion, the equivalent of 20.8 percent of
the kingdom’s GDP. Of that nearly E3 billion was owed to suppliers of goods and services.
All areas of public services have been hit by the financial crisis as companies refuse to supply
the government until outstanding bills are dealt with, announced it had run out of stocks of
medicines because the government has not paid its bills.
In July Swazipharm, Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products and medical

equipment to the healthcare system of Swaziland, including government hospitals, private
hospitals, local government, clinics, humanitarian organisations, private organisations,
missionaries, pharmacies and chemists, reported it was running out of stocks because bills
had not been paid.
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 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.
34
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 gold 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 in
cheques, a gold dining room suite and a gold lounge suite among his birthday gifts. He now
has two private planes, 13 palaces and fleets of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars.
than the equivalent of US$2 per day.
Despite the funding crisis, the Swazi Government has also earmarked E1.5bn to build a
conference centre and five-star hotel to host the African Union summit in 2020 that will last
only eight days. There are also plans for a new parliament building that will cost E2.3 billion.
Meanwhile, the World Food Program has said it cannot raise the US$1.1 million it needs to
feed starving children in the kingdom in the coming six months.
See also
Swaziland admits it is broke
HEALTH
Govt-induced health crisis deepens
9 July 2018
Swaziland’s health crisis has deepened as the kingdom’s main supplier of medicines has run
out of stock because the government has not paid its bills.
Among drugs in short supply are those to treat HIV and cancers.
Swazipharm has written to all its clients saying it could not buy new stocks because the
Ministry of Health had not paid its bill, the Times of Swaziland reported on Friday (6 July
2018).
Swazipharm describes itself as, ‘Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products

and medical equipment to the healthcare system of Swaziland, including government
hospitals, private hospitals, local government, clinics, humanitarian organisations, private
organisations, missionaries, pharmacies and chemists.’
Swazipharm said it had only about two weeks of supplies left and was talking to the Ministry
to try to get payment.
The Times reported, ‘Most pharmacies and hospitals revealed that they feared that the issues
would not be sorted anytime soon and patients seeking such services would be greatly
affected.’
Swazipharm Sales and Marketing Manager Cindy Stankoczi confirmed it had cut the supply
of drugs to local health institutions.
35
The Times added, ‘Ministry of Health Director, Dr Vusi Magagula, who did not confirm or
deny that his ministry owed the company, refused to comment and said he was not in a
position to do so as it was a sensitive and private matter between the company and the
finance department.’
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 it was reported that children collapsed with hunger in their school because the
kingdom.
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.
than the equivalent of US$2 per day. King Mswati has 13 palaces, two private jets and fleets
of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars.
Swaziland Nurses Picket, Drugs Run Out, Lives Put at Risk as Government Fails to Pay
Suppliers
16 August 2018
Nurses in Swaziland are picketing their hospital to protest drug and staff shortages caused by
the government-induced financial crisis.
They say lives have been put a risk. They have been picketing during their lunch breaks for
the past three days at Mbabane Government Hospital in the capital of Swaziland (the
kingdom recently renamed Eswatini, by the its absolute monarch King Mswati III).
The Times of Swaziland reported on Wednesday (15 August 2018), ‘If you are in a critical
condition and want help, you will not get it at the Mbabane Government Hospital. This is due
to the shortage of vital drugs and working equipment, which could result in the death of some
of the patients.’
It reported the Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) unit at the hospital had also run out
of Unigold Testing Kits, which are used to confirm an HIV positive status. Also, more than
10 drugs were not available at the hospital.
36
The Times reported, ‘All this is happening at a time when government is facing serious
financial challenges. It was established from sources that the crisis within the health sector
was due to the financial catastrophe faced by government.
The Times reported ‘“It’s a serious matter. Patients will die if these issues are not addressed,”
some of the nurses said.’
The Swazi Observer reported on Wednesday, ‘The shortage of common drugs are hitting
even other government health institutions across the country, including Mankayane,
Dvokolwako, Pigg’s Peak Hospitals and other clinics, putting the health of patients at risk.’
Some drugs had been out of stock since the beginning of the year, the Observer reported.
The action comes after Swazipharm, Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical

products and medical equipment to the healthcare system of Swaziland, reported it could not
buy new stocks because the Ministry of Health had not paid its bill.
Swazipharm Sales and Marketing Manager Cindy Stankoczi confirmed in July 2018 it had
cut the supply of drugs to local health institutions.
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.
On 1 August 2018, the Swazi Government announced it had frozen all job hiring, promotions
and creation of new posts because it was broke.
kingdom.
Six Children Die in Swaziland in Diarrhoea Outbreak. Vaccines Short Since

Government Has Not Paid Suppliers
14 September 2018
At least six children in Swaziland died this week from diarrhoea and many more are sick
because the government is broke and cannot pay for vaccines.
It would cost US$6 for the vaccine to immunise a child.
37
The Times of Swaziland reported on Friday (14 September 2018) there is currently an
outbreak of diarrhoea, mainly in the Shiselweni and Hhohho regions.
The newspaper quoted sources in the health sector. ‘They said so far, the most affected area
was Nhlangano, where a total of six children under the age of five died from the disease from
last Wednesday at the Nhlangano Health Centre, while 13 were admitted to the same facility.’
The Times reported, ‘A number of children under the same age group were treated and
discharged at the health facility because the wards were already full.’
It added, ‘Furthermore, the impeccable sources revealed that recently, medical practitioners at
the Mbabane Government Hospital noted an increase in the number of children with
diarrhoea. However, they said no statistics were released so far.’
The Times said, ‘Dr Simon Zwane, the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health,
confirmed the outbreak of the deadly, but preventable disease.’
In Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by absolute monarch King Mswati III) diarrhoea is
rated among the top three causes of mortality especially amongst children under five years of
age. In 2014 at least 40 children died during an outbreak. Hundreds were hospitalised and
more than 3,000 cases were recorded.
The Times reported the current outbreak came, ‘in the wake of the economic difficulties
which led to a health crisis’.
According to the website of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, a 25-pack of one
dose vials of rotavirus vaccine to immunise against diarrhoea costs US70.49 (E1,035) at
commercial rates. Typically a child needs two doses to be immunised.
Medicines of all sorts have run out in public hospitals and health clinics across Swaziland
because the Swazi Government failed to pay suppliers. 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.
38
kingdom.
No Food For Hospital Patients As Broke Swaziland Government Leaves Supplier Bills
Unpaid
27 September 2018
The public hospital in Swaziland’s capital city Mbabane has run out of food for patients
because the government has not paid its bills to suppliers.
It is the latest in the long line of cases of the kingdom’s health services grinding to a halt
because of government mismanagement of the economy.
The Times of Swaziland reported on Wednesday (26 September 2018) that patients only had
apples and juice at Mbabane Government Hospital. It said bills to food suppliers had not been
paid. It was unclear how much money was owed.
Relatives and friends of some of the patients have taken in food for them. There are 500 beds
at the hospital.
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’.
The public health service across Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by absolute monarch
King Mswati III) is collapsing because the government has not paid suppliers.
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.
39
kingdom.
See also
Only 12 Govt ambulances in whole kingdom
King eats off gold, children starving
Swazi King Parties While Children Die
Drug shortage crisis deepens
Swazi Govt ‘killing its own people’
Medicine Shortage: Five Die
POLICE
Police, Emergency Services ‘to Grind to Halt’ as Govt Fails to Pay Fuel Suppliers
19 July 2018
Police, fire and other emergency services in Swaziland / Eswatini are set to grind to a halt
because of a fuel shortage for vehicles after the government failed to pay suppliers.
It follows reports that medicines are running out in government hospitals and clinics and
schoolchildren are going hungry because food bills have not been paid.
The government owes a total of E2.78 billion to its suppliers, it was revealed last week.
The Times of Swaziland reported on Thursday (19 July 2018) a source revealed, ‘It was
highly likely that all government cars could soon be grounded, something which would affect
essential services like the police, health sector, Fire and Emergency Services, among others.’
It added, ‘Furthermore, the insider alleged that the shortage of fuel had been caused by
government’s cash flow challenges which had been experienced by the country since the
economical meltdown started some years ago.’
The Times reported, ‘Sources from some of the government departments which provide
essential services in the kingdom attested to the looming crisis.’
Swaziland is broke and as of 30 June 2018 owed a total of E12.9 billion, the equivalent of
20.8 percent of the kingdom’s GDP. Of that nearly E3 billion is owed to suppliers of goods
and services.
40
All areas of public services have been hit by the financial crisis as companies refuse to supply
the government until outstanding bills are dealt with, announced it had run out of stocks of
medicines because the government has not paid its bills.
Last week Swazipharm, Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products and

medical equipment to the healthcare system of Swaziland, including government hospitals,
private hospitals, local government, clinics, humanitarian organisations, private
organisations, missionaries, pharmacies and chemists, reported it was running out of stocks
because bills had not been paid.
kingdom.
monarchs wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit beaded with gold 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. He now has two private planes, 13 palaces and fleets of top-of-the-range BMW
and Mercedes cars.
than the equivalent of US$2 per day.
Despite the funding crisis, the Swazi Government still found US$30 million to buy the King a
second private plane. It has also earmarked E1.5bn this year to build a conference centre and
five-star hotel to host the African Union summit in 2020 that will last only eight days and it
has budgeted E5.5 million to build Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini a retirement house.
There are also plans for a new parliament building that will cost E2.3 billion.
Police Forced to Hitch-Hike to Crime and Accident Scenes as Government-Induced

Financial Crisis Bites
17 August 2018
Police officers in Swaziland are forced to walk or hitch-hike to crime and accident scenes
because the government has not paid for fuel or vehicle repairs.
Criminals in some parts of the kingdom recently renamed Eswatini by absolute monarch
King Mswati III, ‘are having a field day, especially in Siteki, as police at the biggest police
41
station in the region have no motor vehicles to attend to reported crime scenes on time’, the
Swazi Observer newspaper reported on Thursday (16 August 2018).
It reported, ‘Traffic officers are said to be currently using their personal vehicles to mount
roadblocks.’
Vehicles are off the road because of a shortage of transport and fuel, it reported. It added this
was caused by the financial crisis presently gripping the government.
It reported, ‘Traffic officers in Siteki have been left with no alternative but to hitch-hike their
way to accident scenes. A number of vehicles belonging to the station are said to have
developed mechanical faults and are being attended to at the local Central Transport
Administration (CTA) depot.’
Currently, there are only two vehicles available to police at Siteki being used by the general
patrol, crime investigation department (CID) and the traffic department.
The Observer reported, ‘When reached for comment, Chief Police Information and
Communications Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba acknowledged that they were
currently facing a serious shortage of motor vehicles in many police stations.’
In July 2018 it was reported police, fire and other emergency services in Swaziland were set
to grind to a halt because of a fuel shortage for vehicles after the government failed to pay
suppliers.
The Times of Swaziland reported at the time that a source revealed, ‘It was highly likely that
all government cars could soon be grounded, something which would affect essential services
like the police, health sector, Fire and Emergency Services, among others.’
It added, ‘Furthermore, the insider alleged that the shortage of fuel had been caused by
government’s cash flow challenges which had been experienced by the country since the
economical meltdown started some years ago.’
The Times reported, ‘Sources from some of the government departments which provide
essential services in the kingdom attested to the looming crisis.’
In May 2018 it was reported that Swaziland was so short of resources that police were unable
to secure voter registration centres and do their routine work at the same time. Police officers
were said to have been left stranded at registration centres in the evenings because there were
no vehicles available to take them home.
Police were unable to respond when a five-year-old was abducted and raped because they
were on election duty, according to the Swazi Observer at the time. It said a toddler was with
her mother at Mahlalini, an area in the outskirts of Nhlangano, when a man grabbed her and
disappeared into a thicket where he raped her.
The Observer reported, ‘The mother said police were alerted but the excuse they gave was
that there was no vehicle at the police station as they were all assigned to the ongoing
elections registration process.’
42
It added, ‘Police spokesperson Superintendent Khulani Mamba confirmed the incident and
further stated that there has been no arrest as the suspect managed to escape when means
were made to apprehend him.’
Swaziland is broke and as of 30 June 2018 owed a total of E12.9 billion, the equivalent of
20.8 percent of the kingdom’s GDP. Of that nearly E3 billion is owed to suppliers of goods
and services. On 1 August 2018, the Swazi Government announced it had frozen all job
hiring, promotions and creation of new posts because it was broke.
second private plane earlier this year. It also earmarked E1.5bn to build a conference centre
and five-star hotel to host the African Union summit in 2020 that will last only eight days and
it has budgeted E3 million to build Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini a retirement house.
There are also plans for a new parliament building that would cost E2.3 billion.
The World Food Program has said it cannot raise the US$1.1 million it needs to feed starving
children in the kingdom in the coming months.
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.
than the equivalent of US$2 per day. King Mswati has 13 palaces, two private jets and fleets
of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars.
EDUCATION
Students stuck as Govt not paid fees
10 July 2018
Students who have completed their exams at the University of Swaziland (UNISWA) will not
get their results because the government has not paid their tuition fees.
More than 3,200 students - almost half of all students at the university - owed fees, a
newspaper quoted UNISWA Registrar Salebona Simelane saying.
The Swazi Observer reported Simelane said the university would withhold results until fees
had been paid.
It emerged that ‘millions of emalangeni’ was owed in fees by the government. The
newspaper reported on Monday (9 July 2018), ‘UNISWA Registrar Dr Salebona Simelane
made it clear when asked on what would happen to those students who were government-
sponsored and had not paid their tuition fees. Simelane said it did not matter whether a
student was self-sponsored or sponsored by government.’
43
It added, ‘The registrar said the university would exercise the same measure across the board
and would not be lenient with any party, whether government sponsored or not.’
The Observer reported students were angry with the decision. ‘The students stated that they
did not understand how they owed fees when it was government who was paying.’ The
students thought that since their allowances had been paid so had their fees.
Swaziland is in financial meltdown with the government living from day to day. 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.
On 14 June 2018 he told the House of Assembly there was not enough money to pay public
servants’ salaries or to pay government suppliers and things were set to get worse.
In June it was reported that children collapsed with hunger in their school because the
kingdom.
Last week Swazipharm Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products and

medical equipment to the healthcare system of Swaziland, including government hospitals,
private hospitals, local government, clinics, humanitarian organisations, private
organisations, missionaries, pharmacies and chemists, reported it had almost run out of
supplies of medicine and provisions because the government had not paid its bills.
Despite this crisis, in his March 2018 budget Dlamini announced E1.5bn (US$125m) would
be set aside his year to build a conference centre and five-star hotel to host the African Union
summit in 2020 that would last only eight days. E5.5 million is budgeted to build Prime
Minister Barnabas Dlamini a retirement house, and plans are being made for a new
parliament building that would cost E2.3 billion.
Govt cash crisis: students get results

13 July 2018
Students at the University of Swaziland (UNISWA) who have completed their exams have
been given their results despite a report they had been withheld because the government had
not paid their tuition fees.
More than 3,200 students - almost half of all students at the university - still owe fees, the
Swazi Observer reported UNISWA Registrar Dr Salebona Simelane saying.
‘Millions of emalangeni’ was owed in fees by the government. The newspaper reported on
Monday (9 July 2018), ‘UNISWA Registrar Dr Salebona Simelane made it clear when asked
on what would happen to those students who were government-sponsored and had not paid
their tuition fees. Simelane said it did not matter whether a student was self-sponsored or
sponsored by government.’
It added, ‘The registrar said the university would exercise the same measure across the board
and would not be lenient with any party, whether government sponsored or not.’
44
Now, UNISWA has issued a statement saying the results have been released to ‘both
privately and government sponsored students, owing and non-owing students’.
The Government still owes the money to the university, but it is not clear whether UNISWA
expects to receive it.
The press statement warned, ‘There is a condition attached to this position: owing students
are required to sign an undertaking to clear their debts in due course.’
See also
Student protest leaders suspended
Students march on Government
Govt cash crisis: schoolkids sent home

12 July 2018
Children a primary school in Swaziland / Eswatini were sent home because their parents did
not help to pay its electricity bill.
Parents at Antioch Primary, Manzini, said the government had not paid the school its funds
so it had no money to cover its operational costs.
Children were also sent home for not contributing money to allow the school’s choristers to
go to the SwaziBank Choral Competition, the Swazi Observer newspaper reported on Friday
(6 July 2018).
The Swaziland Government is broke and owes more than E3 billion (US$230 million) to
suppliers. Medicines at public hospitals have dried up and children across the kingdom are
going hungry because the government has not funded school feeding programmes.
The Observer reported one parent who said they were called to a meeting at the school to be
told that they would have to pay for the school’s electricity bill and trip. ‘It was not easy for
them to oppose such because they felt like their children would be victimised,’ it reported.
It added, ‘The mother of two said she did not understand why her children had to be sent
home for failing to pay electricity for the school and pay for a trip that they were not even
going to partake in.’
The Government in Swaziland has failed to pay primary school fees across the kingdom. In
June 2018 headteachers and principals told the Swazi Observer they were in huge debts and
unable to pay suppliers. It said the problem was with the government which faced financial
challenges. It reported one school principal saying education in the kingdom would continue
to deteriorate if the situation did not improve.
The Swaziland national budget has been mismanaged for years. Swaziland is broke and the
government is living from hand to mouth. Earlier this month Finance Minister Martin
Dlamini told the House of Assembly as of 31 March 2018 government owed E3.28 billion.
Dlamini said budget projections indicated ‘exponential growth in the arrears’.
45
second private plane. It has also earmarked E1.5bn this year to build a conference centre and
five-star hotel to host the African Union summit in 2020 that will last only eight days and it
has budgeted E5.5 million to build Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini a retirement house.
There are also plans for a new parliament building that will cost E2.3 billion.
The excessive lifestyle of King Mswati has also been under the spotlight. He 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.
He received E15 million (US$1.2 million) in cheques, a gold dining room suite and a gold
lounge suite among his birthday gifts.
See also
Chaos as Govt fails to pay school fees
King eats off gold, children collapse with hunger
No food so schoolkids sent home
Hunger forces schools to close early
46
4 KING SOBHUZA AND APARTHEID

Secret CIA Report Reveals Swaziland King Sobhuza’s Support For Apartheid South
Africa
20 August 2018
Swaziland under 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, a secret CIA document from 1978 reveals.
King Sobhuza ruled Swaziland as an absolute monarch after he dissolved parliament in 1973
and had faced many calls for change. The information in the document contradicts the
present-day belief that King Sobhuza and his backers were stanch supporters of the struggle
for freedom in South Africa during the Apartheid era.
The United States Central Intelligence Agency in a report called Africa Review and marked
‘Secret’, dated 1 December 1978 said South Africa had ‘equipped the Swazi Army with light
infantry weapons’.
The report said the ‘traditionalist’ Swaziland government, ‘believes it is threatened in the
same way white South Africans are, namely by a host of outside forces seeking the
destruction of a social and political order that has served to protect the interests of the ruling
elite.
‘Since independence [10 years earlier in 1968] the Swazi Government has sought to suppress
any signs of change that could lead to pressure for reforming the country’s political and
social institutions. Consequently, close relations with South Africa are probably viewed as
protection against Communist and radical change.’
The secret CIA report that has since been declassified added Swaziland had strong economic
ties with South Africa and was ‘motivated to maintain good relations with Pretoria’.
It added, ‘As a result, Swaziland has made little effort to disassociate itself from Pretoria and
has indeed strengthened economic ties with South Africa. The government apparently also
maintains a covert and close relationship with the South African police that appears to extend
beyond cooperation in criminal matters to intelligence matters of mutual concern.
‘In addition, South Africa has equipped the Swazi Army with light infantry weapons.’
The CIA report said that one way Swaziland had shown its support for the racist white-run
Apartheid regime in South Africa was to cut its links with FIFA, the international footballing
body, in protest at South Africa’s expulsion from the organisation.
The CIA report said, ‘A Swazi official stated that “we cannot afford to boycott South Africa
or participate in any sanctions.” He added, “I don’t see why we should deny a black man in
South Africa the freedom of association with other black sportsmen.”.
The report said that it was unlikely that the situation would change after King Sobhuza died
as, ‘his successor would be confronted with the same geopolitical realities’.
47
The CIA report said that Swaziland was ‘beginning to become involved, albeit very
reluctantly, in the liberation effort against its white neighbour. There is some evidence that
Swaziland is being used increasingly by South African nationalist movements for the
infiltration of arms and insurgents into South Africa.
‘Swaziland is also being used more frequently as an escape route for black South African
dissidents and refugees. Such activists are carefully monitored, however, and the Swazis are
not allowed to become involved.
‘In early 1978 several Pan Africanist Congress leaders were detained and later expelled for
their involvement in cross-border operations.’
See also
The Day Democracy Died in Swaziland
During Apartheid Era Swaziland Lobbied US and UK Not to Support Sanctions on

South Africa
21 August 2018
During the height of the Apartheid era, Swaziland lobbied the US and UK Governments not
to support economic sanctions on South Africa, a confidential communication from 1978 has
revealed.
The then Swazi Prime Minister Maphevu Harry Dlamini said the sanctions would be
‘disastrous’ for the Swaziland economy.
At about the same time Swaziland under 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, a separate secret CIA
document from 1978 revealed.
The information contradicts the present-day belief that King Sobhuza 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.’
48
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.”
‘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 has since been
declassified. It is now publicly available through the Wikileaks’ Public Library of US
Diplomacy.
A separate secret CIA document (also since declassified) from 1978 called Africa Review,
dated 1 December 1978 said South Africa had ‘equipped the Swazi Army with light infantry
weapons’.
49
The report said the ‘traditionalist’ Swaziland government, ‘believes it is threatened in the
same way white South Africans are, namely by a host of outside forces seeking the
destruction of a social and political order that has served to protect the interests of the ruling
elite.
‘Since independence [10 years earlier in 1968] the Swazi Government has sought to suppress
any signs of change that could lead to pressure for reforming the country’s political and
social institutions. Consequently, close relations with South Africa are probably viewed as
protection against Communist and radical change.’
50
5 SWAZI CULTURE
Swaziland’s King Mswati Named as Offender in Global Report on Modern Slavery
23 July 2018
King Mswati III the absolute monarch of Swaziland / Eswatini has been named in a global
report on modern slavery for forcing his subjects to weed his fields.
His supporters say the work is done in the name of culture but others say if they do not work
for the King they are punished.
The Global Slavery Index 2018, just published, said there was evidence that the practice of
kuhlehla continued, ‘where the community is forced to render services or work for the King
or local chiefs’.
The report estimated there were 12,000 people in Swaziland in modern slavery. This number
has increased from 1,302 people in 2013 and 6,700 people in 2014. The numbers for 2018
may have been distorted by changes in the way victims are counted.
The report stated modern slavery, ‘refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot
refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception and / or abuse of power’.
This is not the first time King Mswati has been named in a report on modern slavery or
human trafficking. The annual Trafficking in Persons Report for 2017 from the United States
State Department said it had been reporting conditions in Swaziland for the previous five
years. It said, ‘Swazis are culturally expected to participate in the seasonal weeding and
harvesting of the King’s fields and those who may refuse are subject to coercion through
threats and intimidation by their chiefs.’
A report Child Labor and Forced Labor from the US Department of Labor looking at 2016
stated penalties imposed by chiefs included ‘evicting families from their village and
confiscating livestock’.
Separately, the 2014 Trafficking in Persons report revealed, ‘Swazi chiefs may coerce
children and adults—through threats and intimidation—to work for the King. Swazi boys and
foreign children are forced to labor in commercial agriculture, including cattle herding, and
market vending within the country.’
King Mswati was at the centre of an international controversy in January 2015 when Swazi
Media Commentary revealed that schools in Swaziland were forced to stay closed after
Christmas so children could weed the King’s fields. As many as 30,000 children were
thought to have missed schooling as a result.
The Global Slavery Index for 2016 reported that the Swazi Government ‘attempted to
backtrack on its intentions when its use of unpaid child labour was reported by international
media’.
Seven in ten people in Swaziland live in abject poverty earning less than the equivalent of
$US2 per day. They can be forced to work under the Swazi Administration Order, No. 6 of
1998 which makes it a duty of Swazis to obey orders and participate in compulsory works;
participation is enforceable with severe penalties for those who refuse.
51
This is allowed even though the Swaziland Constitution that was enacted in 2006 prohibits
forced or compulsory labour.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in a 2009 report said the Swaziland
Federation of Trade Unions called the administration order a form of forced labour which
reinforced the traditional powers of chiefs to demand uncompensated labour from citizens
and apply punishment in case of refusal.
See also
Sex trafficking rife in Swaziland
Swazi Govt misleads on child labour
Kids forced to weed King’s fields
With Poverty, The King’s Greed And Human Rights Abuses There’s Nothing To
Celebrate On Swaziland’s 50th Anniversary Of Independence
6 September 2018
By Richard Rooney
Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini bythe kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III)
marked the 50th anniversary of independence from Great Britain on 6 September 2018. But
there’s not much to celebrate.
Swaziland is holding elections on 21 September but political parties are banned from taking
part. Only 59 members of the House of Assembly are elected by the people; the King
appoints another 10. None of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people.
The elections are recognised across the world as fake. King Mswati chooses the Prime
Minister, the government and all top judges and civil servants.
Seven in ten of the 1.1 million population live 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 World Food Program estimated 350,000 people (a third of the population) in Swaziland
were in need of food assistance. WFP helped 65,473 of them. It said it was regularly feeding
52,000 orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) aged under eight years at neighbourhood
care points. About 45 percent of all children in thought to be OVCs.
It reported chronic malnutrition affected 26 percent of all children in Swaziland aged under
five.
In a report published at the end of May 2018, WFP said it needed US$1.13 million for the six
months to November. It reported that due to lack of funds it had to halt indefinitely the Food
by Prescription programme that assists people living with HIV and TB. The programme
offers nutrition assessments, counselling and support services to 24,000 malnourished people
52
receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), treatment for TB, prevention of mother to child
transmission (PMTCT) services, as well as support to their families through a monthly
household ration.
At his 50th birthday in April the Queen Mother gave the King Mswati a dining room suite
made of gold. It went alongside a lounge suite trimmed with gold that he was given by senior
members of his government.
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.
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.
The King has 13 palaces in impoverished Swaziland. 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.
The Swazi Observer reported that more than E15 million had been given to pay for the so-
called 50-50 Celebration that marked the King’s 50th birthday and the 50th anniversary of
Swaziland’s Independence from Great Britain.
At least E1.6 million came from public funds. The Royal Swaziland Police Service and the
Royal Correctional Service gave E300,000 each and the Public Service Pension Fund gave
E1 million.
The Observer reported King Mswati was in ‘a jovial mood as he received the gifts’.
To mark the 50th anniversary of independence the Swaziland Human Rights Network UK
wrote an open letter to the High Commissioner of Swaziland in Great Britain.
It read in part, ‘The 50th Independence Day finds the country mired in myriad socio-
economic and political problems: The economy of the kingdom of eSwatini is on a spiralling
downturn, worsening human rights record, an alarmingly widening gap between the rich and
the poor, an ever increasingly powerful political elite headed by King Mswati III and the
Dlamini royal family, rampant government corruption, poor ease of doing business index,
record crime statistics including ritual murder, lack of any notable foreign direct investment
to name but a few of the significant problems facing the nation. Given the foregoing we ask
ourselves if there is anything worth celebrating on the 06th September 2018!
‘We hereby call upon your office to express our collective concerns to the eSwatini
government particularly on the issues of human rights and democratic change into a people-
driven political plurality. We are alarmed by the most recent and continuing police brutality
against peaceful demonstrators. The use of live ammunition by the police against members of
the Swaziland National Association of Teachers represents a dangerous and unprecedented
nadir on industrial matters and public security.
‘The government’s continuing lavish spending on such projects as the Prime Minister’s
retirement home, the aircraft hangar at King Mswati III airport and the expensive luxury
53
vehicles for top government officials against a decline on student scholarships, poor spending
on elderly grants and heavy reliance on foreign aid and massive borrowing for capital
projects defines a government of upended priorities.
‘We also note with alarm the ever-growing security budget and the acquisition of arms by the
security forces at a time when the nation is not at war. Poverty levels remain stubbornly high
while the government turns a blind eye to the plight of the poor. Hospitals often have to do
without vital medical and equipment supplies. Therefore, we contend that on the 50th
Anniversary of the Kingdom of eSwatini’s Independence, there is very little to celebrate!’
See also
King eats off gold, children starving
Swazi Cabinet’s gift of gold
Kingdom bottom in world health ranking
Swazi Govt ‘killing its own people’
Nearly Half Surveyed in Swaziland Never Heard of Global Warming and King Says
Drought is Act of God
10 August 2018
Nearly half the people surveyed in Swaziland / Eswatini have not heard of climate change
even though the kingdom has experienced its worst drought.
But, the people surveyed by Afrobarometer did say they had noticed an increase in severe
weather in recent years. Afrobarometer said, ‘The same period has also seen a sharp decline
in crop-production levels and crop diversity due to climate variability. Maize production in
the country dropped by 67 percent between the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 planting seasons,
especially in the lowveld. Declines in crop production are major setbacks to subsistence and
commercial farmers as well as to a national economy in which agriculture ranks second only
to manufacturing.’
The results of its survey of 1,200 adults has recently been released. About two-thirds of
people said that droughts (65 percent) and flooding (64 percent) had become ‘somewhat more
severe’ or ‘much more severe’ in their region over the past decade.
Even so, almost half (45 percent) of respondents said they had never heard of climate change.
Afrobarometer reported, ‘Among respondents who are aware of climate change, six out of 10
(61 percent) attribute it to human activity.’ It added, ‘More than half of citizens who are
aware of climate change believe that ordinary people can do “a little” (27 percent) or “a lot”
(24 percent) to fight climate change.’
Afrobarometer did not report that people in Swaziland were continually mislead about the
nature of the drought. The kingdom is ruled by King Mswati III who is one of the last
absolute monarchs in the world. The media in Swaziland are heavily censored when covering
the King and report his words uncritically.
54
In January 2017, King Mswati told his subjects that the drought was a test from God. He said
that it was only because people believed in the Christian God that rain had recently fallen in
Swaziland.
The drought had crippled Swaziland and according to statistics from United Nations
Children’s’ Fund (UNICEF) at the time about 350,000 of Swaziland’s 1.2 million population
were affected by drought and of these 189,000 were children. UNICEF stated 308,059 people
were ‘food insecure’ and 8,460 children aged under 59 months suffered ‘acute malnutrition’.
Despite the King’s lavish personal spending, including putting down a deposit of US$7.3m
for a private jet plane, Swaziland was unable to fund drought relief.
In February 2016, the Swazi Government declared a national emergency and called on
international agencies to donate E248 million (US$16 million) over the coming two months.
In total, government would need about E2 billion to address the situation over five years, it
was reported.
The national emergency was declared only weeks after King Mswati III told his subjects the
drought in his kingdom was over. He had this when his regiments took part in the Incwala
ceremony. The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported on 1
January 2016 that the King had ‘pronounced an end to the drought situation’.
It reported, ‘The King said the drought situation changed as soon as the water party (bemanti)
was commissioned to fetch water in the Indian Ocean in Mozambique.
The newspaper added, ‘As he pronounced an end to the drought situation, the King predicted
a bumper harvest and urged all Swazis to go and work hard in their fields.’
Scientists agree that the drought in Swaziland and across southern Africa is the effect of El
Niño, a climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean with a global impact on weather patterns.
The Sunday Observer, (29 January 2017) a companion to the Swazi Observer, reported, ‘His
Majesty said he was proud because it turned out that Swazis really believed in God as they
were now experiencing tremendous amounts of rain.’
The newspaper said the King told ‘thousands of Christians’ assembled at the Mandvulo
Grand Hall, ‘God tests your faith as a Christian by setting challenges and it is through these
that as a Christian you must really pray and trust in Him to come through for you, because He
is a faithful God.’
See also
Drought: people died of hunger
In Full Public View, On Hand And Knees Student Begs Swaziland King For
Scholarship
11 September 2018
55
Mpilwenhle Matsebula begs King Mswati Swaziland’s absolute monarch (far left) for a
university scholarship. (Picture: Swazi Observer)
A female university student got down on her hands and knees in front of Swaziland’s
absolute monarch King Mswati III and begged him for a scholarship so she could go to
university.
He granted her plea.
It happened in full public view when the King visited the International Trade Fair at Manzini
in Swaziland, the kingdom the King renamed Eswatini on his 50th birthday in April 2018.
The Swazi Observer a newspaper in effect owned by the King splashed the story on its front
page on Monday (10 September 2018).
It said Mpilwenhle Matsebula, aged 26, a first year student at the Southern Africa Nazarene
University (SANU) ‘literally begged for a scholarship’.
The Observer described Matsebula as ‘indigent’ and said, ‘It seems His Majesty King Mswati
III was very touched by the student’s predicament and has given an instruction that she
should be granted her wish.’
This was not the first time King Mswati’s subjects had ‘literally begged’ him for help. The
Observer recalled the case of Hlob’sile Ndlovu who ‘a couple of years back jumped at an
opportunity and pleaded for employment from the King. The King is still looking into her
request.’
In July 2016 it was reported that desperately poor people camped outside the King’s office at
Nkhanini over many months to ‘beg’ the King for work. They said they would rather die
than return to poverty, the Times of Swaziland reported at the time.
The Times reported, ‘However, on numerous occasions, the undeterred group would be told
that there were currently no vacancies but would continue to sit and hope for a different
answer.’
The newspaper reported the jobseekers said they ‘would rather die outside the gates of
Nkhanini than to return to poverty’.
56
The Times reported, ‘They said they were sending a plea to Their Majesties to find it befitting
to issue a Royal Command for them to be given jobs as they were currently ravaged by
poverty.’
It added, ‘They said they were determined to go to Their Majesties to beg for the jobs.’
They had heard rumours that there were vacancies for jobs such as cleaning staff,
groundsmen and other general duties, which did not require special skills in order to carry
out.
Seven in ten of the estimated 1.1 population in Swaziland live 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.
At his 50th birthday in April the Queen Mother gave the King Mswati a dining room suite
made of gold. It went alongside a lounge suite trimmed with gold that he was given by senior
members of his government.
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.
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.
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.
The Swazi Observer reported that more than E15 million had been given to pay for the so-
called 50-50 Celebration that marked the King’s 50th birthday and the 50th anniversary of
Swaziland’s Independence from Great Britain.
At least E1.6 million came from public funds. The Royal Swaziland Police Service and the
Royal Correctional Service gave E300,000 each and the Public Service Pension Fund gave
E1 million.
The Observer reported at the time King Mswati was in ‘a jovial mood as he received the
gifts’.
Swaziland’s Claim to be Close to Reaching ‘First World’ Status Far From Reality
20 July 2018
There is no stopping the media in Swaziland / Eswatini as they continue to mislead their
audiences on how close the kingdom is to achieving King Mswati III’s aspiration to be the
ruler of a ‘First World’ nation by 2022.
57
One cannot be entirely surprised by this since the King rules Swaziland as an absolute
monarch and in effect owns the Swazi Observer, one of only two newspaper groups in the
kingdom. Nearly all radio and television in the kingdom is state-controlled and censored.
The King can and will close down media houses if it suits him and there are plenty of reasons
for journalists and owners to be afraid of him.
But that should not stop independent observers from discussing the King’s claim that his
kingdom is on track to be a ‘First World’ nation.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Swaziland issued a report in 2014 that
received no publicity in the kingdom at the time, that said if Swaziland were to achieve ‘First
World’ status it would have to be ‘among high human development countries like Norway,
Australia, United States, Netherlands and Germany to name a few’.
UNDP went on to give these statistics comparing present-day Swaziland with Norway, the
United States and Germany.
Life expectancy: Swaziland (48.9 years); Norway (81.3); United States (78.7); Germany
(80.6).
Mean average years of schooling: Swaziland (7.1); Norway (12.6); United States (13.3);
Germany (12.2).
Percentage of population with at least secondary school education: Swaziland (48);
Norway (95.2); United States (94.5); Germany (96.6).
The UNDP in Swaziland did not comment on the likelihood of Swaziland reaching ‘First
World’ status by 2022; it did not have to. Any independent observer can see from these
statistics that Swaziland is not even close to reaching the King’s target.
The UNDP is not alone in this. In 2012 a report published by 24/7 Wall St in the United
States, and based on data from the World Bank, identified Swaziland as the fifth poorest
country in the entire world.
It said 69 percent of King Mswati’s 1.3 million subjects lived in poverty.
Its report stated, ‘[T]he country’s workforce is largely concentrated in subsistence
agriculture, even though the country faces serious concerns about overgrazing and soil
depletion. While these factors harm the nation’s economy, health concerns are likely one of
the major factors preventing Swaziland’s population from escaping poverty.’
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 that detailed 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 these obvious facts the media in Swaziland will continue to claim that the kingdom is
on-track to 2022 and any alternative view will be suppressed. This is because it was King
58
Mswati himself who decreed that the kingdom should achieve ‘First World’ status and the
media are terrified of contradicting him.
Here’s an example of how far the media will go in its sycophancy to the King. In October
2013, the Observer on Saturday, part of a newspaper group described by the Media Institute
of Southern Africa in a report on press freedom in the kingdom, as ‘a pure propaganda
machine for the royal family’ reported that King Mswati told an admiring audience in
Swaziland that Americans ‘have travelled to the moon and stayed there for about six to eight
months’ and he hoped Swazi people would one day do the same.
See also
Swazi Govt fails on poverty: Oxfam
PM gets it wrong on poverty
Economy: Impossible to cut poverty
Women in Swaziland Still Have Long Way to go to Achieve Equality, Reports Suggest
14 September 2018
Women’s rights continue to be ‘a challenging issue’ in Swaziland, a report just published by

Afrobarometer states.
‘Violence and abuse are a major development concern in eSwatini [the new name for
Swaziland], profoundly affecting women and children,’ the report states.
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’.
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.’
Afrobarometer added, ‘An overwhelming majority (95 percent) of citizens say a man is
“never justified” in beating his wife, but one in 20 respondents (5 percent) see wife-beating as
“sometimes” or “always” justified.’
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude
surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues in African
countries.
59
In March 2018 it was announced the European Union was funding a three-year project in
Swaziland to advocate for and support women’s rights in the kingdom.
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.’
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.
Some of the statistics on ‘life as a female in Swaziland’ quoted in the report include:
One in three girls experience sexual violence before they reach the age of 18 (Amnesty
International, 2010);
31 percent of women are HIV-positive (UNAIDS, 2014);
70 percent of female sex workers are HIV-positive (AVERT, 2015);
Early and forced marriage is ‘normal’ (Amnesty International, 2010);
Marital rape is legal (Amnesty International, 2010);
Out of 65 delegates in the House of Assembly, only four are women (6 percent) (Department
of Gender and Family Affairs, 2014).
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See also
Rise in gender-based violence
Sex Bill highlights culture issues
Women election candidates in Swaziland forced to address voters on their knees to
show respect for men
61
6 REED DANCE
Pornographic Photos and Sex Tourists: The Sleazy Side of Swaziland’s Reed Dance
29 August 2018
Photographs of the women and girls who dance bare breasted and in short skirts and some
with no underwear in front of Swaziland’s absolute monarch King Mswati III at the
traditional Reed Dance are appearing on pornography websites across the world.
The half-naked dancers, some as young as 11, are also said to be attracting ‘sex tourists’ to
the kingdom. Also, some of King Mswati’s American backers told him the sight of a middle-
age man watching tens of thousands of semi-clothed women dance for him gave Swaziland a
bad image as there was an obvious ‘sexual undertone’ to it.
The next annual Reed Dance (also known as Umhlanga) takes place in Swaziland (renamed
Eswatini by King Mswati on his fiftieth birthday earlier this year) on Monday (3 September
2018). If past years are a guide possibly as many as 100,000 women, often described as
‘maidens’ or ‘virgins’ by media in Swaziland, will dance. The Reed Dance is considered a
major traditional cultural event and takes place each year.
Ahead of this year’s event Nonduduzo ‘Zuzu’ Zubuko, the leader of the women who dance
and who are called the Imbali Regiment, told participants, ‘Part of the things that our culture
teaches us is to dress appropriately for the ceremony you are attending.’
The Swazi Observer (16 August 2018), a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported
her saying, ‘You are also expected to attend in your numbers as our culture teaches us to
always respect and attend to royal commands. This must start at chiefdom level. You are also
expected to always attend community meetings called by your leaders and this spreads to the
whole country where you should show respect to the highest authority of the kingdom.’
The newspaper added, ‘She implored Imbali to be proud of who they are and their culture.
“You must wear that outfit with pride because you are indeed the pride of the nation.
‘“How would you claim to be Liswati [Swazi people] if you are even afraid to dress up in
traditional regalia? How do you claim to be Liswati if you don’t even know which regiment
you belong to as an individual?” she wondered.’
The traditional dress means going topless and wearing very short skirts. The women are
encouraged by traditionalists not to wear underwear.
The dancers make easy pickings for people wanting to take photographs and use them for
pornographic purpose. A simple search on Google highlights how many sites, some of them
demanding payment to view, exist.
There are also concerns that people who come into Swaziland to attend the event are ‘sex
tourists’. As long ago as 2006 Independent-on-Line (IOL) newspapers in South Africa
reported they came from all over the world.
IOL reported, ‘Some of them, mainly male European tourist armed with video cameras and
modern digital cameras, are not afraid to admit that “it is the only place in the world where
we can see bare-breasted women and buttocks”.’
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It also interviewed tourists from South Africa, Chile and China.

It added, ‘Even though the tourists were told not to take photographs of the girls below the
waist, it was evident that most of them - mainly men - were taking photographs as they
wished.
‘It was also striking that when the very young maidens passed before the King and the
photographers, no one showed much interest. But when the teenagers and the young women
danced, photographers flocked towards the girls.’
IOL reported, ‘On the second day of the Reed Dance, in the morning, some tourists watched
the girls and took photographs of them while they were bathing in the nearby river. Motorists,
too, were spotted luring the girls by promising them food and money.’
It added, ‘A man from Chile who claimed to be a “freelancer”’, stood among the girls in the
Lusushwana River, taking photographs.’
King Mswati himself has been criticised for continuing with the tradition of the half-naked
dancing. The New Republic, an American news magazine, reported that conservative backers
of the King in the United States disapproved of the Reed Dance.
In 2008 it told the story of the King’s visit to the US. Joe Szlavik, who was a public relations
operative working on behalf of the King, took him to meet with Chris Smith, a socially
conservative Republican representative from New Jersey and then chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa.
The New Republic reported, ‘Szlavik, whose firm was pulling in $20,000 per month from its
Swaziland account, had some difficult news to deliver about a certain Swazi custom. “You
have this Reed Dance, with these virgins,” he explained to me [the author of the article]
recently. Szlavik's message to his client was simple. “Listen to me,” he implored the King.
“You got to stop this.”
The New Republic reported, ‘Smith “understood there was a traditional part to the dance but
in light of the gravity of the HIV situation [thought] maybe they could put tradition aside,”
Szlavik recalls.
‘Such arguments were lost on King Mswati. “Look Joe, I understand the whole thing with the
West, but we look at breasts like you look at feet,” the monarch told him. It wasn’t an
unreasonable point. In some rural African cultures, women refraining from wearing tops is
about as common as US postal workers wearing shorts in the summer. But try explaining that
to a conservative Republican congressman.
‘“I like breasts personally,” Szlavik, a fast-talking cheerful man of about 40, told the King.
“But, you know, there's a sexual undertone to it clearly.”’
Not all the women and girls who dance half-naked for the King do so willingly. In 2016, the
Guardian newspaper, a respected international publication based in the United Kingdom,
reported that many participants were forced to attend the Umhlanga. It quoted a 29-year-old
teacher saying, ‘They say we are not forced, but we are. Families who don’t send their
daughters to the Umhlanga have to pay a fine, usually a goat or a cow.’
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In 2014, it was reported by media within Swaziland that girls were told if they did not attend
that year’s Reed Dance they would be publicly whipped. Girls in the Mbilaneni chiefdom
were told that if they travelled to the event but do not attended the ceremony, they would be
beaten on the buttocks when they returned to their homesteads.
Thami Thikazi, the headman of the Mbilaneni chiefdom, said if parents disagreed with the
punishment they would be forced to wield the lash themselves.
The Swazi Observer reported at the time Thikazi said, ‘In case parents distance themselves
from such, we are going to order them to be the ones administering the punishment in the
form of strokes on the buttocks should it be found that they (girls) did something intolerable.
The punishment will take place in full view of everyone.’
See also
Swaziland’s sinister Reed Dance
Swazi Reed Dance is Royal sex show
Naked hypocrisy at the ‘Times’
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7 LGBTI
Kingdom’s First LGBTI Pride Takes Place
2 July 2018
The first-ever LGBTI Pride parade to be held in the deeply conservative kingdom of
Swaziland / Eswatini took place on Saturday (30 June 2018). About 500 people took part in a
march.
It was both a social and political event as speakers called on the kingdom to respect the rights
of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) people. Homosexual acts are illegal
in Swaziland.
The Pride attracted attention all over the world in mainstream and social media. Many of the
events were streamed onto social media platforms as they were taking place.
The Times Sunday newspaper in Swaziland reported (1 July 2018), ‘By all intents and
purposes, it was a march that confronted and attempted to break the socially entrenched
homophobic stereotypes.’
It added, ‘There was high anticipation among the marchers that they would be allowed to
proceed towards the city centre, but the agreement with the police was to avoid those busy
areas of the city for security reasons. The messages out there were about sensitising society to
embrace this group of people, show them respect, and love them just as God loved them.’
United States Ambassador to Swaziland Lisa Peterson and European Union Ambassador
Esmeralda Hernandez Aragones were among those to speak on the need for human rights and
justice for all people.
There is a great deal of prejudice against LGBTI people in Swaziland. In May 2016, Rock of
Hope, which campaigns for LGBTI equality in Swaziland and organised the Pride event,
reported to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review on Swaziland that laws, social
stigma and prejudice prevented LGBTI organisations from operating freely.
The report, presented jointly with three South African-based organisations, stated, ‘In
Swaziland sexual health rights of LGBTI are not protected. There is inequality in the access
to general health care, gender affirming health care as opposed to sex affirming health care
and sexual reproductive health care and rights of these persons. HIV prevention, testing,
treatment and care services continue to be hetero-normative in nature only providing for
specific care for men born as male and women born as female, thereby leaving out trans men
and women as an unprotected population which continues to render the state’s efforts at
addressing the spread and incidence of HIV within general society futile.’
The report added, ‘LGBTIs are discriminated and condemned openly by society. This is
manifest in negative statements uttered by influential people in society e.g., religious,
traditional and political leaders. Traditionalists and conservative Christians view LGBTIs as
against Swazi tradition and religion. There have been several incidents where traditionalists
and religious leaders have issued negative statements about lesbians.
65
‘Human rights abuses and violations against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex population continue to go undocumented, unreported, unprosecuted
and not addressed.’
It added, ‘There is no legislation recognizing LGBTIs or protecting the right to a non-
heterosexual orientation and gender identity and as a result LGBTI cannot be open about their
orientation or gender identity for fear of rejection and discrimination. For example, the
Marriage Act, only recognizes a marriage or a union between a man and a woman. Because
of the absence of a law allowing homosexuals to conclude neither marriage nor civil unions,
same-sex partners cannot adopt children in Swaziland.’
The report made seven recommendations to the Swazi Government, including to review laws
that undermine LGBTI persons’ rights in particular and human rights in general especially as
they conflict with the Constitution; and to ensure prosecution of State agents who commit
human rights violations against LGBTI individuals and their organizations.
(Pictures sourced from various social media sites)
66
See also
Lesbian and gay murders in Swaziland
Swazi minister lies to UN on gays
Gay prejudice rife in Swaziland
Community Police banish gay men
No rights for gays: Justice Minister
Press vilified over lesbian’s death
LGBTI Pride Gets Global Attention

4 July 2018
International media extensively reported Swaziland’s first ever LGBTI Pride on Saturday.
The tone of coverage about the pride parade and its organiser Rock of Hope was
overwhelmingly positive, but King Mswati III, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s
last absolute monarch, and the traditionalists who support him came under criticism.
CNN reported, ‘In Swaziland, same-sex relationships are illegal and the country maintains a
colonial-era law against sodomy. The US State Department’s report on global human rights
practices in 2017 stated that Swazi people open about their sexual orientation “faced censure
and exclusion from the chiefdom-based patronage system.”
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‘The pride celebration was not endorsed by King Mswati III.’

It added, ‘The small southern African country, recently renamed the Kingdom of eSwatini by
its king, is Africa's last absolute monarchy and has a bleak record on LGBT rights. The
country of 1.4 million also has the world’s highest HIV/AIDS rates and suffers from severe
poverty.’
The BBC reported, ‘King Mswati III is widely reported to have called homosexuality
“satanic”, while the country’s chief police communications officer, Khulani Mamba, who
doubles up as a preacher, told his congregation last weekend that “this country will not
tolerate the LGBTI community”, according to the Swazi Times.’
The Huffington Post reported, ‘Sodomy is illegal in eSwatini, which is also Africa’s last
absolute monarchy. King Mswati III, who has ruled the country since 1986, has reportedly
described homosexuality as being “satanic.”
It quoted Pride organiser Melusi Simelane who said threats and discrimination were a
constant for Swaziland’s LGBTI community.
It said, ‘There is persecution each and every day,” he told BBC last week. “We are harassed,
we are violently abused, we are emotionally abused.”’
The Huffington Post added, ‘Matt Beard, All Out’s executive director, praised activists like
Simelane for their courage and their ambition to hold the pride parade despite the risks and
threats they’ve faced.
‘“The community and their allies painted the streets of this country rainbow, with a beautiful,
colorful parade that was literally exploding with joy,” Beard wrote of the historic event in a
Medium blog post. “At certain moments... the infectious joy of this community was so
intense, it was difficult to hold back the tears. We were loud, proud and dignified. Nobody
came to hurl hate, abuse (or worse) at us, as had been feared. Instead, this was a moment of
community and personal empowerment.”’
By contrast, in the run up to the event on Saturday (30 June 2018), the Swazi Observer, a
newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, ran three articles calling LGBTI people ‘a curse’
and ‘evil’ and likening them to child sex molesters and people who have sex with animals.
The international news agency AFP quoted Swaziland Government spokesperson Percy
Simelane denying the kingdom had an anti-homosexual stance and said ‘it would be unfair to
view the state as homophobic.’
Buzzfeed reported, ‘As far as Pride parades go, eSwatini’s [Swaziland’s] is less about flashy
floats and flag-waving, and more about showing the public that LGBT people value family
and community just as much as anyone else.’
See also
Observer steps up LGBTI hate campaign
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Police Investigate Lesbian Officer

9 July 2018
Police in Swaziland / Eswatini are investigating a woman officer who came out as a lesbian at
the kingdom’s LGBTI Pride event.
Chief Police Information and Communication Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba
confirmed this to the Swazi News. ‘Deliberations are going on so I can only discuss it
afterwards,’ Mamba said.
He said they were trying to determine whether police officers were allowed to attend LGBTI
(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) Pride events.
The newspaper reported on Saturday (7 July 2018), Mamba ‘went on to state that they had
seen her pictures and interview in last weekend’s publications and clarified that she was
participating in her own accord’.
Swaziland held its first LGBTI Pride parade the previous Saturday and many photographs
appeared in Swaziland’s national newspapers.
Homosexual acts among men are illegal in Swaziland but there is no law restricting women’s
activities.
In the run up to the LGBTI Pride the Swaziland police went on record to state it did not
support the march. Separately, Mamba, the official spokesperson for the police and a self-
proclaimed prophet, preached from the pulpit, ‘We say no to homosexuality, this country will
not tolerate the LGBTI community.’
One of the kingdom’s best-known NGO rights activist groups the Swaziland Action Group
Against Abuse (SWAGAA) snubbed the Pride festival saying it was against Biblical
teaching.
Swaziland is a tiny landlocked kingdom with a population of about 1.1 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 the run up to the event, the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, ran
three articles calling LGBTI people ‘a curse’ and ‘evil’ and likening them to child sex
molesters and people who had sex with animals.
The Swazi News reported that the woman police officer had ‘come out’ as a lesbian and
publicly participated in the Pride event.
It reported ‘Despite that she has come out, she requested that her identity be protected, not
because she was afraid but because of her work, where it still has not been fully accepted.’
It added, ‘Her confidence during the interview can be said to be that of one who can
withstand stigmatisation as many public service employees are afraid to declare their standing
in society when it comes such issues.
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‘The officer, when asked what advice she had for public servants who are part of the LGBTI
community but are afraid to come out, said they should continue to live their lives and not be
ashamed of who they are as God can be the only judge.’
The News reported her saying, ‘Some people who judge are hypocritical, because there are
things that they do behind closed doors that we do not know.’
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8 MEDIA
‘Swazi Observer’ story on deaths caused by circumcision as part of plan to wipe out
African race found to be false
24 August 2018
The Swazi Observer newspaper published a bogus news story on Friday (24 August 2018)
saying that men who had been circumcised to minimise HIV infection would likely die after
10 years.
The Observer said that an NGO in the United States called Deltas Clare (the Observer also
called it Delta Clare in its story) conducted research and found that the medication used for
circumcised men reacts after 10 years. Deltas Clare did not publish the report but it ended up
on the WikiLeaks website, it said.
The Observer also reported, ‘WikiLeaks says apart from the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
circumcision of men is part of the Western’s plan to wipe out the African race.’
It took less than a minute searching on Google to discover the story was bogus. The Observer
clearly had not bothered to check it out.
Thankfully the proper journalists at Malawi24 did. It reported, ‘Firstly, there is no
organisation in the public domain that is based in the US by the name. This raised the first
alarm in story.
‘Secondly, there is no study that has recently been published recently by WikiLeaks on
circumcision.
‘Not only that, WikiLeaks database does not have any research report by Deltas Clare or an
organisation that goes by that name.
‘Lastly, a study of this great magnitude would have been published in high ranking journals
and media outlets across the world.
‘In the contrary, a simple google search tracks the story to on-line and social media outlets in
Zambia which are of questionable repute.
‘The sites include Zambian Watch and The Zambian Observer. A quick scan through these
publications hints at the sites striving on either Fake News or unfounded gossip. A time
stamp of the stories shows that the story was first published in Zambia on the two sites on 18
August 2018 around 14:30.’
It concluded, ‘VERDICT: FALSE. While medical effectiveness of circumcision in the first
against HIV is yet to be established with conclusive evidence, our verdict drawn from the
above evidence is that the story and all its claims are wholly false.’
See also
‘Observer’ misreports police on LGBTI
‘Observer’ names another rape victim
71
Minister Demands Journalist’s Arrest

16 July 2018
The Health Minister of Swaziland / Eswatini Sibongile Ndlela-Simelane called on police to

arrest a journalist who was photographing government ministers’ cars outside the Deputy
Prime Minister’s office.
She demanded that the photographs be deleted which the journalist did.
It happened on Friday, according to a report in the Sunday Observer in Swaziland (15 July
2018).
The newspaper had previously published a report about government ministers’ BMW cars
being in a bad state of repair. It was checking a government claim that the vehicles had been
repaired and were back on the road.
The newspaper reported the journalist clearly identified himself to Ndlela-Simelane but she
demanded that security personnel call the police.
It added, ‘As soon as she left, the security warned the reporter about the issue at hand and
requested assistance from a female police officer on what to do with him. She advised him to
let the journalist go as there was nothing they could charge him on.’
Journalists face harassment all the time in Swaziland where King Mswati III rules as one of
the world’s last absolute monarchs. Broadcasting is severely censored and one of only two
national newspaper groups in the kingdom is in effect owned by the King.
In February 2018 prison warders attacked a journalist in a public street near Kwaluseni when
he took photographs of them travelling in the backs of overcrowded vehicles.
In December 2017 editor of Swaziland Shopping Zweli Martin Dlamini fled to neighbouring
South Africa after he received death threats. He had written a story about the King’s dealings
in the telecommunications industry.
In January 2017 the editor of the Times Sunday Innocent Maphalala and senior reporter on
the paper Mfanukhona Nkambule received threats of grievous bodily harm, ‘possibly even
leading to death’, according to the Times of Swaziland newspaper. It said, ‘The threats
emanate from a story the publication is pursuing regarding one of the country’s security
forces which has engaged in an action that has compromised this country internationally.’
It reported, ‘Further attempts to engage the Times Managing Editor, Martin Dlamini, and the
Publisher, Paul Loffler, also failed to convince this publication to drop the story. Even
though the people who issued the threats remain faceless, they threatened that should the
story see the light of day, the duo risked being eliminated.’
There is no media freedom in Swaziland, according to the latest annual report from Reporters
Without Borders which ranked the kingdom at number 152 out of 180 countries in the world
ranking. It stated the kingdom, ‘prevents journalists from working freely and obstructs access
to information. No court is allowed to prosecute or try members of the government, but any
criticism of the regime is liable to be the subject of a prosecution. For fear of reprisals,
journalists censor themselves almost systematically.’
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The US State Department in a review of human rights in Swaziland for 2017 stated, ‘Officials
impeded press freedom. Although no law bans criticism of the monarchy, the prime minister
and other officials cautioned journalists against publishing such criticism with veiled threats
of newspaper closure or job loss.’
The report stated, ‘The law empowers the government to ban publications if it deems them
“prejudicial or potentially prejudicial to the interests of defence, public safety, public order,
public morality, or public health.” Most journalists practiced self-censorship. Journalists
expressed fear of judicial reprisals for their reporting on some High Court cases and matters
involving the monarchy.’
The report stated, ‘Broadcast media remained firmly under state control. Most persons
obtained their news from radio broadcasts. A controversial ministerial decree prohibiting
MPs from speaking on the radio was apparently lifted. The government noted the decree had
never been enforced. There was no instance, however, in which an MP had violated it.
Despite invitations issued by the media regulatory authority for parties to apply for licenses,
no licenses were awarded. Stations practiced self-censorship and refused to broadcast
anything perceived as critical of the government or the monarchy.’
See also
‘Editor flees after death threat’
Swazi Government forces newspaper to close
Journalists ‘scared to do their jobs’
Swaziland Police Beat-Up Journalist Photographing Them Attacking, Shooting At

Textile Workers
2 September 2018
Police in Swaziland beat up a journalist and demanded he delete photographs he took of them
attacking and shooting at striking textile workers.
It was one of many cases of police and state forces attacking and harassing journalists in the
kingdom ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
Broadcasting is severely censored and one of only two national newspaper groups in the
kingdom is in effect owned by the King.
It happened on Thursday (30 August 2018) at Nhlangano where workers, mostly women,
were protesting about poor pay.
Andile Nsibande of the Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the
kingdom (recently renamed Eswatini by King Mswati), was viciously attacked by police
officers and prison warders who had been sent to assist them, the Times’ companion
newspaper the Times Sunday reported.
‘The officers kicked and punched the defenceless newsman until he fell to the ground,’ it
said. ‘They further hurled expletives at him.’
Nsibande was treated in hospital.
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More than 200 paramilitary police and correctional facility warders with riot shields, helmets
and batons were in Nhlangano on Thursday. Police fired several gunshots. It was the third
police attack on workers in a week and one of many in recent times.
Police and security forces in Swaziland routinely physically attack or harass journalists.
In July 2018, the Health Minister Sibongile Ndlela-Simelane called on police to arrest a
Swazi Observer journalist who was photographing government ministers’ cars outside the
Deputy Prime Minister’s office. She demanded that the photographs be deleted which the
journalist did. The newspaper had previously published a report about government ministers’
BMW cars being in a bad state of repair. It was checking a government claim that the
vehicles had been repaired and were back on the road.
In February 2018 prison warders attacked a journalist in a public street near Kwaluseni when
he took photographs of them travelling in the backs of overcrowded vehicles.
In December 2017 editor of Swaziland Shopping Zweli Martin Dlamini fled to neighbouring
South Africa after he received death threats. He had written a story about the King’s dealings
in the telecommunications industry.
In January 2017 the editor of the Times Sunday Innocent Maphalala and senior reporter on
the paper Mfanukhona Nkambule received threats of grievous bodily harm, ‘possibly even
leading to death’, according to the Times of Swaziland newspaper. It said, ‘The threats
emanate from a story the publication is pursuing regarding one of the country’s security
forces which has engaged in an action that has compromised this country internationally.’
Thulani Maseko and Bheki Makhubu gained international attention when in 2014 they were
sentenced to two years in jail after writing and publishing articles in the Nation magazine that
were critical of the Swazi judiciary. They were released by the Swazi Supreme Court on 30
June 2015 after they had served 15 months of their sentences.
There is no media freedom in Swaziland, according to the latest annual report from Reporters
Without Borders which ranked the kingdom at number 152 out of 180 countries in the world
ranking. It stated the kingdom, ‘prevents journalists from working freely and obstructs access
to information. No court is allowed to prosecute or try members of the government, but any
criticism of the regime is liable to be the subject of a prosecution. For fear of reprisals,
journalists censor themselves almost systematically.’
The US State Department in a review of human rights in Swaziland for 2017 stated, ‘Officials
impeded press freedom. Although no law bans criticism of the monarchy, the prime minister
and other officials cautioned journalists against publishing such criticism with veiled threats
of newspaper closure or job loss.’
The report stated, ‘Broadcast media remained firmly under state control. Most persons
obtained their news from radio broadcasts.’
In 2015, Lawyers for Human Rights (Swaziland) and CIVICUS, an international human
rights group, in a submission to the United Nations listed a number of media freedom
violations in Swaziland. It said the Swazi Government, which is not elected but appointed by
the King, ‘strictly controls freedom of expression and the media’.
74
They added, ‘Reporting on royal and political matters is severely restricted. Further, regular
threats emanating from senior government officials and the royal family to journalists also
lead to government censorship and self-censorship by the media further curtailing democratic
freedoms’.
The joint report added, ‘On 15 January 2014, the government-controlled Swazi Observer
newspaper suspended its editor Thulani Thwala and weekend editor Alec Lushaba after they
were accused of failing to adhere to the mandate of the newspaper by publishing negative
news stories about the King.
‘The journalists were accused of failing to heed several warnings not to publish damaging
reports about the King. Prior to the suspension, they published reports indicating that the
Swazi government had solicited a financial bailout from South Africa. Eight months after
their suspension, the Board of Directors of the Swazi Observer Newspaper Group reinstated
them.
‘The Swazi Observer newspaper is controlled by the Tibiyo Taka Ngwane conglomerate,
which is owned by the King. News items published are highly censored.’
Media Freedom Group Calls On SADC To Investigate Swaziland For ‘State-Sponsored’

Attacks On Journalists
7 September 2018
A media rights group is calling on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to
investigate Swaziland after a series of ‘state-sponsored violations against journalists’.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe chapter made the move after
police attacked a Times of Swaziland journalist Andile Nsibande who was photographing
them during a workers’ dispute where they fired shots.
It happened during a protest over low salaries at Zheng Yong textile factory in Nhlangano,
Swaziland, the kingdom recently renamed Eswatini by its absolute monarch King Mswati III.
MISA reported in a statement, ‘Nsibande was attacked for taking pictures of armed police
officers and prison wardens attacking and firing shots at the protesting workers who were
mostly women. Police officers demanded that Nsibande delete the pictures he had taken, and
then proceeded to beat up the defenceless journalist.
‘Nsibande was later taken to hospital where he received treatment.’
MISA called the police attack, ‘an increasingly worrying development involving state
security agents’. It added, ‘This attack is the latest in a series of state-sponsored attacks
against journalists in the kingdom of Eswatini, as Swaziland is now called. On 7 February
2018, a photojournalist with the Swazi Observer was attacked after he took pictures of a
convoy of overcrowded vehicles transporting prison wardens.’
It added, ‘Another photojournalist with the Sunday Observer was attacked on 13 July 2018
after he took pictures of government vehicles parked outside a deputy prime minister’s office.
Police forced the photojournalist to delete pictures he had taken.’
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MISA called the attacks ‘a direct attack on the rights to free expression and press freedom as
explicitly protected in Section 24 of Eswatini’s Constitution. Yet State security forces
continue to attack journalists with impunity.’
It stated, ‘MISA Zimbabwe appeals to the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) to look into these continued state-sponsored violations against journalists. It is high
time the regional body condemned the continued use of state security agents to violate
fundamental rights such as the right to free expression and the right to access information.’
Two More Human Rights Groups Condemn Swaziland Police Attack on Journalist
9 September 2018
Two more human rights groups have joined a growing chorus of condemnation of Swaziland
after a journalist was attacked by police when he photographed them during a workers’
protest in which they fired guns.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) chapter in Swaziland (recently renamed
Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III) said it saw an ‘increasingly
worrying development’ with state forces attacking journalists.
MISA was commenting on the case of Times of Swaziland journalist Andile Nsibande who
was attacked by police officers and prison warders on 30 August 2018 at Nhlangano where
workers protested about low levels of pay.
‘They demanded that he should delete the pictures he had taken, and then proceeded to beat
him up,’’ MISA reported.
It stated, ‘The law enforcement agents ought to know that journalists play a public service of
disseminating information that emaSwati [Swazi people] need desperately to make informed
decisions and choices.
It added, ‘Whosoever attacks journalists in line of duty, stands accused of violating
emaSwati’s constitutional right to information.’
MISA said it was concerned, ‘such acts are happening during the process of national
elections when emaSwati expect the media practitioners to execute their duties without fear.
Such attacks are bound to instil fear in the media practitioners.’
Separately, the Panos Institute Southern Africa said the state attacks on journalists were
unconstitutional. In a statement it said, ‘Journalism is not a crime, but is a freedom that must
be cherished and protected by all who are concerned about the region’s development. Any
attack on press freedom is a blow on the implementation of poverty eradication interventions,
as the media is a strategic ally in the roll-out of national development programmes.
‘We appeal to the authorities at the Kingdom of Eswatini to urgently put in place measures to
protect journalists from unscrupulous government officials and security agents.’
The fresh calls came after MISA Zimbabwe chapter appealed to the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) to look into the continued state-sponsored violations
against journalists.
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It added, ‘It is high time the regional body condemned the continued use of state security
agents to violate fundamental rights such as the right to free expression and the right to access
information.’
MISA Zimbabawe called the police attack, ‘an increasingly worrying development involving
state security agents’. It added, ‘This attack is the latest in a series of state-sponsored attacks
against journalists in the kingdom of Eswatini, as Swaziland is now called. On 7 February
2018, a photojournalist with the Swazi Observer was attacked after he took pictures of a
convoy of overcrowded vehicles transporting prison wardens.’
It added, ‘Another photojournalist with the Sunday Observer was attacked on 13 July 2018
after he took pictures of government vehicles parked outside a deputy prime minister’s office.
Police forced the photojournalist to delete pictures he had taken.’
Swaziland Photojournalist Assaulted, Camera Taken While Covering Protest March By

Schoolteachers
29 September 2018
A Swaziland journalist was assaulted by marchers as he took photographs at a teachers’

protest.
Mduduzi Mngomezulu, a photojournalist with the Swazi Observer, ‘was manhandled and
assaulted by the teachers,’ the newspaper reported on Friday (28 September 2018).
It said, ‘He was assaulted with open hands and fists and he sustained injuries on the face and
body.’ They took his camera but later it was recovered.
It happened near the United States Embassy in Mbabane while teachers marched to deliver a
petition seeking support in their campaign for higher salaries.
Mngomezulu was rescued by executive members of the Swaziland National Association of
Teachers (SNAT).
The Observer reported, ‘Mngomezulu has already opened a case with the police. The
newspaper will be taking the matter up firstly with the US Embassy where it will enquire if it
encouraged assisting hooligans as a known supporter of press freedom.’
It added it would also take up the matter with the kingdom’s Editors Forum, the Media
Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and the SNAT executive.
Swaziland was recently renamed Eswatini by absolute monarch King Mswati III.
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9 BARNABAS DLAMINI OBITUARY
Swaziland Former Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini Dies. Known as Serial Abuser of
Human Rights
29 September 2018
By Richard Rooney
Swaziland’s former Prime Minister and serial human rights abuser Barnabas Dlamini has
died aged 76.
Dlamini was appointed Prime Minister four times by King Mswati III who rules Swaziland as
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
He held office for seven-and-a-half years until 2003. He was reappointed in 2008 and was in
office until the national elections of September 2018. He died at the Mkhiwa Clinic, a private
hospital in Manzini, after a long illness.
Political parties are banned from taking part in elections in Swaziland (recently renamed
Eswatini by King Mswati). The King appoints the Prime Minister and government ministers.
When introducing Dlamini as the new PM in 2008, King Mwsati told him publicly to attack
prodemocracy campaigners and all who supported them.
Dlamini set about his task with zeal. He immediately banned four organisations, branding
them terrorists.
His Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini told Swazis affiliated with the political
formations to resign with immediate effect or feel the full force of the law. Under the
Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA), enacted in 2008, the same year Dlamini resumed
power, members and supporters faced up to 25 years in jail.
Under the draconian provisions of the STA, which is still in force, anyone who disagreed
with the ruling elite faced being branded a terrorist supporter. This happened at a time when
the call for democracy in Swaziland was being heard loudly both inside the kingdom and in
the international community.
Immediately, the Dlamini-led Government clamped down on dissent. In 2011, Amnesty

International reported the ill-treatment, house searches and surveillance of communications
and meetings of civil society and political activists. Armed police conducted raids and
prolonged searches in the homes of dozens of high profile human rights defenders, trade
unionists and political activists while investigating a spate of petrol bombings. Some of the
searches, particularly of political activists, were done without search warrants.
Amnesty reported that authorities continued to use the STA to detain and charge political
activists. The STA was also used as a basis for search warrants and other measures to
intimidate human rights defenders, trade unionists and media workers.
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In 2010, Dlamini publicly threatened to use torture against dissidents and foreigners who
campaigned for democracy in his kingdom. He said the use of ‘bastinado’, the flogging of the
bare soles of the feet, was his preferred method.
Dlamini told the Times of Swaziland newspaper he wanted ‘to punish dissidents and
foreigners who come to the country and disturb the peace’.
But Dlamini’s abuse of human rights did not start with his appointment in 2008. He was a
former PM and held office for seven and a half years until 2003. While in office he gained a
reputation as someone who ignored the rule of law.
In 2003, he refused to recognise two court judgements that challenged the King’s right to rule
by decree. This led to the resignation of all six judges in the Appeal Court. The court had
ruled that the King had no constitutional mandate to override parliament by issuing his own
decrees.
In a report running for more than 50,000 words, Amnesty International looked back to the
years 2002 and 2003 and identified activities of Dlamini that ‘included the repeated ignoring
of court rulings, interference in court proceedings, intimidating judicial officers, manipulating
terms and conditions of employment to undermine the independence of the judiciary, the
effective replacement of the Judicial Services Commission with an unaccountable and
secretive body (officially known as the Special Committee on Justice but popularly called the
Thursday Committee), and the harassment of individuals whose rights had been upheld by the
courts.’
In recent years he was at loggerheads with members of the House of Assembly and Senate for
his dictatorial attitude.
The US State Department in a review of human rights in Swaziland in 2017 stated that in
August, ‘the prime minister’s office forced a member of parliament (MP) to withdraw a
statement made in the House of Assembly expressing his displeasure that the public had no
role in the method used in appointing the country’s prime minister. The Prime Minister’s
Office stated that the MP’s criticism constituted an attack on the constitution and the King.
The MP was obliged to apologize and to donate cattle to the King as a token of contrition.’
The Swazi people did not want Dlamini to lead the kingdom. In October 2012 the Swazi
House of Assembly passed a vote of no-confidence in him and his government. According to
the constitution, King Mswati was obliged to sack him. But the King defied the constitution
and Dlamini remained in office.
The House vote of no-confidence was not isolated. In August 2012 the Sibaya (where
ordinary people gather at a cattle byre to air their views on matters of importance to them)
told Dlamini and his government to quit. The people said they were corrupt and destroying
the kingdom.
King Mswati claims Sibaya is the supreme policy-making body in the land because it
demonstrates the peoples’ will. But, again, he ignored the voice of the people and stuck by
Dlamini.
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See also
‘PM incompetent, untrustworthy, vain’
Swazi PM in another nepotism row
Illegal Swaziland PM cracks down
True life of Swazi Prime Minister
80
10 ELECTION
New study shows why Swaziland elections are not democratic
27 July 2018
Swaziland voters go to the polls on 21 September 2018 for the national election but we can
already name the winner – it will be the absolute monarch King Mswati III. In the kingdom’s
tinkhundla political system political parties are banned from taking part and people are only
allowed to elect 59 members of the House of Assembly, the King chooses another ten. No
members of the 30-strong Senate are elected by the people. When the election is over King
Mswati will choose a Prime Minister and cabinet. He also chooses top judges and civil
servants.
As a measure of his power in April 2018 on his fiftieth birthday and in the year that
Swaziland marked its fiftieth anniversary of independence from Great Britain the King
announced unilaterally that Swaziland would henceforth be named Eswatini. No public
debate took place and a legal notice was signed.
A system of ‘Monarchical Democracy’ invented by King Mswati in 2013 to justify his power
exists in Swaziland. He called it a system formed by merging the will of the people with the
monarch. He tried to sell this a new idea but he later admitted to Reuters news agency (13
September 2013) that it was just another name for the tinkhundla system that already existed.
European Union Election Experts Mission (EEM), one of a number of international groups
that monitored the conduct of Swaziland’s election in 2013, made much of how the
kingdom’s absolute monarchy undermined democracy. It reported, ‘The King has absolute
power and is considered to be above the law, including the Constitution, enjoying the power
to assent laws and immunity from criminal proceedings. A bill shall not become law unless
the King has assented to it, meaning that the parliament is unable to pass any law which the
King is in disagreement with.’
A new study called Organised Certainty, Why elections in Swaziland are not democratic
examines Swaziland elections and demonstrates that power rests with the King regardless of
who the people put into the House of Assembly. It is available free of charge online at Scribd
<<https://www.scribd.com/document/384752084/Organised-Certainty-Why-Elections-in-
Swaziland-Are-Not-Democratic>>
People do not elect the government and have no way of influencing its policies. The report
follows the last poll in 2013 step by step from the period running up to it and through the
long-drawn out election process that includes registration, nominations, a primary election
and a final (secondary) vote.
Section one details the political landscape of Swaziland. The Institute for Security Studies
called the tinkhundla elections ‘organised certainty’ because they changed nothing and
allowed the ruling regime to have an unchallenged monopoly over state resources.
Section two reviews the work of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) that was
launched in 2008 under great controversy. Chief Gija Dlamini, an engineer and one of King
Mswati’s half-brothers, was appointed chair although the Constitution stated the position
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should go to a judge. The EBC has been under constant criticism since because of its inability
to competently run elections. The section also details the election process from registration
through to the final (secondary) election.
Section three covers the period running up to the 2013 election which was characterised by
increasingly violent and abusive behaviour of police and state forces. International observers
such as the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa reported that the state was unable to
accept that peaceful political and social dissent was a vital element of a healthy democratic
process. The Swaziland United Democratic Front and the Swaziland Democracy Campaign
said police in Swaziland had become a private militia. The section using contemporary
sources details a number of cases of meetings and prayers being disrupted and prodemocracy
campaigners arrested.
Section four looks at registration and nominations in the 2013 election. Registration was
characterised by blunders by the EBC and corruption. Nominations descended into chaos
across Swaziland as equipment failed and some candidates who wanted to be nominated were
prevented because electoral officers would not allow it. Women were banned from
nomination because they wore trousers to nomination centres.
Section five examines the primary election. This takes place at chiefdoms and at the end of
the process one candidate is selected to go forward to the secondary election at tinkhundla /
constituency level. Bribery and corruption allegations were widely reported and the primary
elections were riddled with problems including incorrect ballot papers issued, alleged
tampering of ballot boxes, wrong results announced, campaign laws broken and residents
threatening to boycott the poll. In at least one case riot police had to escort ballot boxes from
the polling station.
Section six reviews the secondary election, the stage of voting where the member of the
House of Assembly is finally elected. Election observers reported it went more smoothly than
the primary election but the vote was marred by instances of violence. Police brutally stopped
a peaceful march after voters at one constituency protested the result and there were fears of
election rigging elsewhere. Nine people including an 85-year-old woman were taken to
hospital when voters at a Lomahasha polling station reported stampeded.
Section seven reports the election results and the aftermath. Although the names of winning
candidates were promptly announced it took the EBC more than three years to formally
release the results. Only four in ten people entitled to vote did so at the secondary election.
Shortly after the election, King Mswati named two princes, a princess and three members of
his own Dlamini clan among his 10 appointees to the House of Assembly. He also appointed
six members of his family to the Senate, where he picks 20 members. He then appointed
another 16 members of his Royal Family to top political jobs; effectively carving up public
life in the kingdom in his favour. There were nine princess and princesses and a further seven
from the family Dlamini in the 24-strong Liqoqo (the Swaziland National Council), the most
powerful of the committees that nominally advises the King. There were four princes and
princesses and four Dlaminis in the Ludzidzimi Council, which advises the Queen Mother.
The Border Restoration Committee which exists to try to get South Africa to give some of its
territory to King Mswati had three princes and princesses and five Dlaminis among its 14
members. King Mswati also reappointed Barnabas Dlamini as Prime Minister.
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Section eight explores media coverage of the elections. Nearly all broadcast media are state
controlled and censored. One of only two daily newspapers in the kingdom is in effect owned
by King Mswati. The media told their audiences and readers that it was their duty to support
the King by voting. Often media reported that people were electing a government when they
were not. International media were more revealing, often reporting the opposition view that
the election was a fraud.
Section nine looks at disputes and court procedures. The 2013 election did not end with the
announcement of the winners. The Swaziland High Court was kept busy with a number of
claims of malpractice. A total of 31 election cases were brought before the High Court for
determination by prospective and actual candidates for election and 23 cases were dismissed.
Section ten offers some final words by reprising human rights reports from international
organisations for the year 2017 (the most recent available). Among a long list violations are
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 and criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct.
Appendix one is an extract from the Commonwealth Observer Mission Report on the 2013
election. The EBC accredited more than 400 international and local observers to witness the
poll. In its report, the EBC listed good practices and areas for improvement highlighted by
observers but it ignored the fact that many groups declared the election was not free and fair
because Swaziland was not a democracy. The extract from the Commonwealth Observer
Mission offers a more complete picture. It concludes, ‘that the entire process could not be
deemed credible, due to major democratic deficits’.
Download Organised Certainty here
Court Confirms Political Parties Cannot Compete in Swaziland’s Election

22 July 2018
The High Court in Swaziland / Eswatini has confirmed that political parties will not be
allowed to contest the national election.
It said the kingdom’s Supreme Court had ruled on the matter in 2009 and nothing had
changed since.
The Swaziland Democratic Party (SWADEPA) had asked that it be allowed to contest the
election that is presently taking place in Swaziland where King Mswati III rules as one of the
world’s last absolute monarchs. The case was heard on Friday (20 July 2018).
According to the Swaziland Constitution that came into effect in 2006 under the tinkhundla
system of government people may only stand for election as individuals However, the
constitution also allows for freedom of association which can be interpreted as permission to
form political parties.
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In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that excluding political parties from the electoral process
did not constitute a violation of freedom of association as guaranteed by article 25 of the
Swaziland constitution.
The judges said people could be members of a political party and they could stand as
individuals and then once elected link up as a group. Justice Thomas Masuku in a dissenting
judgement said the idea that it was possible to get elected as an individual basis and then link
up with others who share similar views was a bit like a boy who intends to enrol in a school
which is exclusively a girls’ school.
‘To avoid being detected at admission, and in violation of the school requirements, he
titivates himself, paints his hair and does all necessary preparations to be regarded and
perceived as a girl, with hope that once inside, he will show his true colours and identity.’
At the time the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said the Swaziland Supreme Court
failed to uphold fundamental rights which were constitutionally guaranteed.
ICJ in a statement said the Swazi Supreme Court’s ‘restrictive approach seriously violates the
freedom of association and restrains the scope of freedom of expression and the right to
participate in public affairs.
‘As an essential component of the right protected under article 25 of the Swaziland Bill of
Rights, the freedom to form and join political parties is protected by article 10 of the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, to which Swaziland is a State Party.’
In that respect, ‘Swaziland courts have an obligation to give full effect to the rights and
freedoms guaranteed in those instruments.’
The ICJ is not the only internationally-respected organisation to call for political parties to be
made legal. For years observers have said that Swaziland elections which are held every five
years are not free and fair because political parties cannot take part.
After the last election in 2013 the official report of the Commonwealth Observer Mission
called for a review of the kingdom’s constitution. It said members of parliament ‘continue to
have severely limited powers’ and political parties are banned.
The Commonwealth observers said there was ‘considerable room for improving the
democratic system’.
They called for King Mswati’s powers to be reduced. ‘The presence of the monarch in
everyday political life inevitably associates the institution of monarchy with politics, a
situation that runs counter to the development that the re-establishment of the Parliament and
the devolution of executive authority into the hands of elected officials.’
The report said the constitution needed to be revisited with an open debate on what changes
were necessary.
It added, ‘This should ideally be carried out through a fully inclusive, consultative process
with all Swazi political organisations and civil society (if needed, with the help of
constitutional experts.’
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The African Union (AU) also urged Swaziland to review the Constitution, especially in the
areas of ‘freedoms of conscience, expression, peaceful assembly, association and movement
as well as international principles for free and fair elections and participation in electoral
process.’
The AU called on Swaziland to implement the African Commission’s Resolution on
Swaziland in 2012 that called on the Government, ‘to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to
freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of assembly.’
The Swazi people have no say in who their leaders are. In the past they were only allowed to
select 55 of the 65 members of the House of Assembly, the other 10 are appointed by the
King. From this year they can choose an additional four members. None of the 30 members
of the Swaziland Senate are elected by the people; the King appoints 20 members and the
other 10 are appointed by the House of Assembly.
The King choses the Prime Minister and cabinet members. Only a man with the surname
Dlamini can, by tradition, be appointed as Prime Minister. The King is a Dlamini.
Swaziland must embrace political parties to get on track after years of failure
24 August 2018
By Richard Rooney
News this week that the Supreme Court in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the
kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III) rejected a claim for political parties to be
allowed to contest the national election now taking place puts a focus on the undemocratic
kingdom.
The court has yet to give the reason for its decision against the Swaziland Democratic Party
(SWADEPA) but at the heart of the matter is a Royal Proclamation made in 1973 by King
Sobhuza II. He tore up the constitution, banned political parties and took all power to himself.
Swaziland has been ruled by an absolute monarch (presently King Mswati) ever since.
A lot of hot air is generated in Swaziland about political parties. To some people they are the
Devil’s work and part of a dark plot to destroy Swaziland and the Swazi way of life.
This is even though every First World country and parliamentary democracy in the world has
them and they would be of great benefit to Swaziland if they were allowed to operate
properly.
There is nothing sinister about political parties. A political party is simply a collection of
people who come together because they have roughly the same set of views and opinions.
But they don’t just meet for a ‘talking shop’; they aim to get political power. In a
parliamentary democracy this is done by getting people to elect your party into government.
In a parliamentary democracy you can have as many political parties as you want. After an
election, the leader of the political party that wins the majority of seats in parliament becomes
prime minister and appoints the government. If no single party wins a majority, two or more
parties in parliament would usually join together to form a coalition government.
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Whether there is a majority or a coalition government, there would also be at least one party
in parliament that was the ‘opposition’ to the government. This means that there is always an
alternative government available to the one in power. If the people don’t like the one in
power, they can vote it out at the next election and put another party in government.
And that’s why the ruling elite in Swaziland doesn’t want political parties – the people can
throw out a government they don’t like and replace it.
A major benefit of political parties for Swaziland is that parties not only allow people to
choose alternative governments, they allow people to discuss alternative policies. There are
so many problems in Swaziland at present that a succession of unelected governments has
been unable to solve, and because political parties don’t exist, no alternative policies have
been brought forward.
Governments have clearly failed on poverty alleviation, corruption in every fabric of Swazi
public life, jobs creation, attracting foreign investment into Swaziland, the HIV pandemic and
so on.
Since political parties were banned by King Sobhuza II’s Royal Proclamation, there has been
no way for people to create and debate different policies or strategies for Swaziland: and then
to choose the path that the kingdom ought to follow.
The present Swazi Government is led by Barnabas Dlamini, the Prime Minister who was
elected by nobody, but instead was appointed in contravention of the 2005 Swaziland
Constitution by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
Dlamini was not elected for the policies he would pursue while in office. He therefore has no
mandate from the people to do anything. And because he has never set out his policies there
is no way that people can collectively disagree with him.
Take the example of the present economic crisis in Swaziland that has been dragging on for
more than 10 years. In October 2010, Dlamini took to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
a Fiscal Adjustment Roadmap (FAR) of financial measures to try to save the economy. But
there had been no debate with the Swazi people about what the FAR should contain, nor were
alternative policies put forward and debated before it was finalised.
All we got was Dlamini’s plan. And that plan fell at the first hurdle when the foreign
investment market refused to buy Swaziland Government Bonds, which Dlamini needed so
the government could pay public sector salaries.
With the FAR in shreds there is no alternative economic plan. If Swaziland had political
parties that alternative would already be ready and with the consent of the people could be
implemented.
Political parties also allow leaders to come through. People can develop their leadership skills
within political parties and while part of the parliamentary ‘opposition’, prior to taking office
in government. One great weakness of Swaziland politics at present is the very low calibre of
most people in parliament. Many have minimal education and few obvious skills. If political
parties existed they could attract people of high calibre who knew that they had the
opportunity of contributing to the future of Swaziland. No present day member of the Swazi
parliament or senate could honestly say that about themselves.
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In the case of Swaziland where there is not democracy at present, we cannot have political
parties without changes to the political system. To begin with all seats to the House of
Assembly and the Senate must be open to election with none in the patronage of King
Mswati, as now.
Second, the Swaziland Constitution must be respected. The constitution on paper only allows
for all of the following, and if political parties are to operate properly we must have them:
freedom of organisation; freedom of speech and assembly; provision of a fair and peaceful
competition; everyone to be included in the electoral process; media access and fair reporting
and transparent and accountable financing of political parties.
Monarchists and traditionalists in Swaziland are dishonest about political parties. They say
they bring division and chaos, but that does not stop them accepting charity and aid from
nations that are multi-party democracies.
As recently as this month (August 2018) the media in Swaziland praised India for pumping in
E240 million towards one of the King’s pet projects, the Royal Science and Technology Park
at Phocweni. During his visit to Swaziland in April 2018, Indian President Shri Ram Nath
Kovind confirmed a number of loans running into tens of millions of US dollars his country
would make available to Swaziland. He also made a donation of US1 million toward feeding
starving children in Swaziland. King Mswati then threw the President a banquet.
What the Swazi people were not told was that India is known as the largest democracy in the
world (because of the size of its population) and has a multi-party system.
Taiwan, which set up numerous businesses in Swaziland to exploit the kingdom’s special
trading relationship with the United States, is a multi-party system.
South Africa, Swaziland’s neighbour and largest trading partner, is a multi-party democracy.
Without the support of South Africa, Swaziland would not have an economy.
King Mswati gladly receives charity for his kingdom from the European Union, an economic
bloc that consists entirely of multi-party democracies. The United States – another multi-
party democracy – also provides aid and charity in abundance.
It is the economic and aid support from multi-party democracies that keeps Swaziland
functioning. But traditionalists refuse to openly discuss why it is that all these multi-party
democracies have such successful political systems that they can afford to be charitable to
Swaziland, while Swaziland, where parties cannot contest elections, cannot support itself.
In the Swazi system the people elect only 59 of the members of the House of Assembly; the
King appoints another 10. No members of the Senate are elected by the people. King Mswati
choses the Prime Minister and Government members
There is nothing the people in Swaziland can do. It makes no difference who they vote for.
Whoever they elect into parliament, the decision-making remains with the King and nothing
will change. Freeing political parties so they can operate openly would be the first step on a
long road for Swaziland.
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Swaziland Supreme Court dismisses appeal to unban political parties at elections

without hearing the case
16 September 2018
Swaziland’s Supreme Court dismissed a case that political parties should not be banned from
contesting the election in the kingdom without hearing arguments.
It upheld an appeal to the High Court’s earlier decision to dismiss the case.
The Swazi Democratic Party (SWADEPA) brought the case that was about the rights to
freedom of expression and association during the election campaign period.
Political parties are banned from contesting the election that takes place on Friday (21
September 2018). In Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute
monarch King Mswati III) people are only allowed to elect 59 members of the House of
Assembly; another 10 are appointed by the King. None of the 30-strong Swazi Senate are
elected by the people.
The King also appoints the Prime Minister and Cabinet as well as top judges and civil
servants.
In a review of SWADEPA’s case just published the Southern Africa Litigation Centre
(SALC) said it ‘was summarily dismissed in the Supreme Court without the Court hearing
arguments on the appeal’.
It said SWADEPA took the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to court to prevent
it from interfering with: The rights of candidates for election to the House of Assembly to
express their political and/ or other views or policies; The rights of candidates to associate
publicly with their chosen political parties; The rights of candidates to receive sponsorship
and support from political parties; and the rights of political parties to provide sponsorship
and support to their members.
According to Section 79 of the Swaziland Constitution the Tinkhundla-based system of

government that exists in the kingdom emphasises individual merit as a basis for election to
public office.
‘This section has been interpreted by the government and the Elections and Boundaries
Commission to exclude political parties from the electoral process, SALC said.
It added, ‘In contrast, [SWADEPA] submitted that the reference to “individual merit” in
section 79 means no more than a requirement that each candidate for election be considered
based on what he or she brings to the table. They submitted that the case was necessary to
ensure that registered voters will be able to exercise their right to vote knowing all relevant
information about the candidates running for public office.”
It said the EBC’s response ‘was primarily focused on narrow, technical issues, largely
avoiding the important substantive issues.
‘For example, they argued that the applicants had no right to raise the merits of the case
before the Supreme Court, as the case was dismissed on technical grounds in the High Court.’
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One of the technical grounds was that SWADEPA could not seek relief on behalf of all
‘registered voters who choose to run as candidates for election’, and that the relief sought
must pertain to the individual applicants.
The EBC also claimed that a similar issue had already been determined by the Supreme Court
in 2009. In that case, the Supreme Court held that the Constitution did not prevent a member
of a political party from seeking election as an independent candidate, and once elected,
joining up with others who think similarly to operate as a unit.
SALC said, ‘What the previous judgment did not address was the nature and extent of
permissible political party participation in any candidate’s election campaign.’
It added, ‘[SWADEPA] sought very simple relief which would not have run contrary to the
current electoral legislation and did not require anything from government. Both the High
Court and the Supreme Court decided not to hear arguments from either side and instead
raised matters on its own accord from the bench. These matters were of a procedural nature
and avoided dealing with the merits of the case. This runs contrary to jurisprudence in
constitutional matters where courts are normally enjoined to hear matters where rights
violations are alleged even if the procedural grounds for bringing such matter might be
flawed in some respect.’
See also
U.S. Ambassador supports parties
One in three want political parties
Swazis want democracy - survey
EU tells king: ‘free parties’
UK calls for parties to be un-banned
ELECTION REGISTRATION
Tax debtors barred from election

5 July 2018
People who owe taxes will not be allowed to stand for parliament in the forthcoming national
elections in Swaziland / Eswatini.
An Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) spokesperson said prospective candidates
would be vetted after nominations had closed and if they owed taxes they would be
disqualified.
The Swazi Observer reported on Thursday (5 July 2018) Mbonisi Bhambe of the EBC said
while they did not necessarily look into the debts of an individual they considered taxes when
vetting candidates.
It quoted Bhambe saying, ‘People that are elected should be responsible citizens, therefore,
their taxes must be in order and up to date.’
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It was reported in June that police would vet all nominated candidates ahead of the election in
Swaziland where King Mswati III rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
Political parties are banned from taking part in the election.
Nominations are due to take place on 28 and 29 July 2018 ahead of a final election on 21
September 2018.
Elections in Swaziland are widely recognised outside of the kingdom as undemocratic.
Parliament has no powers as these are vested in the King. After the election, the King will
chose the Prime Minister, government ministers and the top civil servants and judges. At past
elections people only got to select 55 of 65 members of the House of Assembly. The King
chose the other 10. At the forthcoming election there will be an additional four seats for
people to vote for. It has not been announced how many members the King will choose but
the Swaziland Constitution allows him to pick up to ten.
No members of the 30-member Senate are elected by the people.
See also
Police to vet all election candidates
‘Vote rigging’ as registration tops 90%

8 July 2018
Swaziland’s Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) says that more than 90 percent of
those eligible have registered to vote, amid claims of corruption and vote rigging.
Registration was extended by 12 days at the end of June 2018 and 18,237 people registered
during that time.
A total of 544,310 from 600,000 (90.7 percent) eligible registered, according to official
figures. The figures compare to 414,704 who registered at the last election in 2013. Of these,
251,278 people voted.
Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati III one of the world’s last absolute monarch. Political
parties are barred from taking part in elections.
Parliament has no powers as these are vested in the King. After the election, the King will
chose the Prime Minister, government ministers and the top civil servants and judges. At past
elections people only got to select 55 of 65 members of the House of Assembly. The King
chose the other 10. At the forthcoming election there will be an additional four seats for
people to vote for. It has not been announced how many members the King will choose but
the Swaziland Constitution allows him to pick up to ten.
The EBC registration figures have been disputed by veteran Swaziland journalist Ackel
Zwane. Writing in the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, on Friday
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(6 July 2018) he said there had been ‘blatant breaking of the electoral law’ and the EBC had
deliberately ignored this.
He wrote, ‘The law succinctly prescribes that there must be proof of residence at registration,
but the EBC has been inflating figures of registered voters in the country’s malls and
population centres without requiring proof of residence.’
He added, ‘The figures have now been inflated with non-qualifying elements registering to
vote, all because there is no efficient system to prune out the frauds.’
Zwane wrote, ‘It is at these stages that an election loses its credibility.’
He said election law required people registering to vote in urban areas to produce evidence of
their Swazi citizenship or permanent residence. ‘Nothing of this requirement was met at the
registration points around the malls and shopping complexes throughout the country.’
He added, ‘Now this has opened floodgates to the elections mafia who are able to manipulate
these loopholes by registering as many foreigners as possible, especially impoverished
Mozambicans who freely roam Eswatini [Swaziland] without requiring any papers to remain
in the country.
‘Similarly, the Asian community has joined the bandwagon to push up the figures, not to
mention the South Africans from porous borders in the north, south and west, who come in
and out as they wished to cast a vote in exchange for a beer or two.’
Zwane said it would be impossible to verify the electoral roll ahead of voting. ‘The individual
citizens do not possess the ability and resources to undertake the cumbersome task of
identifying each individual voter in a particular area whether authentic or fraudulent. Even
the EBC does not have the resources, skill and time to do this, otherwise they would have
prevented the crises at registration.’
During the registration period there were many media reports of incompetence, corruption
and nepotism. When registration began equipment was not in place at all centres and trained
election personnel were not always available and there were many reports of computer
failures. A toll-free line available for people to report grievances and challenges they met at
registration centres failed to work on MTN mobile phone numbers. Many people did not
receive voter cards after registering, leaving them in doubt that they would be able to cast
their vote.
Reports of attempted bribery were rife across the kingdom. At Maphungwane in the
Matsanjeni North Constituency football teams rejected a E10,000 (US$790) sponsorship
from an aspiring member of parliament. The Swazi Observer reported (18 May 2018) that the
sponsorship was in the form of prize money that would be paid at the end of the football
season and after the election had been held.
The newspaper reported the clubs’ representatives questioned the timing of the sponsorship
and rejected the offer. One club boss told the Observer that aspiring MPs had also tried to
manipulate them in the past.
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There was a report that police in Swaziland were investigating possible election corruption
concerning a former government minister accused of bribing people with promises of food
parcels for their votes.
Poverty-stricken textile workers said they sold their votes for cash and chicken pieces. The
Swazi Observer reported sitting members of parliament had sent their agents into factories to
buy up votes in the industrial town of Matsapha. People said they were persuaded to register
as residents of the surrounding areas as opposed to their chiefdoms of origin.
Other textile workers in Nhlangano said groups of 50 or 60 of them had been given free
lunches by sponsors of people keen to win seats in parliament. They also said transport costs
to and from work had been paid. The Swazi Observer reported on Friday (15 June 2018) that
some outgoing MPs were involved.
Residents at Mbangweni complained of nepotism when four people selected to assist in the
election were from the same family. The Swazi Observer reported Inkhosatana Gelane, the
acting KoNtshingila chief, saying they were ‘loyal and respectful residents’.
Many residents in areas including Engwenyameni, Madadeni, and Lavumisa, said they would
boycott the election because they were dissatisfied with how constituency boundaries had
been drawn.
Days before registration closed EBC Chair Chief Gija Dlamini told media that all persons
nominated for election would be vetted by police.
See also
Doubts Election Board is competent
NOMINATIONS
Expect chaos and rule-breaking at nominations for Swaziland’s election, if last time is a
guide
21 July 2018
As nominations for elections in Swaziland / Eswatini take place next weekend, we might
expect confusion, chaos and rule breaking if the experience of last time is a guide.
The credibility of the nomination process in 2013 was severely damaged when it became
clear that many people who wanted to nominate candidates were prevented from doing so and
some were nominated against the election rules. Many boycotted the nominations altogether.
Swaziland’s election process is long drawn out. King Mswati III rules as one of the world’s
last absolute monarchs and political parties are banned from taking part. People must stand as
individuals with no affiliations. The nominations will take place on 28 and 29 July 2018 at
chiefdoms.
According to guidelines from the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), the name of
the nominee is raised by a show of hand and the nominee is given an opportunity to indicate
whether he or she accepts the nomination. If he or she accepts it, he or she must be supported
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by at least ten members of that chiefdom. The nominations are for the position of Member of
the House of Assembly (Parliament), Constituency Headman (Indvuna) and the Constituency
Executive Committee (Bucopho).
The minimum number of nominees is three and the maximum is twenty. The nomination
process takes place in the open, persons are nominated by a show of hand and the nomination
is done by the community. Those nominated then contest elections at primary level.
Once the nominations are finished a primary election will take place on 25 August 2018.
These are by secret ballot at chieftaincies. At the end of the primary elections, there should be
one candidate for the position of the Member of Parliament and one for the position of the
Constituency Headman who are going to contest at the secondary election at constituencies
(known as tinkhundla) on 21 September 2018.
The credibility of the nomination process in 2013 was severely damaged when it became
clear that many people who wanted to nominate candidates were prevented from doing so;
some people were nominated against the election rules and cabinet ministers in the outgoing
government who were nominated might not have been eligible to stand. EBC Chair Chief
Gija Dlamini said some nominated candidates who did not have consent letters from their
employers should have been disqualified. Speaking on state-controlled radio, he said it was
expected that public servants should have brought with them the letters, which in turn should
have been read in front of all the voters. Some people boycotted in protest that venues
selected for the nominations were unsuitable.
Elsewhere equipment failures delayed the start of nomination. There was reported corruption
with the EBC saying some people were offered bribes of E100 (US$10 at the then exchange
rate) or E200 to register twice.
About 400 residents of Ebutfongweni in the Manzini region under Kukhanyeni Inkhundla
said they would not participate in the nominations process because it was being conducted at
Nkiliji under Chief Mkhumbi Dlamini. They said they did not pay allegiance to Chief
Mkhumbi as their area was at Mbekelweni, under Chief Nkhosini.The Times Sunday (4
August 2013) reported that the residents, all of whom were registered voters, insisted that
they would not participate in the process under Nkiliji after EBC officials did not show up at
Ebutfongweni. They expected officers from the commission to conduct the nominations in
the area as they had done so in the past. The Times Sunday reported they were the same
residents who had previously taken Chief Mkhumbi to court during the elections registration
process saying they had a constitutional right to register at a place of their choice.
Meanwhile, a change of a nomination centre at the last moment resulted in more than 50
residents of Siweni, a tiny village near Mbadlane which falls under the Malindza chiefdom,
boycotting the nominations process. The Times Sunday (4 August 2013) reported voters were
angry after being told by election officers that nominations had been moved to Othandweni
Primary School and not Siweni Care Point, as earlier announced.
In Mzimnene, residents were unable to make nominations because they had not been told by
the EBC where they should go. The same thing had happened in June when people were
unable to register to vote. Elsewhere, equipment failures were blamed for the late opening of
nomination centres across the Lubombo region.
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Missing church keys marred the nomination process at Moneni as officials from the EBC
were forced to remain in their vehicles with the voting kit, as the Free Evangelical
Assemblies Church remained closed. Church leaders said they were notified at very short
notice that the church was to be used as a nomination centre.
The Times of Swaziland (7 August 2013) reported some people who wanted to nominate
candidates were prevented from doing so because electoral officers would not allow it, while
some names of those who were nominated were then left off the EBC’s official list of
candidates. It reported that some people who wanted to nominate candidates could not so
because they failed to get the attention of the electoral officer. The process used required
people to gather at a meeting place, often a kraal, and wait to be called by an electoral officer
to make their nomination. At many places crowds were large and not everyone who wanted
to make a nomination was spotted by the electoral officer.
Women were banned from being nominated to stand as a member of parliament because they
wore trousers at the nomination centre. Mana Mavimbela, aged 18, was disqualified from
putting her name forward at Lubulini Royal Kraal. The Times of Swaziland, (7 August 2013)
reported the presiding officer Lindiwe Sukati refused to allow her to stand because
Mavimbela was wearing a pair of black jean trousers and a golf T- shirt. Mavimbela later said
police forced her to lie in her statement that she did not intend to stand for nomination. The
police officers ordered her to say that she had been joking. Eventually, Mavimbela won a
case at the High Court and the EBC was compelled to postpone the election in her chiefdom
at Lubulini to allow her to stand.
Meanwhile, Fakazile Luhlanga of Ndvwabangeni in the Mhlangatane constituency was also
not allowed permission to nominate a candidate as she was wearing cargo pants. The Times of
Swaziland (6 August 2013) 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 the 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 the Times of Swaziland (2
August 2013), ‘Even those who have relaxed hair should cover their heads when going to that
place.’
A chief’s headman at Ludzibini, ruled by Chief Magudvulela a former Swazi Senator,
threatened that people would be banished from their homes if they nominated a widow for the
election. Dumisani Dlamini warned residents that if they voted for Jennifer du Pont they
would be evicted from the area. The Times Sunday (4 August 2013) reported, ‘He warned
that those who would nominate her should be prepared to relocate to areas as distant as five
chiefdoms away. Her sin was that she attended the nominations only a few months after her
husband died.’ He said she should still be mourning her husband. The newspaper reported du
Pont did not wear standard black mourning gowns and was dressed in a blue wrap-around
dress known as sidvwashi. Enough people in the chiefdom defied Dlamini and du Pont was
duly nominated.
There was confusion over the status of nine cabinet ministers who were nominated. The
Times of Swaziland (8 August 2013) reported they could be disqualified from taking part in
the election because they held public office and this was not allowed under the Constitution.
94
The confusion was made worse because it was uncertain whether technically the nine were
still cabinet ministers. Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini told the newspaper that
ministers were not supposed to stand for nomination if they were still in office – as the nine
maintained.
‘Their nomination was irregular because a Cabinet office is a public office. If anyone can
challenge their nomination in court they (challenger) can be successful,’ the newspaper
reported him saying. He added, ‘That is why even police officers and other members of the
security forces as well as any government employee have to resign or apply for leave of
absence in order to stand for the elections because they are in public office. They (ministers)
ought to have also resigned from office so as to be eligible to stand.’
In a major blunder some people had to nominate candidates for a second time after the EBC
erroneously combined two election districts. When the mistake was discovered the EBC
ordered the people of Njabulweni, near Lubhuku, in the Dvokodvweni Constituency, to
nominate again. The Times of Swaziland (14 August 2013) reported that Njabulweni and
Malindza were combined for the nominations, although they should have been separate.
Confusion over status of widows as Swaziland prepares for national election

25 July 2018
Widows will be allowed to nominate candidates at the forthcoming election in Swaziland /

Eswatini but it is not clear if they can stand themselves.
The kingdom’s Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) announced this week that
widows would not be permitted to attend nomination events to be held this weekend at royal
kraals across Swaziland but arrangements could be made to allow them to make their
nominations elsewhere.
EBC Chair Chief Gija Dlamini told the Times of Swaziland (25 July 2018) Swaziland had a
culture of respecting dead relatives, which was why women underwent the mourning period
and wore black gowns.
‘It is just pure respect that when a woman is still in mourning, they do not enter the royal
kraal,’ the newspaper quoted him saying. Chief Gija said that the authorities would ensure
that all people were involved and not discriminated against by identifying alternative
nomination centres which could be a school situated nearby.
Nominations take place on 28 and 29 July 2018. According to the EBC, they take place in the
open, people are nominated by a show of hands and the nominee is given a chance to indicate
whether he or she accepts the nomination. If he or she accepts they must be supported by at
least ten members of that chiefdom. Chief Gija did not say how this would work if a widow
was not present at the place where nominations were taking place.
At the last election in 2013 a chief’s headman at Ludzibini, ruled by Chief Magudvulela a
former Swazi Senator, threatened that people would be banished from their homes if they
nominated a widow for the election. Dumisani Dlamini warned residents that if they voted for
Jennifer du Pont they would be evicted from the area. The Times Sunday reported at the time,
‘He warned that those who would nominate her should be prepared to relocate to areas as
95
distant as five chiefdoms away. Her sin was that she attended the nominations only a few
months after her husband died.’ He said she should still be mourning her husband.
The newspaper reported du Pont did not wear standard black mourning gowns and was
dressed in a blue wrap-around dress known as sidvwashi. Enough people in the chiefdom
defied Dlamini and du Pont was duly nominated.
There is confusion about whether a widow would be permitted to stand for election.
In April 2018, Lusendvo Fakudze, the acting Ludzidzini Governor, who is considered to be
the voice of King Mswati, the kingdom’s absolute monarch, on traditional matters told the
Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, that widows would not be allowed
to contest the election until they had been in mourning for two years and gone through a
cleansing ceremony.
The newspaper reported, ‘EBC Chairperson Chief Gija Dlamini also confirmed that women
who lost their husbands could register for elections only after the two-year mourning period
and cleansing ceremony.’
The announcement contradicted what the EBC said in April 2017. EBC commissioner
Ncumbi Maziya told a voter education meeting at Bulandzeni Chiefdom that women in
mourning had a constitutional right to stand for election, but he added that there might be
problems for a widow if she were elected.
The Swazi Observer reported at the time, ‘He said a person wearing a mourning gown was
not allowed to be near His Majesty the King. If a certain constituency elected a person in
such a situation, it was highly possible that the woman could not attend the Parliament
opening event, where the King would also be in attendance. Maziya said that was when a
woman would have to exercise conscience by at least standing by the gate of Parliament, to
avoid being near the King.’
Doubt over validity of Swaziland election

30 July 2018
The validity of the House of Assembly election in Swaziland / Eswatini has been called into
question with a newspaper report that nominations for candidates went ahead without a final
voters’ roll.
Without the list of who had registered to vote it was impossible to check that voters were
genuine and names had not been invented or people ‘rented’ to a constituency to support a
candidate.
Ackel Zwane, a veteran journalist in Swaziland, wrote in the Swazi Observer on Friday (27
July 2018) this was the first time in the history of Swaziland’s elections that nominations
took place without a published voters’ roll. Nominations took place at the weekend (28 and
29 July 2018).
Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati III as one of the world’s last absolute monarchs. In the
Tinkhundla system political parties are not allowed to stand in the election and the King
96
appoints the Prime Minister and government. The King also in effect owns the Observer
newspaper.
Zwane wrote, ‘We had also expected the list of nomination centres at dates to have been
distributed together with the final voters roll in order to allow for voters to scrutinise and
detect rented and non-qualifying candidates from being nominated in the said centres.’
He also criticised the fact that the days for nomination were not made public holidays. He
said, ‘Since the Tinkhundla system of governance allows for individual status at elections,
not group or party representation, all citizens should have been allowed at both the
nominations, primary and secondary elections the same level ground, by declaring these days
public holidays in order for all citizens to enjoy that same status of being equal just this
once.’
The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has been under intense scrutiny for the
way it is running the election. Earlier in July amid claims of corruption and vote rigging it
reported more than 90 percent of those it said were eligible had registered to vote.
Registration had been extended by 12 days at the end of June 2018.
EBC said 544,310 from 600,000 eligible registered. The figures compare to 414,704 who
registered at the last election in 2013. Of those, 251,278 people voted.
Zwane disputed the EBC registration figures. Writing in the Swazi Observer, (6 July 2018) he
said there had been ‘blatant breaking of the electoral law’ and the EBC had deliberately
ignored this.
He wrote, ‘The law succinctly prescribes that there must be proof of residence at registration,
but the EBC has been inflating figures of registered voters in the country’s malls and
population centres without requiring proof of residence.’
He added, ‘The figures have now been inflated with non-qualifying elements registering to
vote, all because there is no efficient system to prune out the frauds.’
Zwane wrote, ‘It is at these stages that an election loses its credibility.’
He said election law required people registering to vote in urban areas to produce evidence of
their Swazi citizenship or permanent residence. ‘Nothing of this requirement was met at the
registration points around the malls and shopping complexes throughout the country.’
He added, ‘Now this has opened floodgates to the elections mafia who are able to manipulate
these loopholes by registering as many foreigners as possible, especially impoverished
Mozambicans who freely roam Eswatini [Swaziland] without requiring any papers to remain
in the country.
Zwane said it would be impossible to verify the electoral roll ahead of voting. ‘The individual
citizens do not possess the ability and resources to undertake the cumbersome task of
identifying each individual voter in a particular area whether authentic or fraudulent. Even
the EBC does not have the resources, skill and time to do this, otherwise they would have
prevented the crises at registration.’
During the registration period there were many media reports of incompetence, corruption
and nepotism. When registration began equipment was not in place at all centres and trained
97
election personnel were not always available and there were many reports of computer
failures. A toll-free line available for people to report grievances and challenges they met at
registration centres failed to work on MTN mobile phone numbers. Many people did not
receive voter cards after registering, leaving them in doubt that they would be able to cast
their vote.
Reports of attempted bribery were rife across the kingdom. At Maphungwane in the
Matsanjeni North Constituency football teams rejected a E10,000 (US$790) sponsorship
from an aspiring member of parliament. The Swazi Observer reported (18 May 2018) that the
sponsorship was in the form of prize money that would be paid at the end of the football
season and after the election had been held.
and rejected the offer. One club boss told the Observer that aspiring MPs had also tried to
There was a report that police in Swaziland were investigating possible election corruption
concerning a former government minister accused of bribing people with promises of food
parcels for their votes.
Swazi Observer reported sitting members of parliament had sent their agents into factories to
buy up votes in the industrial town of Matsapha. People said they were persuaded to register
as residents of the surrounding areas as opposed to their chiefdoms of origin.
to and from work had been paid. The Swazi Observer reported on Friday (15 June 2018) that
some outgoing MPs were involved.
Residents at Mbangweni complained of nepotism when four people selected to assist in the
election were from the same family. The Swazi Observer reported Inkhosatana Gelane, the
acting KoNtshingila chief, saying they were ‘loyal and respectful residents’.
Many residents in areas including Engwenyameni, Madadeni, and Lavumisa, said they would
boycott the election because they were dissatisfied with how constituency boundaries had
been drawn.
Days before registration closed EBC Chair Chief Gija Dlamini told media that all persons
nominated for election would be vetted by police.
Swaziland police force worshippers from churches to attend election nominations

31 July 2018
Police in Swaziland / Eswatini forced worshippers out of churches to attend election

nominations because numbers were small.
It happened at about 10 churches around Mathendele in Nhlangano on Sunday (29 July
2018), the Times of Swaziland reported.
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It reported police ‘barged’ into churches ‘to “encourage” worshippers to suspend their
business of worship over politics’.
It added, ‘This was reportedly after it was realised that the attendance at the polling station
wasn’t impressive, way after the scheduled time for the nomination process was set to begin.
Worshippers from several churches (close to 10) had to abruptly slash the length of their
services after police officers arrived to convince them that the nomination process was also
an essential part of their lives. Witnesses said it was shortly after 10 a.m. when the officers
embarked on the church door-to-door visitations.’
The Times reported, ‘Several interviewed worshippers said the police officers invaded their
church while a service was ongoing and accused those gathered there of not taking important
national assignments seriously.’
It added, ‘Sources revealed that in some of the visited churches, the officers were given a
tough time by church leaders, who demanded written proof that worshipping was “banned”
on the day.’
It is not reported if police elsewhere in Swaziland also invaded churches.
Nominations for forthcoming elections took place on Saturday and Sunday. Swaziland is
ruled by King Mswati III who is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Political parties
are banned from taking part in the election for House of Assembly. No members of the
Senate are elected by the people. Under Swaziland’s political system called tinkhundla or
monarchical democracy the King chooses the Prime Minister and government members.
Followers of the King say that the people in Swaziland support the political system but there
is no independent evidence for this.
The Election and Boundaries Commission (EBC) that runs the election reported more than 90
percent of the 600,000 people it said were eligible to vote had registered.
In a separate report, monthly magazine the Nation said (July 2018) that people had been
forced into registering to vote at the election. It said the huge turnout was ‘attributed to
persistent rumours that those who did not register for the elections would be denied services
in government institution.’
It added, ‘The large turnout of the youth is an indication of scrambling for government
scholarships. The rumours have hit home.’
The Nation reported, ‘There was also voter apathy during the municipality elections [in 2017]
such that there are councillors who boasted of only five votes taking them into office.’
Media report chaos and confusion during nominations for Swaziland election
1 August 2018
There were many local media reports of chaos and confusion as Swaziland / Eswatini voters
turned out to nominate candidates in the forthcoming House of Assembly election.
99
Nominations took place at chiefdoms across the kingdom on 28 and 29 July 2018. During the
time-consuming process the name of the nominee was raised by a show of hands and the
nominee given an opportunity to indicate whether he or she accepted the nomination.
There were delays in different parts of the Shiselweni region. Some people decided not to
wait and left before the process was finished.
The Swazi Observer reported (30 July 2018) said there were many complaints. It said, ‘Some
of these complaints included the decision by the overseers of the process to close the
nomination when voters still wanted to raise names of the people they were interested to
nominate.
‘Several complaints came from places like Mbangweni where some residents said they were
denied opportunities of raising names of the people they felt had the credentials to represent
them.’
It added, ‘In some areas, other residents claimed that the officials were seemingly biased and
also others looking like they were having interests, especially on whose side they were in and
who they wanted to see eventually winning.
‘At Mbangweni Umphakatsi, residents said they found themselves denied the right of
nominating people of their choice but were informed that time was running out.’
Elsewhere, there was confusion at the Ngwane Park High School polling station as many
voters and aspiring candidates were turned back on Saturday and told to return next day. The
Sunday Observer reported (29 July 2018) people started arriving at the station as early as 8
a.m. Some people complained they would not be able to go to nominations on the Sunday
because they would be at church.
Dozens of voters from Mbadlane under Dvokodvweni Constituency were ‘stunned’ to learn
that they had been registered to nominate at Entandweni chiefdom as opposed to their home
chiefdom, Malindza, the Sunday Observer reported (29 July 2018). The EBC blamed a
computer error and rectified the mistake.
The Times Sunday (29 July 2018) reported a ‘verbal showdown’ between human rights
activist and newspaper columnist Musa Hlophe and EBC officials at KaLanga. He accused
them of bias and complained he had not been called to make a nomination when he raised his
hand. He also said that women and people with disabilities were being ignored and not
allowed to nominate candidates.
Armed police were on hand at KaGwegwe where Swaziland Senate President Gelane Zwane
is acting chief. There had been sporadic fights in the area in the past during disputes about
Zwane’s position. The Sunday Observer (29 July 2018) reported there was a protest during
registration on Saturday, ‘The angry youth were said to have assembled at the KaGodloza
Royal Kraal before marching to Gelane’s KaGwegwe Royal Kraal. The youth, apart from
singing political songs and chanting slogans denouncing the acting chief, were also carrying
placards with messages relating to the decades long chieftaincy dispute in the area.’
The Sunday Observer also reported, ‘There were minor clashes at Kwaluseni where a resident
was allegedly stabbed after a confrontation.’
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Ahead of the nominations it was reported nearly 500 names were removed from the voters’
roll at Ngudzeni when it was discovered they were people who did not live in the area. The
Observer on Saturday reported (21 July 2018) that non-residents had been brought in by
aspiring candidates from as far afield as Luhlokohla in Hhelehhele and kaPhunga near
Lavundlamanti. It added usually there were about 900 voters but this number had been
inflated by 498 strangers.
In Swaziland political parties are banned from taking part in the national election and people
are required to nominate individuals to represent them in the House of Assembly. King
Mswati III rules the kingdom as one of the world’s last absolute monarchs. He chooses the
Prime Minister and government. No members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people.
Observer group says Swaziland election nomination successful, despite some

shortcomings
4 August 2018
Swaziland’s election nominations were marred by delays at most of the voting centres,
according to the first independent report from observers to be published.
Some venues for nomination were changed at the last minute, and provision for people with
disabilities was non-existent at some.
Some presiding officers lacked experience and need additional training.
Despite these shortcomings the nomination process was successful, according to the
Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) in its report.
CANGO organised 11 groups in Swaziland which deployed 110 observers in 87 nomination
centres in 37 (out of the total 59) Tinkhundla constituencies across all four regions of
Swaziland / Eswatini on 28 and 29 July 2018.
It reported, ‘Logistic delays were common in most nomination centres due to lack of
extension cables to charge laptops. In some nomination centres, lack of tables and chairs for
election officials including shelters was also common delaying the commencement of the
nomination process. Some centres had PA [public address] systems and some had
megaphones. Some of the nomination centres finished as late as 8.00 p.m. like Nkanini
Umphakatsi in Lobamba.’ It said many centres did not have electricity and this should be
provided as a priority.
It added the process was well organised but some nomination centres were changed at the last
minute like Emhlane, Old Nkhaba Inkhundla which caused confusion.
CANGO reported most centres were accessible to people with disabilities but listed 10 of the
87 it visited were not adequate. It called for the provision of braille and interpreters for
people with hearing difficulties to be made available at all voting sites.
Its report was mixed about the abilities of presiding officers. CANGO reported, ‘In all areas
covered, most presiding officers were knowledgeable on the nomination process to be
undertaken as provided in the electoral laws of Eswatini [Swaziland]. However some
presiding officers lacked patience in managing the process as observed in KaLanga. Such
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misunderstanding could easily have been managed by explaining the process to the
communities and what was expected from eligible voters.’
It recommended the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) should ‘use experienced
presiding officers who have extensive knowledge of such a process to avoid untimely delays’.
The report criticised some nomination centres for opening the process with a Christian
prayer, ‘making eligible voters very uncomfortable like in Mangwaneni community school in
Mbabane and six other nomination centres. Eligible voters were quick to react to the prayers
and some even approached CANGO observers to document the prayers and highlight that not
only eligible voters are of Christian domination.’
CANGO concluded the nomination process was ‘transparent, peaceful, free and fair in all the
nomination centres’.
PRIMARY ELECTION
All public events banned in Swaziland on day of primary election

7 August 2018
Swaziland / Eswatini has banned all public events including weddings and funerals that fall
on the day of the kingdom’s primary election.
It is the first time this has happened in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III who is one of
the world’s last absolute monarchs.
The announcement was made on Monday (6 August 2018) by Elections and Boundaries
Commission (EBC) Chair Chief Gija Dlamini.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, reported him saying, ‘All
Eswatini events that are slated for the eve and the 25th of August 2018, the day of the
national primary elections, must be cancelled. This date was announced by His Majesty the
King as primary elections day and Emaswati should respect that.’
He added that every eligible and registered person should vote at the election.
Elections in Swaziland are widely recognised by international observers as a sham. Political
parties are banned from taking part and King Mswati chooses the Prime Minister and the
government. No members of the Swaziland Senate are elected by the people. Only 59 House
of Assembly members are elected and the King chooses a further 10.
Dlamini, who is also one of the King’s brothers, said that all events that coincided with the
primary election, including weddings and funerals, were banned. The Observer reported, ‘He
said events such as weddings and funerals should either be shifted to earlier dates or
postponed to later dates other than the 25th.’
He said, ‘Funerals can be shifted to Sunday, unless the family is certain that by 5am of
Saturday [25 August] the burial would be over for the mourners to be able to have at least an
hour to spare and prepare for the elections that will start at 7 am.’
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The Observer listed events affected including weddings, lobola, stovel meetings, schools
meeting, soccer matches, fundraising walks, funerals, and birthday parties.
In Swaziland nominations for member of the House of Assembly (parliament), constituency
executive committees (Bucopho) and constituency headmen have already taken place. At the
primary election people at chiefdom level elect the member of the Bucopho for that particular
chiefdom. Aspiring Members of Parliament and the constituency headman are also elected
from each chiefdom. At the end of the primary elections, there should be one candidate for
the position of the Member of Parliament and one for the position of the constituency
headman who then contest elections at secondary level on 21 September.
Swaziland election in confusion as nominees who did not pay tax drop out
8 August 2018
The new rule that people nominated for public office must be paid up to date on their taxes
has thrown the election in Swaziland / Eswatini into confusion. Hundreds of people have
reportedly withdrawn from the election because they cannot afford to pay their taxes.
Thousands of people besieged Swaziland Revenue Authority (SRA) offices across the
kingdom trying to get tax clearance certificates. There was confusion about how much time
they had to obtain the documents with the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC)
issuing contradictory information about extending the deadline.
There were not enough staff at SRA offices to deal with the rush, local media reported.
Many of those nominated feared they would be disqualified from the election if they did not
have the certificate on time. In July 2018 the EBC announced that prospective candidates for
this year’s election would be vetted after nominations had closed and if they owed taxes, they
would be disqualified.
Police reportedly scuffled with candidates at Siteki when they blocked the entrance to the
SRA office.
According to official EBC figures a total, 6,486 people were nominated to stand for office
locally or for the national parliament across 59 constituencies. All needed to obtain clearance
certificates.
The Swazi Observer reported that some nominees dropped out of the election because they
could not afford to pay the taxes they owed. It was reported (3 August 2018) that people were
expected to pay off at least 25 percent of what they owed. The Observer quoted EBC sources
at Northern Hhohho confirming ‘that hundreds of nominees’ had dropped out.
The Times Sunday reported (5 August 2018) that Richard Phungwayo, EBC Head of
Secretariat, said the figure of people with tax issues could be more than 100.
It June 2018, EBC Chair Chief Gija Dlamini said all people nominated for the elections
would also be vetted by the police. In an interview with the Observer he said the vetting
would be at police headquarters in Mbabane where the fingerprints of all candidates would be
checked.
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‘All nominated candidates will be required to go to police headquarters to be vetted and a

record will then be forwarded to us,’ he told the newspaper.
Political parties are banned from taking part. Parliament has no powers as these are vested in
the King who rules as an absolute monarch. After the election, the King will chose the Prime
Minister, government ministers and the top civil servants and judges. At past elections people
only got to select 55 of 65 members of the House of Assembly. The King chose the other 10.
At the forthcoming election there will be an additional four seats for people to vote for. It has
not been announced how many members the King will choose but the Swaziland Constitution
allows him to pick up to ten.
Swaziland: Elections without democracy

Kenworthy News Media, 8 August 2018
Swaziland will hold national elections on September 21. But according to reports that
examine the country’s last national elections in 2013 and many Swazis, Swaziland’s political
system is undemocratic and only serves to keep its absolute monarch in power.
Organised Certainty, a new study published in July by journalist and former associate
professor at the University of Swaziland Richard Rooney, concludes that Swaziland’s last
national elections in 2013 were “not democratic” and that “the political system exists to keep
the ruling absolute monarchy in power”.
According to Rooney, bribery, corruption and election blunders were widespread in 2013,
women were banned from nomination for wearing trousers, Swaziland’s police and state
forces clamped down on peaceful political and social dissent, media coverage in the Swazi
media failed to report opposition views, and it took the Election and Boundaries Commission
over three years to formally release the election results.
Voters in Swaziland will elect 59 of Swaziland’s 69 members of the country’s House of
Assembly at national elections on September 21. Absolute monarch King Mswati III picks
the remaining ten, as well as most of the Senate, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Political
parties are barred from participating in the elections.
The king is above the law
“The lack of democracy in Swaziland is well documented”, Rooney writes in his report.
Many other reports point to this fact, as well as to an increase in repression and human rights
abuses towards those who advocate a boycott of the elections and campaign for multiparty
democracy.
Elections in Swaziland have “increasingly become arenas for competition over patronage and
not policy,” African NGO the Institute for Security Studies wrote in a report before the last
national elections 2013.
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The Commonwealth Observer Mission Report, who sent over 400 international and local
observers to monitor the 2013 elections, concluded that the election had showed “major
democratic deficits”, amongst other things because “parliamentarians continue to have
severely limited powers, and political parties continue to remain proscribed … there is
considerable room for improving the democratic system”.
The EU’s Election Experts Mission, who sent over 150 observers, said in their report that the
elections showed that the Swazi state was unwilling to tackle “fundamental problems [with]
the system of government and the respect for the principles of separation of power, rule of
law and independence of the judiciary”.
These problems included that “the King has absolute power and is considered to be above the
law” and that “a bill shall not become law unless the King has assented to it”, the Election
Experts Mission concluded.
The latest annual Freedom in the World-report from independent watchdog organisation
Freedom House gives Swaziland its lowest score of seven in regard to political rights. The
report concludes that “political dissent and civic or labor activism are subject to harsh
punishment under laws on sedition and other offenses. Those who criticize the monarchy can
also face exclusion from traditional patronage systems”.
And Human Rights Watch concluded in their 2017 report that “Swaziland continued to
repress political dissent and disregard human rights and rule of law in 2017”.
Growing dissatisfaction
Many Swazis are becoming increasingly disaffected with their political system.
In a poll conducted in 2015 by pan-African independent research institute Afrobarometer,
only a third of the population saw Swaziland’s political system as democratic and only 28
percent were fairly or very satisfied with how democracy works in Swaziland (down from 36
percent in 2013).
Another Afrobarometer poll from 2016 revealed Swaziland to be one of the 36 African
countries polled that have seen the biggest positive change in favour of democracy in the
previous five years. In July, another Afrobarometer poll found that less than four in ten
Swazis approve of the job performance of Swaziland’s Prime Minister and MPs.
Current elections legitimise King’s rule
Political coordinator of the Swaziland United Democratic Front, Wandile Dludlu, is adamant
that this year’s elections will in fact only serve to legitimise the power of Swaziland’s
absolute monarch King Mswati III.
“The power to govern and to determine the destiny of Swaziland rests upon the King and
therefore Mswati is always the victor in every election”, he says.
According to a report from Swaziland’s Elections and Boundaries Commission, 41 percent of
the estimated 600,000 Swazis who were entitled to register voted in the 2013 elections
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(although the report chooses to conclude that 61 percent of the 414,704 voters who registered
to vote actually did so). Less than the 47 percent who voted in 2008.
For this downward trajectory to change, Swaziland’s needs democratic reform says exiled
editor of Swaziland News, Zweli Martin Dlamini.
“These elections are meaningless and nothing will change in the country for as long as
absolute powers vests with the King. The voters will elect MPs who will be accountable to
the King not to the people, and until we adopt democratic reforms, nothing will change”,
Zweli Martin Dlamini concludes.
That many people register to vote simply shows that people are afraid not to, according to
President of the Swaziland Youth Congress Bheki Dlamini.
“The Swazi elections do not allow any change in the distribution of political power. More and
more people are aware of the uselessness of the elections, but because of fear of reprisals
from the regime’s agents they still register to be part of the elections”, Bheki Dlamini says.
Swaziland people not allowed to elect government

15 August 2018
By Richard Rooney
The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini)
is deliberately misleading voters into believing they are voting for a government when they
are not.
It is spreading false messages on social media platforms urging people to go to the polls so
they can determine their own future and that of their families. The first round of voting takes
place on 25 August 2018.
Swaziland is not a democracy and is ruled by King Mswati III as one of the world’s last
absolute monarchs. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections and the King
chooses the Prime Minister and government. People are only allowed to vote for 59 members
of the House of Assembly. The King appoints a further 10. No members of the 30-strong
Swaziland Senate are elected by the people.
There is nothing new about this and it is not a secret. The Swaziland Constitution that came
into force in 2006 sets out the political system in the kingdom known as tinkhundla. In 2013
King Mswati renamed this ‘Monarchical Democracy’ which he called a system formed by
merging the will of the people with the monarch. Voters are only permitted to vote for people
as individuals. A government by definition is a collection of people who want to achieve
common goals in areas such as the economy, health, education and so on. In a democracy
people get the chance to weigh up different policies presented by different parties and choose
the one to form the government.
As I wrote in my recently published study Organised Certainty, Why elections in
Swaziland are not democratic the European Union Election Experts Mission (EEM), one
of a number of international groups that monitored the conduct of Swaziland’s election in
2013, made much of how the kingdom’s absolute monarchy undermined democracy. It
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reported, ‘The King has absolute power and is considered to be above the law, including the
Constitution, enjoying the power to assent laws and immunity from criminal proceedings. A
bill shall not become law unless the King has assented to it, meaning that the parliament is
unable to pass any law which the King is in disagreement with.’
The EEM was not alone in saying Swaziland is undemocratic. The Institute for Security
Studies in 2012 said tinkhundla elections could essentially be defined as ‘organised
certainty’, since they reproduced the prevailing political status quo in Swaziland. It went on
to say, ‘The ruling regime enjoys an unchallenged monopoly over state resources, and
elections have increasingly become arenas for competition over patronage and not policy.’
This view is not confined to the ISS. The 2013 election observation report of the
Commonwealth Expert Team questioned the elections’ credibility because they resulted in ‘a
Parliament which does not have power’, because of the ban on political parties.
The United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office in a report on Swaziland in 2013
said there was no effective democracy in Swaziland. ‘The King has the power summarily to
appoint and dismiss ministers, all parliamentary candidates require the approval of their chief
(who is dependent on the monarch for wealth and power) and while political parties are not
forbidden, they are banned from participating in elections. All candidates must run as
independents.’
In its report on conduct of the 2013 election, the African Union (AU) mission called for
fundamental changes to ensure people had freedom of speech and of assembly. The AU said
the Swaziland Constitution guaranteed ‘fundamental rights and freedoms including the rights
to freedom of association’, but in practice ‘rights with regard to political assembly and
association are not fully enjoyed’. The AU said this was because political parties were not
allowed to contest elections.
The AU urged Swaziland to review the constitution, especially in the areas of ‘freedoms of
conscience, expression, peaceful assembly, association and movement as well as international
principles for free and fair elections and participation in electoral process’.
In its report on the 2013 elections, Commonwealth observers recommended that measures be
put in place to ensure separation of powers between the government, parliament and the
courts so that Swaziland was in line with its international commitments.
They also called on the Swaziland Constitution to be ‘revisited’. The report stated, ‘This
should ideally be carried out through a fully inclusive, consultative process with all Swazi
political organisations and civil society (needed, with the help of constitutional experts), to
harmonise those provisions which are in conflict. The aim is to ensure that Swaziland’s
commitment to political pluralism is unequivocal.’
Voter bribery rife in Swaziland in run-up to first round of national election

22 August 2018
Bribing of voters is rife in Swaziland as the kingdom gears up for the first round of the
discredited national election.
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Cash, food and alcohol have been distributed and even prisoners in jail have been given
money during the campaign.
Newspapers in Swaziland (the kingdom recently renamed Eswatini by its absolute monarch
King Mswati III) have reported extensively on bribery throughout the registration,
nomination and primary election stages. People go to the polls on Saturday (25 August 2018)
for the primary election with final voting due on 21 September.
People convicted of bribery at election time in Swaziland face fines of E10,000 or two years
in prison.
Political parties are banned from taking part in the election and candidates must stand as
individuals. Elections in Swaziland are widely regarded as not democratic by observers
outside the kingdom. The King choses the Prime Minister and government ministers and the
parliament has no powers as these rest with the King.
Bribery is taking many forms. At Maphungwane in the Matsanjeni North Constituency
football teams rejected a E10,000 (US$790) sponsorship from an aspiring member of
parliament. The Swazi Observer reported (18 May 2018) that the sponsorship was in the form
of prize money that would be paid at the end of the football season and after the election had
been held.
and rejected the offer. One club boss told the newspaper that aspiring MPs had also tried to
The Swazi Observer reported (21 May 2018) A former government minister was accused of
bribing people with promises of food parcels for their votes. It did not name the man but said
he and his brother had been offering free meals and transporting people to registration points
in the Hhohho region. People had made verbal agreements to vote for the ex-minister when
the election proper began. The newspaper reported that police, acting on a tip off, detained
and recorded statements from 17 people.
Swazi Observer reported (27 May 2018) sitting members of parliament had sent their agents
into factories to buy up votes in the industrial town of Matsapha. People said they were
persuaded to register as residents of the surrounding areas as opposed to their chiefdoms of
origin.
to and from work had been paid. The Swazi Observer reported (15 June 2018) that some
outgoing MPs were involved.
More recently, The Times of Swaziland (10 August 2018) reported, A crowd of elated textile
workers at Fashion International in Matsapha Industrial Site, ‘danced outside their factory
while waving E50 notes that had been allegedly given to them by an aspiring MP’ from one
of the constituencies in the Manzini Region.
The newspaper reported the money was distributed by the candidate’s campaign managers
who were also employed in the factory. It said 250 workers were given at least E250 each.
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The Sunday Observer (19 August 2018) reported that prisoners were being paid by aspiring
candidates to ‘grease the palm’ of potential voters.
It also reported a series of cases of voter bribery. ‘In Siphofaneni, an aspiring MP was
captured giving out bread and sodas to members of his constituency this past week. He is said
to have encouraged members of the public to vote for him if they want to continue getting the
parcels.
‘Another aspiring MP is reported to be allegedly giving out chicken portions in Matsapha to
textile employees from his parked vehicle while his contenders are giving out sums of
money.
‘In Manzini, another is reportedly giving out a minimum of E50 notes to registered voters
who sing his praises as soon as he appears.
‘In Mbabane, food parcels are given out in the dead of night while drinks are given freely by
agents at drinking spots with a reminder as to who funded them.’
In Swaziland, people are only allowed to vote for 59 members of the House of Assembly, the
King appoints a further 10. No members of the 30-strong Swaziland Senate are elected by the
people.
Bribed Swaziland voters photograph their completed ballot papers

23 August 2018
Some voters in Swaziland’s election took photographs of their completed ballot papers to
prove who they had voted for after accepting bribes.
They sent the picture to the candidate making the bribe by WhatsApp, the Times of Swaziland
reported.
It happened at the Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday (21 August 2018) during
the ‘special election’ ahead on the kingdom’s main primary election on Saturday.
The Times reported, ‘Voters, as is the law, were allowed to be in the polling booth on their
own and that was when they sneaked in an opportunity to take pictures of who they had voted
for.’
The newspaper reported that candidates who had offered bribes wanted the proof.
It added, ‘One woman, when interviewed, confirmed that she had done so to give proof to the
candidate that she had voted for her.
‘“I want my preferred candidate to have a peace of mind knowing that I voted for her,” she
said.
‘Others stated that the candidates had demanded pictorial evidence of whom they had voted
for.’
The special election was held ahead of the main vote for people who would be working on
Saturday at the primary elections.
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During the day there were reports of illegal campaigning. In Swaziland, recently renamed
Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III, candidates are not allowed to
campaign for votes until after the first round of elections, known as primaries, have been
completed. Campaigning is only allowed ahead of the final secondary election to be held on
21 September 2018.
The Swazi Observer reported (23 August 2018) that candidates ‘openly canvassed for votes
during the special voting exercise’.
It added, ‘Some of the candidates were found wandering at the gate to the Mavuso Trade
Centre pleading with people to vote for them.’
There were also complaints that the day had been badly organised by the Elections and
Boundaries Commission (EBC). The Observer reported a ‘near stampede’ as ‘hundreds of
voters pushed and shoved in order to cast their votes first’. Police had to be called to keep
order.
It added, ‘Hundreds of special voters flocked the area as early as 7am hoping to cast their
votes first and return to their respective homes or places of employment.
‘However, voters were informed that they will have to queue according to their different
chiefdoms and not according to who got to the place first.
‘This did not go down well with the voters who complained of being overtaken by those who
arrived late. This resulted in voters pushing and shoving despite being told that they will be
called according to their chiefdoms.
‘Tempers flared as some voters threatened one another with violence as they pushed to vote.
‘Voters especially those from the Hhohho region had a tough day during the voting process
as some were almost turned back without having voted.
‘This happened after the voters were told that it was way too late and their line was very
long.’
The Observer said, ‘Outside the pavilion, there was so much pushing and shoving such that
some of the [EBC] officers eventually called for police to come and manage the situation
which was getting out of hand.’
Elections in Swaziland are widely regarded as not democratic by official observers because
political parties are banned from taking part. The King choses the Prime Minister and
government and the parliament has no powers as these rest with the King.
In Swaziland, people are only allowed to vote for 59 members of the House of Assembly, the
King appoints a further 10. No members of the 30-strong Swaziland Senate are elected by the
people.
Chaos and Violence Reported Across Swaziland as Voters go to the Polls

26 August 2018
Voters held police and polling officials hostage as violence broke out across Swaziland
during the first round of the national election on Saturday (25 August 2018).
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There were scenes of ‘total chaos’ in some polling stations, according to media reports
coming from the tiny kingdom recently renamed Eswatini by absolute monarch King Mswati
III.
The Sunday Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported what it called a
hostage situation happened at the polling station at Lobamba National High School. It said
election official and police officers ‘were held hostage by angry voters who were outside the
polling station’.
The newspaper reported the problem started when the lights suddenly went out during the
counting of votes. Officials wanted to remove ballot boxes elsewhere. ‘However, the voters
would hear none of that as they shouted at the top of their voices that such could not happen.’
The Observer added, ‘Police back-up had to be sought as some voters outside the polling
station started kicking the door to the polling station and threatening to force it down.
‘The polling station became a danger zone as the angry voters kept trying to force the door
open.’
‘It was the arrival of two police vans that helped calm down the situation, but the police
themselves could not entirely help the situation as the voters insisted that the counting of the
votes continue in the semi-dark polling station.’
Counting continued at the school.
In a separate report the Observer said voters clashed at the Siphumelele polling station at the
Logoba Chiefdom in the Kwaluseni constituency. It reported whips and knives were used. It
said people had been drinking beer supplied by aspiring candidates.
It reported, ‘Spurts of violence were witnessed as over sensitive voters fought over one thing
or the other.’
It added, ‘The youthful crowd was noted drinking from as early as the morning hours with
the occasional crate of beers being replenished whenever the previous one was depleted.
These were brought by the aspiring politicians or their agents.’
The Observer also reported ‘total chaos’ at Gobolondo Hall, Pigg’s Peak, when polling
closed at 7.00 pm with about 50 people still trying to cast their vote.
It reported, ‘Police officers had a torrid time trying to ward off angry voters who were
forcefully pushing the gate to gain entry.’
It added, ‘A woman collapsed and was attended to by paramedics while voting continued
inside. It is not too clear what made her collapse.’
Swaziland was going to the polls in the first round of national and community elections. The
final vote takes place on 21 September 2018. Political parties are banned from taking part in
the elections and King Mswati appoints the Prime Minister and Government.
First round of Swaziland election marred by inefficiency and fear of vote-rigging

27 August 2018
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The first round of voting at Swaziland’s national election was marred by reports of
inefficiency and fear of vote-rigging. Many polling stations opened or closed late and some
people were unable to cast votes.
Swaziland, recently renamed Eswatini by its absolute monarch King Mswati III, is a small
kingdom with a population of about 1.1 million. On Saturday (25 August 2018) they went to
vote at more than 400 polling stations across 59 constituencies.
The kingdom’s two national newspaper groups the Times of Swaziland and the Swazi
Observer reported extensively.
Voters at Lobamba Lomdzala feared vote rigging because ballot papers from the polling
station at Bethany Primary School had to be taken to Mahlanya Primary for counting. The car
ferrying the ballot box was not escorted by police.
The Swazi Observer reported on Monday (27 August 2018), ‘This resulted to the people
complaining that it took almost an hour to ferry the results from Bethany to the destined area
of counting.’
It added that both witnesses and members of the media were excluded from the polling
station during counting. ‘Senior members from EBC (Elections and Boundaries Commission)
had to be called as the witnesses wanted to regain entry and they eventually did after
consultations were made, having spent half an hour outside.’
There was confusion at KaMethula, a newly created constituency, and many people were
unclear where they had to vote. Some decided not to vote at all. Others ‘were forced to run
from pillar to post trying to get to the correct right polling station’, the Swazi Observer
reported.
Polls were expected to be open from 7.00 am to 7.00 pm. The Sunday Observer reported that
‘most polling stations’ failed to meet the 7.00 pm deadline to clear all voters.
‘As a result, some polling stations extended their deadlines so to accommodate all voters,’ it
said.
It also reported, ‘painfully slow queues coupled with tedious voter information verification
drills’.
At Nkwene and Ebenezer (Mtsambama), after 7.00 pm more than 100 voters were still
queuing. Polling officers allowed them to vote. Some of those who came late to the voting
station said they were from digging graves for funerals while some claimed to be from work.
Elsewhere voters complained that polling stations opened late in the morning and they had to
queue for hours.
Inside polling stations there were delays caused by the manual system of voter verification. In
many places senior citizens were allowed to go through to cast their vote earlier than the rest.
Voters could not cast their votes on time at Gilgal Inkhundla as two polling stations
Phonjwane and Duze ran out of ballot papers around 9.00 am. Voters had to wait for over
three hours for ballot papers to arrive while others decided to leave.
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Voters at Ka-laMgabhi chiefdom, Hhukwini Constituency, were left frustrated due to the long
queues at Lamgabhi Primary School polling station. Voting began half an hour late because
ballots papers were not available on time. Hundreds of voters stood in the scorching sun
waiting to cast their votes.
Voting at Mayiwane was delayed as Pigg’s Peak police failed to designate police officers
promptly to secure a polling station at Mkhuzweni. Chief Police Information and
Communications Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba confirmed the delay. Voting began
at 10.00 am.
Two women reportedly collapsed before they could cast their vote at Mtfongwaneni. They
were squeezed by the many voters who had come to cast votes as they scrambled to gain
entry to the polling station. People had been waiting several hours to cast their vote.
Last week the Times of Swaziland reported that the EBC had engaged 6,760 people to work
as polling officers earning a daily rate of E250. In Swaziland seven in ten people live on
incomes less than E30 a day.
Swaziland was going to the polls in the first round of national and community elections. The
final vote takes place on 21 September 2018. Political parties are banned from taking part in
the elections and King Mswati appoints the Prime Minister and Government.
Independent election observers in Swaziland barred from some polling stations, told to
sign secrecy forms
28 August 2018
Independent observers at Swaziland’s elections were refused access to some polling stations
until they had signed secrecy forms restricting what they could report.
They were told to get the form endorsed by the police.

It happened during the first round of the election in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by
the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III) on Saturday (25 August 2018).
The Eswatini Elections Support Network which operates under the auspices of the
Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) reported on Monday (27 August 2018) that its
designated observers were denied access at five polling stations.
In its official report of the election CANGO said it happened mainly in the Hhohho region. It
said observers were denied access and ‘were asked to take the secrecy form and have it
endorsed by a commissioner of oaths in this case the Royal Eswatini Police Service’.
The report added, ‘The network is concerned about this matter as all electoral observers are
expected to sign the visitors book not secrecy forms as the mission is an independent
assessment of the national elections.’
The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has yet to comment on the ban. A number
of international organisations have been invited to send observers for the final round of
elections due on 21 September 2018. The EBC reported that at the last election in 2013 more
than 400 international and local observers were accredited. They included the
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Commonwealth, African Union, European Union, United States Embassy in Swaziland,

German Consulate, Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), SADC Elections
Observer Mission (SEOM), SADC Parliamentary Forum, SADC Lawyers Association,
SADC Electoral Commissions Forum (ECF), SADC Non-Governmental Organizations
(NGOs), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and CANGO.
The Eswatini Elections Support Network is made up of representatives from ten NGOs in
Swaziland. It deployed 120 observers across 170 polling stations in 44 constituencies in all
four regions of the kingdom.
Elections in Swaziland are generally recognised outside of the kingdom as undemocratic.
Political parties are banned from taking part and King Mswati appoints the Prime Minister
and Government. People are only allowed to elect 59 members of the House of Assembly,
another 10 are appointed by the King. None of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate are
The European Union Election Experts Mission (EEM), in its report on the 2013 election,
made much of how the kingdom’s absolute monarchy undermined democracy.
In its report it stated, ‘The King has absolute power and is considered to be above the law,
including the Constitution, enjoying the power to assent laws and immunity from criminal
proceedings. A bill shall not become law unless the King has assented to it, meaning that the
parliament is unable to pass any law which the King is in disagreement with.
‘The King will refer back the provisions he is not in agreement with, which makes the
parliament and its elected chamber, the House of Assembly, ineffective, unable to achieve the
objective a parliament is created for: to be the legislative branch of the state and maintain the
government under scrutiny.’
The EEM went on to say the ‘main principles for a democratic state are not in place’ in
Swaziland.
The EEM was not alone in recognising Swaziland as undemocratic. In its report on conduct
of the 2013 election, the African Union (AU) mission called for fundamental changes to
ensure people had freedom of speech and of assembly. The AU said the Swaziland
Constitution guaranteed ‘fundamental rights and freedoms including the rights to freedom of
association’, but in practice ‘rights with regard to political assembly and association are not
fully enjoyed’. The AU said this was because political parties were not allowed to contest
elections.
The AU urged Swaziland to review the constitution, especially in the areas of ‘freedoms of
conscience, expression, peaceful assembly, association and movement as well as international
principles for free and fair elections and participation in electoral process’.
courts so that Swaziland was in line with its international commitments.
They also called on the Swaziland Constitution to be ‘revisited’. The report stated, ‘This
should ideally be carried out through a fully inclusive, consultative process with all Swazi
political organisations and civil society (needed, with the help of constitutional experts), to
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harmonise those provisions which are in conflict. The aim is to ensure that Swaziland’s
commitment to political pluralism is unequivocal.’
Fears grow of vote-rigging and malpractice in Swaziland election. ballot boxes not
properly sealed
29 August 2018
Fears of vote rigging during the first round of the Swaziland election are growing. The
Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) received complaints about malpractice from
across the kingdom.
Most presiding officers at polling stations did not know how to seal ballot boxes properly, a
group of official election observers reported.
At Kwaluseni about 16 candidates and their agents walked out of the counting in protest at
cheating and called for the election in the constituency to be cancelled.
The Swazi Observer reported (29 August 2018) there were complaints that ballot papers were
tightly interlocked and could not be easily removed from ballot boxes. Candidates questioned
how a thick package of papers could have been in the box when it was half empty.
The Observer reported, ‘The package was two ballot papers interlocked at right angles with
several other papers neatly tucked in them.’
Counting was stopped for several hours with three boxes out of seven uncounted. It was later
completed despite protests.
There were also allegations at Kwaluseni that during the voting polling station officers had
told people who to vote for.
Voters in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King
Mswati III) went to the polls in the first round of national and community elections on
Saturday (25 August 2018). Political parties are banned from taking part and the King
appoints the Prime Minister and government ministers.
Candidates and voters from the Buka Chiefdom and Lobamba Lomdzala marched on the
offices of the EBC calling for the votes in their areas to be recounted.
At Buka they said the number of votes cast did not tally with the number of registered voters
and some rejected ballot papers were counted, according to the Swazi Observer. They also
said some ballot boxes were late arriving at the count after voting ended at Buka.
Voters from Lobamba Lomdzala told the newspaper they suspected ‘foul play’ at the
election. The EBC asked them to detail complaints in writing.
EBC Commissioner Ncumbi Maziya said many complaints had been received from across the
kingdom. ‘We have received complaints from Ezulwini, Lobamba Lomdzala, Kwaluseni and
some from Mpolonjeni in the Lubombo region,’ the Observer quoted Maziya saying.
The Observer added, ‘He said the commission would follow the proper channels in
addressing the complaints by the electorate.
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‘“I also advised them to go to the court if need be so that their concerns could be addressed
expeditiously.”’
A report on the election process from the Eswatini Elections Support Network which is
overseen by the Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) which visited about 170 polling
stations on the day said, ‘Most presiding officers struggled to seal ballot boxes and this is a
serious concern that needs urgent attention. Poor seals allow for the ballot boxes to be
manipulated and damage the credibility of the results. CANGO would like to encourage EBC
to seriously invest in an urgent training for all presiding officers to be taught how to seal
ballot boxes properly.’
Members of the Operational Support Service Unit (OSSU), the paramilitary police wing,
were called to Nkhaba Old Inkhundla polling station and Matsanjeni South ‘to calm the
situation where voters blocked the exit of electoral officials who were transporting ballot
papers to a central command place where counting could take place’, CANGO reported.
Polling station riot and fresh accusations of vote-rigging reported at Swaziland election
31 August 2018
More accusations of vote-rigging and illegal practice during the first round of Swaziland’s
election are emerging with calls for some votes to be re-run.
The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has come under attack for ignoring
complaints.
One newspaper in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute ruler
King Mswati III) reported ‘riots’ at one polling station.
There are claims that at the Ezikhotheni chiefdom in the Shiselweni 1 constituency
candidates brought strangers to vote. EBC polling officials were notified but did nothing
about it, the Swazi Observer reported on Thursday (30 August 2018).
The outgoing member of parliament for the area Michael Sigodvo Nxumalo, who was
standing for election again but lost, told the Observer unknown people in the community
being were ‘smuggled’ into the polling centre.
‘EBC officials did not listen to our concerns. we did not want the counting of the votes to
proceed without first knowing if all those that voted were from Ezikhotheni.’
The Observer added, ‘Nxumalo claimed that certain vehicles brought textile workers to vote
when they were known to be from other areas.’
The Observer also reported (30 August 2018) that after ‘riots at the Mshingishingini polling
station due to the lack of electricity, election nominees have called for fresh elections to be
conducted’.
Candidates have protested that rules ‘stipulated by the EBC rule book state that a riot had the
power to disturb an election, thus distort the eventual election results,’ it added.
The Observer said the riot lasted an hour and was caused ‘by people who wanted to vote
illegally after voting had concluded’.
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An unnamed source told the Observer, ‘The rioting individuals are the people who entered
the polling station after 19.00 hours as they took advantage that there was no electricity at the
voting centre. They broke down the polling station gate and forced themselves in and were
added as though they had queued, The EBC officers could not stop the crowd.’
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba
confirmed the riots at the Mshingishingini polling station, the Observer added.
Candidates at Mvembili claimed the winner of the constituency executive (Bucopho) election
was an imposter. They said Martin Magagula was not from the Northern Hhohho area but
Dvokolwako, and therefore he stole the election victory. They want him stripped of his
victory.
Meanwhile, Ayanda Shiba, aged 22, was fined E1,000 by the Siteki magistrate after he
admitted trying to vote twice using two different voting cards at Good Shepherd polling
station, at Makhewu in Siteki.
There have been a number of claims of vote-rigging and malpractice emerging in the days
following the election.
Most presiding officers at polling stations did not know how to seal ballot boxes properly, the
Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) said in a report on the conduct of the election.
cheating and called for the election in the constituency to be cancelled.
EBC Commissioner Ncumbi Maziya said many complaints had been received from across the
kingdom, including Ezulwini, Lobamba Lomdzala, Kwaluseni and Mpolonjeni in the
Lubombo region.
Swaziland’s elections are recognised outside the kingdom to be undemocratic. Political
parties are banned from taking part and the King appoints the Prime Minister and government
ministers.
Swaziland’s independent observation group says election ‘free and fair’ but identifies
many shortcomings
3 September 2018
The Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) which led 10 local groups as an Elections
Network to observe the first round of Swaziland’s election found a list of shortcomings
including voter bribery, illegal voting, late opening of polling stations, poor IT facilities and
drunkenness.
Nonetheless, it concluded the polls known as the Primary Election, ‘were held peacefully and
were undertaken in an atmosphere that is free and fair’.
CANGO had 120 observers visit 170 polling stations across 44 of 59 constituencies in
Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III)
for the national and community elections on 24 August 2018.
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In its report it identified ‘the most urgent issue’ was in Nkilongo where a candidate who was
not eligible to contest one of the community offices stood and received 69 votes. A formal
complaint by rival candidates has been lodged with the Elections and Boundaries
Commission (EBC).
CANGO also noted that ‘a lot of polling stations opened late’ especially in Siphofaneni,
Hlutse, Phonjwane and some other areas in the Hhohho region. The delay was caused by late
delivery of ballot materials. Some polling stations opened five hours late.
Other polling stations such as Mphundle High school in Matsanjeni North opened late
because there was no electricity. In Ekuphakameni High School polling station the delay was
caused by the late arrival of election officials. In other areas including Bethany Mission
Primary School the delay was caused by the absence of nominees and their agents who were
supposed to be there to view the sealing of the ballot boxes.
In Shewula voting was stopped for an hour later in the day because there was no electricity.
CANGO reported, ‘Delays lead to disgruntled voters who then turn away from polling
stations due to frustrations.’
At Somnjalose High School polling officers failed to balance the numbers of used and unused
ballot papers. CANGO said some people might have been given two ballot papers.
CANGO noted that many voters across Swaziland were seen trying to take photos of their
ballot papers. It stated the illegal practice could be linked to voter bribery or extortion.
CANGO doubted that all presiding officers at polling stations were capable of doing their job
properly. It stated, ‘Most presiding offers, polling officers generally seemed well versed in
most polling stations in terms of the steps undertaken to set up polling stations, registration of
serial numbers for ballot papers and ensuring that all polling stations guarantee the secrecy of
the vote. However some presiding and polling officers still need to be capacitated on electoral
procedures as seen in Phonjwane where procedure was flaunted as people casted their ballot
only for the Bucopho position due to late arrival of other ballot materials for the two other
positions.’
It noted that most of the presiding officers in the Lubombo region could not provide the
number of registered voters for that particular polling station. It said that while some polling
stations had the IT support, other polling stations did not.
Most presiding officers struggled to seal ballot boxes. CANGO reported, ‘Poor seals allow
for the ballot boxes to be manipulated and damage the credibility of the results.’
The verification of voters was slow in most polling stations in the early hours of the day and
this was caused by IT technical glitches delaying the process. In most of the polling stations,
technical glitches were common with laptops freezing.
Campaigning, which is illegal in Swaziland until after the primary was witnessed in
Mfanyana Hall where a nominee agent was soliciting for votes. The police were called to
deal with the matter.
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At Ngculwini in Mhubhe High School, material available that listed the candidates who were
standing at the election was tampered with in an attempt to influence voters. At Mbekelweni
high school, nominees and their agents were seen greeting every voter which was illegal.
‘One nominee even greeted one of CANGO observers and told the observer whom to cast her
vote to without realising that she is an observer,’ CANGO reported.
CANGO said it observed a lot of campaigning on Whatsapp groups especially around the
Hlatsi, Kambhoke, Khubutha areas. It added, ‘Attempts to influence voters were also seen
around Ngonini Inkhundla where relatives of certain nominees were seen transporting
eligible voters to polling stations. At Ngcoseni High School polling station, a lot of voters
were seen receiving varying vegetables from tomatoes, cabbages, onions etc. and it was not
clear whether they were being sold and or were gifts meant to influence voters. When
observers sought more information, the process of handing the cabbages was abruptly
stopped and no information could be obtained.’
Some members of CANGO’s independent election observation team were asked to sign
secrecy forms and were denied access to polling stations if they did not do so. They were told
they had to go to the police to declare an oath.
CANGO stated, ‘EBC should clearly communicate to all polling stations that observers only
sign the visitor’s book to limit misunderstandings as the country will now be joined by other
regional observer missions like SADC EOM and such confusion will not paint a good image
for the country.’
Fights outside polling stations were witnessed but CANGO reported these were not related to
the elections but were ‘normally misunderstandings between highly intoxicated individuals
standing nearby polling stations’.
At Nkhaba Old Inkhundla polling station and Matsanjeni South the paramilitary police OSSU
were called to calm the situation where voters blocked the exit of electoral officials who were
transporting ballot papers to a central command place where counting could take place.
Elections in Swaziland are generally recognised outside of the kingdom as undemocratic.
Political parties are banned from taking part and King Mswati appoints the Prime Minister
and Government. People are only allowed to elect 59 members of the House of Assembly,
another 10 are appointed by the King. None of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate are
The final round of voting (the Secondary Election) takes place on 21 September 2018.
Vote-rigging claims during Swaziland’s election grow. Calls for some polls to be re-run
5 September 2018
More allegations of vote-rigging and malpractice have surfaced in the wake of the first round
of Swaziland’s election.
Voters at Mabantaneni in Lubulini called on the Elections and Boundaries Commission
(EBC) to nullify the election there. They said the total number of votes counted was more
than the number of voters registered.
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They also said voting lasted until 11.00 pm instead of 7.00 pm; some people voted more than
once and one person boasted they voted six times. The Observer on Saturday newspaper
reported (1 September 2018) they said people who had cast their votes were not marked with
ink on their thumbnails to make it impossible for them to vote again.
The Observer reported voters also alleged the presiding officer colluded with one of the
candidates to ensure that the elections were rigged.
It quoted voters saying, ‘It all happened right in front of our eyes and we were left helpless as
the presiding officer dismissed our concerns as minor every time we raised them with him.’
It added, ‘Furthermore, the voters allege that a certain resident, who had not registered for the
elections, managed to enter the ballot box and cast votes using another registered voter’s
card, something that is not permissible by law.
‘They say after realising that it had become a free-for-all affair at the polling station with one
of the voters even boasting that he had voted six times already they tested the situation by
sending one voter to cast his vote again, which he successfully did without any hindrance.’
EBC Communications Officer Mbonisi Bhembe confirmed the EBC was investigating.
Meanwhile, some candidates at KaLanga in Lugongolweni walked out of the count alleging
they had been harassed by two EBC presiding officers. Most of them did not sign to approve
the results as required by election regulations, the Observer on Saturday reported (1
September 2018).
The newspaper said the count at Matsetsa School for the Deaf took about 17 hours.
Candidates had raised concerns about some ballot papers that were a different size to the
majority. The Observer reported, ‘When the counting of votes for was about to be concluded,
candidates asked the presiding officers to first declare the total number of votes entered, then
subtract the total number of spoilt votes.
‘“While we were raising other concerns, the presiding officers seemed to be losing their cool,
and one of them threw the spoilt ballot papers at my face,” claimed one of the candidates who
eventually walked out.
‘Another candidate said after this incident, they felt threatened; hence they decided to walk
out of the hall.
‘“We decided to walk out of the hall after that incident because we did not want to be accused
of disturbing the national elections,” explained another candidate.
‘In separate interviews, the candidates claimed to have been harassed by the presiding
officers.’
The newspaper reported candidates said they would not make a formal complaint to the EBC
‘as they believed that would not change the results’.
There have been many complaints about vote-rigging and malpractice in the days following
the first round of the election (known as the Primary Election) that took place on 24 August
2018 in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King
Mswati III).
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There were claims at the Ezikhotheni chiefdom in the Shiselweni 1 constituency that
candidates brought strangers to vote. EBC polling officials were reportedly notified but did
nothing about it.
There were riots at the Mshingishingini polling station due to the lack of electricity, election
candidates have called for fresh elections to be conducted.
Candidates at Mvembili claimed the winner of the constituency executive (Bucopho) election
was an imposter. They said Martin Magagula was not from the Northern Hhohho area but
Dvokolwako, and therefore he stole the election victory. They want him stripped of his
victory.
Meanwhile, Ayanda Shiba, aged 22, was fined E1,000 by the Siteki magistrate after he
admitted trying to vote twice using two different voting cards at Good Shepherd polling
station, at Makhewu in Siteki.
cheating and called for the election in the constituency to be cancelled. There were
complaints that ballot papers were tightly interlocked and could not be easily removed from
ballot boxes. Candidates questioned how a thick package of papers could have been in the
box when it was half empty.
There were also allegations at Kwaluseni that during the voting polling station officers had
told people who to vote for.
Candidates and voters from the Buka Chiefdom and Lobamba Lomdzala marched on the
offices of the EBC calling for the votes in their areas to be recounted. At Buka they said the
number of votes cast did not tally with the number of registered voters and some rejected
ballot papers were counted. They also said some ballot boxes were late arriving at the count
after voting ended at Buka.
EBC Commissioner Ncumbi Maziya told local media many complaints had been received
from across the kingdom. ‘We have received complaints from Ezulwini, Lobamba Lomdzala,
Kwaluseni and some from Mpolonjeni in the Lubombo region.
Members of the Operational Support Service Unit (OSSU), the paramilitary police wing,
were called to Nkhaba Old Inkhundla polling station and Matsanjeni South to calm the
situation where voters blocked the exit of electoral officials who were transporting ballot
papers to a central command place where counting could take place.
There was confusion at KaMethula, a newly created constituency, and many people were
unclear where they had to vote. Some decided not to vote at all.
Independent observers at Swaziland’s elections were refused access to some polling stations
until they had signed secrecy forms restricting what they could report.
The final round of voting (the Secondary Election) takes place on 21 September 2018.
ministers.
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People are only allowed to elect 59 members of the House of Assembly, the other 10 are
appointed by the King. None of the 30 members of the Swaziland Senate are elected by the
people.
Swaziland Senior Election Officer Calls For Arrest Of ‘Prominent People’ Who Are
Rigging Kingdom’s Vote
7 September 2018
Ncumbi Maziya, a senior member of Swaziland’s elections commission, says ‘prominent

people’ are rigging the kingdom’s election and he wants them arrested.
Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by absolute monarch King Mswati III) has completed
the first round of elections and campaigning is in progress ahead of the final vote on 21
September 2018.
Maziya told a meeting for election candidates in Nhlangano, ‘How I wish to have some of the
prominent figures who have joined the race to Parliament be exposed of corruption so that
others can also learn a lesson,’ the Swazi Observer reported on Tuesday (4 September 2018).
Maziya a commissioner with the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), the body
running the election, said, ‘It’s one of my wishes that we have some of these prominent
figures arrested for what they do when it is time for elections. They are known and they think
their wealth is the only passport to Parliament. Let at least one of the so-called heavyweights
be exposed as they are corrupt.
‘It’s time as a country we put such people in their right place. We can’t allow them to do as
they please because they have money and they even bribe their way to be lawmakers.’
Maziya did not name the people he accused. He said the EBC was trying to ensure these
people would not influence the outcome of the election.
Last week Maziya said corrupt members of the House of Assembly sold their votes when
they elected the kingdom’s senators. He told a workshop that they charged E60,000
(US$4,000) for their vote. In Swaziland no member of the 30-member Senate is elected by
the people. King Mswati appoints 20 and members of the House of Assembly elect the other
10.
ministers.
People are only allowed to elect 59 members of the House of Assembly, another 10 are
appointed by the King.
Swaziland police block protest march against election vote-rigging

8 September 2018
Police in Swaziland blocked people from marching in protest about vote-rigging at the recent
election.
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They said they did not have permission to march.

It happened near the Madlenya Royal Kraal in Siphofaneni on Thursday (6 September 2018).
They had planned to march and deliver a petition to Siphofaneni Police Station.
They wanted to complain both to the Elections and Boundaries Commission that runs the
election and also to the police. They said people were transported from outside the area to
vote at the first round of the election (known as the Primary Election) on 24 August 2018.
Police said they needed permission to march on a public road from the Ministry of Public
Works and Transport, the Swazi Observer reported.
There have been many allegations across Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the
kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III) of vote rigging and other malpractice.
It is common for protest marches to be banned in Swaziland which is recognised across the
world as a kingdom with severe human rights issues.
People go to the polls for the final round of elections (the Secondary Election) on 21
September 2018. People only elect 59 of the members of the House of Assembly; the King
appoints a further ten. None of the 30-member Senate are elected by the people. None of the
30 members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people.
Low turnout at Swaziland election fuels doubts about support for King’s absolute
monarchy
10 September 2018
By Richard Rooney
Fewer than one in three people who registered to vote actually did so in the first round of
Swaziland’s national election, an analysis of poll data reveals.
The low turnout raises the question whether ordinary people support the political system in
the kingdom where King Mswati III rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
Political parties are banned from taking part in the election and the King appoints the Prime
Minister and government members. In April on his 50th birthday King Mswati changed
Swaziland’s name to Eswatini.
People only elect 59 of the members of the House of Assembly; the King appoints a further
ten. None of the 30-member Senate are elected by the people.
Voters went to the polls on 24 August 2018 in the first round of elections known as the
Primary Election. They were voting for members of parliament and also for community
leaders.
The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) did not release information on how many
people in total voted at the election. It did however publish on its website the results for
individual candidates at each of the 59 constituencies (known as tinkhundla).
An analysis using the EBC data shows that a total of 156,973 people voted for members of
the House of Assembly at the Primary Election; 28.83 percent of those who registered.
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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.
It is impossible to compare the 2018 voting with the last election in 2013 as the EBC did not
reveal the total number of people who voted at the Primary Election.
In 2013 it did announce that 251,278 people voted in the final round of elections (called the
Secondary Election) from the 414,704 who had registered. However, it did not release
detailed figures showing how many votes each candidate received so it is impossible to
independently verify the EBC figure.
The turnout in the 2018 Primary Election is important as voting is the only way people in
Swaziland have of demonstrating 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 is banned and those who campaign for democracy are charged under the
Suppression of Terrorism Act.
King Mswati and his supporters say Swaziland has a ‘unique democracy’ and the people of
Swaziland like it that way. But they have never been asked if they approve of Swaziland’s
political system.
In 2013, shortly before the last election King Mswati announced that from that day forward
the political system in Swaziland would be known as ‘Monarchical Democracy,’ which he
said would be a partnership between himself and the people. He tried to sell this as a new
idea but later admitted to Reuters news agency that it was just another name for the
tinkhundla system that already existed.
Elections are the only way the Swazi people have to endorse the King’s version of
democracy. Voting patterns in the past suggest they have not been overwhelming supporters.
In 2013, the EBC reported than 251,278 people voted from the 414,704 who registered. It
also reported that 600,000 Swazis were entitled to register. That meant that only 41.8 percent
of those entitled to vote did so in 2013. In the 2018 Primary Election only 26.16 percent of
the 600,000 people entitled to vote actually did so.
It is recognised globally that Swaziland is not a democracy. The United Kingdom Foreign
and Commonwealth Office in a report on Swaziland in 2013 said, ‘Swaziland continues to
suffer from a range of governance problems which adversely impact human rights and inhibit
the country’s social and economic development and its ability to attract much-needed foreign
investment. The judicial system has suffered repeated crises; the Suppression of Terrorism
Act has been used to prevent legitimate expression of political views; peaceful protests have
been disrupted and in some cases excessive force used against protesters. The absence of
clearly documented land rights has prevented small farmers from developing their land.
Efforts to amend Swaziland’s laws to prevent domestic violence and to improve the legal
status of women have made little progress.’
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The European Union Election Experts Mission (EEM), one of a number of international
groups that monitored the conduct of Swaziland’s election in 2013, made much of how the
kingdom’s absolute monarchy undermined democracy.
parliament is unable to pass any law which the King is in disagreement with. The King will
refer back the provisions he is not in agreement with, which makes the parliament and its
elected chamber, the House of Assembly, ineffective, unable to achieve the objective a
parliament is created for: to be the legislative branch of the state and maintain the
The EEM was not alone in recognising Swaziland as undemocratic. In its report on conduct
of the 2013 election, the African Union (AU) mission called for fundamental changes to
ensure people had freedom of speech and of assembly. The AU said the Swaziland
Constitution guaranteed ‘fundamental rights and freedoms including the rights to freedom of
association’, but in practice ‘rights with regard to political assembly and association are not
fully enjoyed’. The AU said this was because political parties were not allowed to contest
elections.
courts so that Swaziland was in line with its international commitments. They also called on
the Swaziland Constitution to be ‘revisited’. It recommended that a law be passed to allow for
political parties to take part in elections, ‘so as to give full effect to the letter and spirit of
Section 25 of the Constitution, and in accordance with Swaziland’s commitment to its
regional and international commitments’.
SECONDARY ELECTION
Women election candidates in Swaziland forced to address voters on their knees to show
respect for men
13 September 2018
Some women candidates in the election in Swaziland are forced to kneel while they address
voters. It is to show respect for men, a local newspaper reported.
The Times of Swaziland said candidates for the kingdom’s House of Assembly and
community positions at Mayiwane, ‘have been ordered to kneel when addressing the public’.
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It said three women did this while addressing voters at Herefords High School. It published
photographs of two of them.
It added, ‘The women had to spend 10 minutes on the spikey grass while addressing the
residents.’
The Times, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom recently renamed Eswatini
by absolute monarch King Mswati III, reported, ‘Under normal circumstances during
residents’ meetings held at royal kraals women often kneel as a sign of respect in the
presence of men.’
The newspaper reported that in other areas of Swaziland women made their presentations
standing.
The final round of elections take place in Swaziland on Friday (21 September 2018). Political
parties are banned from taking part. People ae only allowed to select 59 members of the
House of Assembly; another 10 are appointed by the King. No members of the Swazi Senate
are elected by the people.
In the first round of the election (known as the Primary Election) held on 24 August 44
women compared to 287 men were selected to go forward to the final round of voting (known
as the Secondary Election) for the House of Assembly, according to figures released by the
Elections and Boundaries Commission.
See also
In full public view, on hand and knees student begs Swaziland King for scholarship
Swaziland heading for lowest election turnout as ordinary people support democratic
change
17 September 2018
Swaziland could be heading for the lowest election turnout in its modern history on Friday
(21 September 2018).
Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by King Mswati III) is ruled by an absolute monarch,
political parties are banned from taking part in the election and no members of the Swazi
Senate are elected by the people.
The King chooses the Prime Minister and Government. The people are only allowed to elect
59 members of the House of Assembly with another 10 appointed by the King. No members
of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people.
This will be the third election since Swaziland’s constitution came into effect in 2006 and
there is mounting evidence that ordinary people in the kingdom want more democracy.
In the first round of this year’s election for seats in the House of Assembly (held on 24
August 2018) 156,983 people voted (of the 600,000 the Elections and Boundaries
Commission (EBC) said were eligible). That compared to the 251,278 people who voted in
the final round of elections in 2013 and 189,559 who voted in 2008.
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In June 2018 after revising the figure the EBC announced that 544,310 people had registered
to vote this year. In the first round (known as the Primary Election) only 26.16 percent of
those eligible voted.
People head for the final round of elections on Friday and there is no evidence of a surge in
interest. The turnout in elections is important as voting is the only way people in Swaziland
have to demonstrate their support (or lack of it) for the political system. The King and his
supporters say that the ordinary people in Swaziland support the system that the King calls
‘Monarchical Democracy,’ and which he says is a partnership between himself and the
people.
All debate on democratising the kingdom is ruthlessly crushed by King Mswati’s state police
and security forces. Meetings called to discuss democratic change are routinely disrupted by
police and prodemocracy activists are jailed. Groups that support democracy are banned
under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
No news media in Swaziland support allowing political parties to contest elections.
Despite the closing down of political debate in Swaziland, one independent international
group called Afrobarometer has run a number of polls in recent years surveying the views of
ordinary Swazi people.
In 2015, it reported only seven in a hundred Swazi people said they were ‘very satisfied’ with
the way democracy worked in Swaziland.
More than half (51 percent) did not think the kingdom was a democracy or it was a
democracy with major problems.
Nearly six in ten people (59 percent) said they were ‘not at all free’ to say what they think.
And nearly three-quarters (73 percent) said they were ‘not at all free’ or ‘not very free’ to join
any political organisation they wanted.
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude
surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues across more than
30 countries in Africa. It conducts face-to-face interviews.
This was not the first time Afrobarometer found a desire for democracy in Swaziland. In
2014 in a report called ‘Let the People Have a Say’ it said more than six people in ten in
Swaziland said they were not satisfied with the way democracy worked in the kingdom.
The research surveyed 34-countries in Africa and asked a series of questions about what
people thought about democracy and how democratic they thought their own country was.
But, only in Swaziland were researchers not allowed to ask a question about whether people
rejected ‘one man rule’. In its report Afrobarometer said this was because ‘a near-absolute
monarch resists democratization’ in the kingdom.
A total of 22 percent of people interviewed in Swaziland said they believed non-democratic
governments can be preferable to democracies.
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Dissent in Swaziland is often put down by police and state forces, but 86 percent of people
rejected military rule for Swaziland.
In 2013, Afrobarometer reported two thirds of Swazi people wanted the kingdom to become a
democracy and they wanted to choose their own leaders ‘through honest and open elections’.
They also strongly disapproved of allowing King Mswati, who rules Swaziland as sub-
Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, to decide on everything in Swaziland.
An opinion poll conducted by Afrobarometer asked 1,200 Swazis aged 18 or over from
across the kingdom how democratic they thought Swaziland was. Only 12 percent said that at
present Swaziland had ‘high levels’ of democracy. When asked where they would like the
kingdom to be ‘in the future’, 67 percent said they wanted to see ‘high levels’ of democracy.
Afrobarometer reported that 75 percent of people interviewed agreed with the statement, ‘We
should choose our leaders through open and honest elections.’
Despite King Mswati’s stranglehold on political life in Swaziland, 46 percent of respondents
agreed that, ‘Members of Parliament represent the people; therefore they should make laws
for the country, even if the King does not agree.’
A total of 77 percent of respondents disapproved of abolishing elections and Parliament, ‘so
that the King can decide on everything’.
In 2016, Afrobarometer reported that Swaziland came a long way last in a survey of 36
African countries looking at political freedom. Of those asked, ‘In this country how free are
you to join any political organisation you want?’ only 7 percent responded, ‘completely free.’
In addition, only 18 percent of those surveyed said they had complete freedom of speech and
56 percent said they had complete freedom to vote.
Afrobarometer reported that its survey coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of the United
Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). With the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), it formalizes the right to
peaceful assembly (Article 21) and freedom of association (Article 22), among other
fundamental human rights.
The report quoted the UN Special Rapporteur saying, ‘freedoms of assembly and association
“are a vehicle for the exercise of many other civil, cultural, economic, political and social
rights, allowing people to express their political opinions, engage in artistic pursuits, engage
in religious observances, join trade unions, elect leaders, and hold them accountable.” As
such, they play “a decisive role” in building and consolidating democracy.
Swazis want democracy not just elections - new independent research report
Swaziland will hold national elections on Friday (21 September 2018) amid waves of strikes
and protests. A new survey from Afrobarometer shows that few Swazis believe that they are
free to speak their mind or that Swaziland is a proper democracy.
Swaziland could be heading for its lowest turn-out ever at a national election on Friday, with
only a little over 25 percent of eligible voters voting in the first round of elections in August.
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The run-up to elections was also marred by waves of strikes and protests from teachers,
nurses and other public employees who are demanding higher wages.
A new survey published Monday by Pan-African research network Afrobarometer shows that
dissatisfaction with the political system and conditions generally in Swaziland runs deep. The
main problems for the 1200 people surveyed were unemployment, bad management of the
economy and poverty.
Not a real democracy
The Afrobarometer survey asked an array of questions on matters ranging from democracy
and elections to food security and internet connections.
Only 4 percent believe that conditions in Swaziland are very good and a further 17 percent
that they are fairly good. Perhaps because over half had gone without food and over two
thirds had experienced having no money during the last year in a country that Oxfam called
the most unequal in the world last year.
Regarding Swaziland’s political system, where political parties are in effect banned and King
Mswati controls the economy and judiciary and appoints the Prime Minister and government,
only 7 percent believed that Swaziland is a full democracy and 21 percent that they are
completely free to speak their mind.
After the last national elections in Swaziland in 2013, reports from the Commonwealth
Observer Mission said that elections had shown “major democratic deficits” and the EU
elections Experts Mission that there were “fundamental problems [with] the system of
government”.
Be careful what you say
As for possible solutions to Swaziland’s democratic deficit, 49 percent of those surveyed by
Afrobarometer believed that multi-party democracy is a pre-condition for political choice and
60 percent that they should be able to join any such organization of their choice.
Nevertheless, 61 percent believed that the ban on political parties should be maintained and
only 6 percent said that they had participated in a demonstration of protest in the past year. 78
percent agreed that they would “never do this” and 48 percent said that they trust King Msati
“a lot” (only 20 percent showed the PM the same curtesy).
Perhaps the reason for this discrepancy is that nearly two thirds said that they believed that
you have to be careful what you say about politics in Swaziland (two thirds even thought that
you have to be careful how you vote in an election).
And because nearly half mistakenly thought that the survey was carried out by the
government.
Swaziland police fire gunshots, set off grenades and rubber bullets as voters protest
during election
22 September 2018
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Police fired gunshots in the air and grenades and rubber bullets during Swaziland’s election
as voters protested against completed ballot papers being taken away from a polling centre.
It happened late on Friday (21 September 2018) after voting had ended in the kingdom’s
national election.
It was the third time in a week that police violently attacked people making legitimate
protests in the kingdom recently renamed Eswatini by absolute monarch King Mswati III.
The latest violence was at Sigwe inkhundla. The Observer on Saturday newspaper reported
police fired ‘several gunshots in the air’ to disperse a crowd.
It added police denied firing gunshots but admitted to firing rubber bullets and what
spokesperson Superintendent Phindile Vilakati reportedly called ‘hand grenades’.
The Observer on Saturday reported, ‘Last night’s skirmish reportedly led to several people
injured, with one supposedly had a rubber bullet “riddling” his chin and had to be rushed to
hospital in a critical state as he was bleeding profusely.’
It added the Operation Support Service Unit (OSSU) was called. The scene then became ‘a
battleground’.
The newspaper said the trouble started after voting finished at the Lulakeni chiefdom and a
group did not want the ballot boxes taken from the hall to Lulakeni High School for counting.
They forced gates to be locked.
The newspaper reported spokesperson Superintendent Phindile Vilakati saying, ‘I have been
informed about the violence which led to the police using hand grenades.’ The newspaper did
not comment on this, but it is assumed she meant stun grenades.
There was tension across Swaziland in the days leading to the election as workers headed by
the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) took to the streets in support of a pay
claim. Police were videoed viciously attacking unarmed fleeing demonstrators in Manzini.
The city was also described as a ‘warzone’ when police turned stun grenades, teargas, teasers
and rubber bullets on protestors.
There was tension across Swaziland during election day. In the kingdom political parties are
banned from taking part in the election. People are only allowed to elect 59 members of the
House of Assembly; another 10 are appointed by the King. None of the 30 members of the
Swazi Senate are elected by the people.
King Mswati chooses the Prime Minister and Cabinet members. He also chooses top civil
Violence, corruption, vote-buying reported in Swaziland election. Journalists barred

from entering counting centres
23 September 2018
Violence and allegations of corruption and malpractice in Swaziland’s election have been
reported from across the kingdom.
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There were chaotic scenes in polling centres on Friday (21 September 2018), the APA news
agency reported . Outbursts of violence started as early as noontime and intensified in the
evening when the counting of votes was about to resume.
APA reported, ‘In some areas protesters who were not satisfied with certain procedures
blocked vehicles transporting ballot papers to counting stations, resulting to delays in starting
the counting process.
‘The bone of contention varied from last-minute change of counting centres to suspicions of
malpractice by some candidates or their campaigning agents.’
APA reported at Manzini North, Manzini South, Sigwe and Ekupheleni centres the police had
to request for backup from the Operational Services Support Unit (OSSU) after vehicles from
the Elections an Boundaries Commission (EBC) were forced to turn back to polling stations
for safety after roads leading to counting centres were blocked with stones and tree trunks by
protesting crowds.
At Malindza in the Lubombo region, an intoxicated member of the army drove over a male
voter and further crashed onto two cars that were parked within the polling station premises,
APA reported.
Police fired gunshots in the air and grenades and rubber bullets as voters at Sigwe protested
against completed ballot papers being taken away from a polling centre.
Social media platforms have been awash with accounts of vote buying and bribery, naming
names and making detailed allegations. Mainstream media which are heavily censored have
been more discreet following the vote in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by absolute
monarch King Mswati III.)
The Observer on Saturday reported police were called to the Manzini South constituency
where one of the candidates for the House of Assembly ‘was accused of literally buying
votes’ at the Divine Ministries auditorium, near St Michaels School.
It did not name the candidate. It reported one of the candidates had been tipped off that voters
were being given E100 each to vote. In Swaziland seven in ten people are so poor they have
incomes less than E30 a day. The newspaper reported that voters who had taken the money
fled when police ‘stormed the auditorium’.
Agents for candidates were also reported to be giving away E20 notes at both Nkhanini and
Sitjeni polling stations in Lobamba.
Gospel artist Mduduzi Simelane, the leader of Emagawugawu gospel group, won the election
at Siphofaneni Inkhundla, but only after allegations of vote rigging at the so-called special
election held on Tuesday for members of state forces and people who would be working at
the election, according to the Swaziland News Facebook page.
The police riot squad was called to Makholweni polling station in Manzini North after a
defeated candidate alleged a witchdoctor was present and was using muti (‘magic potions’) to
influence people to vote for a particular candidate. He was also said to have illegally voted
himself, the Observer on Saturday reported.
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Some journalists were reportedly barred from entering voting counting centres and told they
must sign a declaration of secrecy form, the News on Africa website reported.
It reported the declaration would prevent them from publishing or disclosing information
gathered during the vote counting process.
It reported that according to state-controlled radio, Mhlume polling station was one of the
polling stations involved. EBC Chairperson Chief Gija Dlamini confirmed the restriction.
News on Africa reported, ‘He explained that this was done to protect things that can happen
during the counting of votes, things that are not supposed to be publicized. When asked to
make an example of those things, Chief Gija made an example of a crying candidate or a
conflict between two candidates which is something that a journalist can find to be
newsworthy and report about it.’
The Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF) reported that police closed bars,
entertainment events and church services during the afternoon of election day in the
Kwaluseni constituency of the Manzini region where earlier in the week police had twice
violently attacked workers demonstrating for pay increases. SUDF said police were trying to
force people to go and vote.
The front page of the Swazi News, 22 September 2018
Swaziland election observer groups say vote was ‘peaceful’ but fall short of ‘free and
fair’
25 September 2018
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None of the three official observer groups reporting so far on the Swaziland election have
concluded it was ‘free and fair’.
People went to the polls on Friday (21 September 2018) in the kingdom recently renamed
Eswatini by the absolute monarch King Mswati. Political parties are banned from taking part
in the election and the people are only allowed to elect 59 members of the House of
Assembly; the King appoints a further 10. None of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate are
The King chooses the Prime Minister and government ministers as well as top public servants
and judges.
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.’
In a statement ahead of the visit the AU said, ‘The overall objective of AU election
observation missions is to promote democracy, strengthen democratic institutions and build
public confidence in electoral processes in Africa.’
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 consider whether
Swaziland was a democracy.
At the launch of its report on Sunday one of the SADC observer team, Harris Putani, the
Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the Malawi Electoral Commission, said SADC was not
present in Swaziland to change the kingdom’s governance but only to observe elections.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported on Monday, ‘He said
their guidelines expected them to confine to each country’s national laws. Putani said each
country has its own mandate that national observers are bound to align with.’
Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) made no comment about the election being ‘free
and fair’. It had felt obliged to issue a clarification after its report on the first round of the
election in August which had stated elections, ‘were undertaken in an atmosphere that is free
and fair’.
It later issued a statement that said its report, ‘was not giving an overall assessment of the
elections. What was essentially being stated was that on the day of elections most of the
election processes allowed the voters to cast their votes in an environment that was not
intimidating as well as facilitated the secrecy of the vote.’
All three of the observer groups reporting on the final round of the election (the secondary
election) said it had been ‘peaceful’. But, CANGO said in its report, the election was
‘relatively peaceful’.
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However, it added, ‘The environment outside the polling station was peaceful except for
Ndzingeni during counting and Hillside polling stations where violence was experienced
throughout the day and hence, OSSU [the Operational Support Service Unit or ‘riot police’]
was called in to retain order.
‘In Hillside, police kept vigilance throughout the day to maintain peace and order.
‘In Ndzingeni polling stations, voters were dispersed using teargas during counting as voters
threatened to enter the polling station where counting was taking place.’
There were numerous credible reports of violence published in Swaziland newspapers in the
two days following the election.
There had also in the days ahead of the election been violent attacks by the police on public
sector workers who were engaged in peaceful and legal protest in support of pay increases
and other matters.
The reports of violence in the newspapers included police firing gunshots in the air and
grenades and rubber bullets as voters at Sigwe protested against completed ballot papers
being taken away from a polling centre.
Police from the OSSU fired bullets into the air and teargas at a large crowd at Mayiwane.
Men described as ‘mostly half-naked and heavily intoxicated’ blocked traffic at Mayiwane
for three hours by burning car tyres in the middle of the road, the Sunday Observer reported.
A building was also vandalised.
APA news agency reported outbursts of violence started as early as noontime on election day
and intensified in the evening when the counting of votes was about to resume. At Manzini
North, Manzini South, and Ekupheleni polling centres the police had to request for backup
from the OSSU after vehicles from the Elections an Boundaries Commission (EBC) were
forced to turn back to polling stations for safety after roads leading to counting centres were
blocked with stones and tree trunks by protesting crowds.
APA reported
Police were called to Manzini South after a row broke out over alleged corruption and buying
of votes.
Government Group Calls For Investigation Into Violence During Swaziland Election .
30 September 2018
Swaziland’s Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration Integrity (CHRPAI)

has called for an investigation into the violence that occurred during the recent election.
CHRPAI Commissioner Sabelo Masuku urged the Elections and Boundaries Commission
(EBC) to investigate the causes of violence and take necessary action.
He was delivering a report on the conduct of the election. He said it was important to
maintain peace and order during such an important national event.
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CHRPAI is a group that comes under the kingdom’s Ministry of Justice and Constitutional
Affairs.
There were numerous media reports of violence at polling centres on election day (21
September 2018) in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by absolute monarch King
Mswati III). The APA news agency reported outbursts of violence started as early as
noontime which intensified in the evening with the counting of votes.
APA reported, ‘In some areas protesters who were not satisfied with certain procedures
blocked vehicles transporting ballot papers to counting stations, resulting to delays in starting
the counting process.
‘The bone of contention varied from last-minute change of counting centres to suspicions of
malpractice by some candidates or their campaigning agents.’
APA reported at Manzini North, Manzini South, Sigwe and Ekupheleni centres the police had
to request for backup from the Operational Services Support Unit (OSSU) after vehicles from
the EBC were forced to turn back to polling stations for safety after roads leading to counting
centres were blocked with stones and tree trunks by protesting crowds.
APA reported.
Police fired gunshots in the air and grenades and rubber bullets as voters at Sigwe protested
against completed ballot papers being taken away from a polling centre, the Observer on
Saturday reported.
Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) in a report on the conduct of the election said
the election was ‘relatively peaceful’.
However, it added, ‘The environment outside the polling station was peaceful except for
Ndzingeni during counting and Hillside polling stations where violence was experienced
throughout the day and hence, OSSU was called in to retain order.
‘In Hillside, police kept vigilance throughout the day to maintain peace and order.
‘In Ndzingeni polling stations, voters were dispersed using teargas during counting as voters
threatened to enter the polling station where counting was taking place.’
In Swaziland political parties are banned from taking part in the election. People are only
allowed to elect 59 members of the House of Assembly; another 10 are appointed by the
King. None of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people.
King Mswati chooses the Prime Minister and Cabinet members. He also chooses top civil
SENATE ELECTION
Swaziland Election Officer reveals MPs sell their votes when electing kingdom’s
senators
135
1 September 2018
A senior election official in Swaziland said corrupt members of the House of Assembly were
selling their votes when they elect the kingdom’s senators.
In Swaziland no member of the 30-member Senate is elected by the people. King Mswati, the
kingdom’s absolute monarch, appoints 20 and members of the House of Assembly elect the
other ten.
Ncumbi Maziya, a Commissioner at the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), told a
workshop that members of parliament charged E60,000 (US$4,000) for their vote, the Swazi
Observer newspaper reported on Friday (31 August 2018).
It reported, ‘He said parliamentarians are the most corrupt people. He said he has since
gathered that parliamentarians are swindling money from people who want to make it into
Senate.
‘Maziya said he learnt that people are made to fork out money amounting to E60,000 if they
want to get a vote to be elected into Senate. “If you have no money you won’t make it into
Senate,” Maziya stated.’
He was addressing a workshop for candidates for the national election due in Swaziland
(recently renamed Eswatini by King Mswati III) on 21 September 2018.
He also said there was a lot of corruption and bribery during the first round of the election
(known as the primary election) that took place on 24 August.
The newspaper reported, ‘He said he learnt that there were people who were ferried in buses
from the textile sector to vote in some areas around Manzini.
‘The commissioner said in some places he visited, people were bribed with beers in order to
vote for people they didn’t even know.’
The Times of Swaziland reported Maziya said irregularities had been reported to the EBC
from Manzini South, Kwaluseni, Ngculwini, kuhambanjani bafana constituencies. He said the
EBC knew of cases of people being ferried in in buses or kombis. He said outgoing
government ministers had illegally used government vehicles during the election.
The Times reported Maziya said there were also problems with people being drunk at polling
stations. He said that at two places, Enjabulweni and Ngevini, he personally found voters
intoxicated and some passed out on the voting booths.
The Times reported Maziya saying, ‘It is unfortunate that as much as we are aware that some
aspiring MPs and candidates buy votes from textile workers and other people, the EBC does
not have the rightful resources to tackle some of the acts of corruption.’
People offer bribes to members of Swaziland’s House of Assembly for seat on

kingdom’s senate
26 September 2018
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Credible evidence is emerging that people are offering bribes to members of the House of
Assembly to be given a seat on the Swaziland Senate.
Swaziland is an absolute monarchy and none of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate are
elected by the people. Twenty are appointed by King Mswati III (who recently renamed the
kingdom Eswatini) and the rest are elected by the House of Assembly.
Following the election of the House of Assembly on Friday (21 September 2018) people have
approached the new members with bribes, the Times of Swaziland reported on Tuesday.
It said offers of bribes in ‘the region of E10,000’ (US$700) were made to one member of
parliament for his vote. It was refused, the newspaper added.
The Times reported one anonymous MP saying, ‘I have already met a few people who have
expressed their wish to be voted into Senate.’
It added, ‘Unconfirmed allegations have been to the effect that Senate seats could go as high
as E60,000 paid to each MP.’
The Times reported another new MP said ‘he had received the calls to meet certain
individuals, they were sceptical in case it could be a trap’.
The report is not the first suggesting bribes are offered for Senate seats. In the run-up to the
election Ncumbi Maziya, a Commissioner at the Elections and Boundaries Commission
(EBC), told a workshop for election candidates that members of parliament charged E60,000
for their vote.
The, Swazi Observer newspaper reported in August 2018, ‘He said parliamentarians are the
most corrupt people. He said he has since gathered that parliamentarians are swindling money
from people who want to make it into Senate.
It added, ‘Maziya said he learnt that people are made to fork out money amounting to
E60,000 if they want to get a vote to be elected into Senate. “If you have no money you
won’t make it into Senate,” Maziya stated.’
Corruption is believed to be widespread in Swaziland. In December 2017, Swaziland’s Anti-
Corruption Commission (ACC) 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.’
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It gave many examples including the case of the government propaganda organisation
Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Service (SBIS) where E1.6 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.
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.’
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11 AND THE REST …

Land is Power in Swaziland: Amnesty International Report Highlights Forced
Evictions
A new Amnesty International report focuses on forced evictions of poor farmers in Swaziland
carried out by local police. Land and forced evictions are central to Swaziland’s
undemocratic system, says an activist who grew up in Swaziland’s rural areas.
“Land is life”, a new Amnesty International report on forced evictions in Swaziland called
“They don’t see us as people” declares. This is to be taken very literally in the small absolute
monarchy, as “the majority of the population rely on substance farming” to feed themselves.
The forced evictions are a symptom of “a deeper, underlying problem” as they violate
international and regional human rights law, Amnesty International clearly states in the
report. But the issue of land is also central to the power of Swaziland’s absolute monarch.
“The discussion about land ownership in Swaziland has been suppressed for too long. The
evictions in Swaziland are not just a legal limitation but are central to the country’s
undemocratic and irresponsible political system”, says activist Bheki Dlamini.
Dlamini has a degree in Public Administration from Bergen University, but grew up in
Mpofu in the rural areas of Northern Swaziland.
Unlawful evictions
The Amnesty International report focuses on two cases of forced eviction, both of which are
unlawful and constitute a gross violation of human rights, in particular the right to adequate
housing, according to the organisation.
In the Malkerns, 60 people, 33 of them children, were evicted without warning in April. They
had been living on the land since 1956, they told Amnesty International.
And in Nokwane, 180 people were evicted and their homes demolished to make way for the
Royal Science and Technology Park in October 2014.
According to the report, the government had “failed to provide essential services to those
affected by the forced eviction: food, potable water and sanitation, basic shelter and housing,
appropriate clothing or means of livelihood” in Nokwane.
“They don’t see us as people. They left us out in the open like we were animals or something
to be thrown away”, a women who had been evicted in Nokwane told Amnesty International.
More to come
Swaziland’s government believe they have done nothing wrong and are planning further
forced evictions, even though Amnesty International recommends that they stop the evictions
until legal safeguards are in place that ensure that all evictions comply with international law.
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According to Amnesty International at least three other communities are facing imminent
eviction later in 2018.
In a written response to a letter from Amnesty International Swaziland’s Ministry of
Information claims that those evicted were squatters and that the evictions were “legal and
procedurally correct and sanctioned by the court of the land”.
Land reform and democracy
According to Bheki Dlamini, the problematic nature of land ownership in Swaziland has its
roots in the colonial era and the power of the monarchy that followed it.
The Land Partition Act of 1907 gave most of the arable land to white settlers. And after
Swaziland’s independence from Britain in 1968, most of the land became so-called “Swazi
National Land” that is administered under unwritten customary law and thus controlled by
the king.
“The confusion about land ownership is deep in Swaziland. The Amnesty International report
alludes to the fact that despite those who were evicted from their land having taken the matter
to court to seek redress, the courts could not protect their rights”, Dlamini says.
He believes that land is central to the power of the monarchy, and that questioning land
management is seen as a challenge to the powers of the monarchy.
“Land reform in Swaziland therefore cannot be fully addressed until a free and democratic
political dispensation is in place”, Bheki Dlamini concludes.
See also
Bulldozers Move in to Evict Families
Court Orders Homes Destroyed
Homes Destroyed For King’s Vanity Project
‘Mentally Challenged’ Man In Swaziland Jailed 10 Months For Stealing Bottles Of

Alcohol, He Couldn’t Pay His Fine
12 September 2018
A man described as ‘mentally challenged’ was jailed for ten months in Swaziland for stealing
alcohol from a bottle store after it had closed for the night.
Ntokozo ‘Early Bird’ Ndzimandze, aged 34, appeared before National Court President Chief
Ndlondlo Tsabedze charged with theft.
The Swazi Observer newspaper reporting from Siteki on Monday (10 September 2018) said,
‘When the charge sheet was read to him, he pleaded guilty with a big nod and a notable smile
on his face.’
It reported Ndzimandze had broken into the store and was found ‘drowning himself in
booze’. He said he had accidently been locked in by a bar worker.
140
The Observer said during cross examination Ndzimandze ‘sent the gallery into stitches when
he made reference to a mouse which could be mistakenly left inside a storeroom full of
maize.
‘“How would you expect a mouse to behave if you mistakenly left it inside a maize
storeroom?” he asked, as he appeared to be expecting a response.’
He was sentenced to 10 months in jail with the option to pay a fine of E1,000. In Swaziland
seven in ten people live on incomes less than E30 a day.
The Observer reported he was taken to Big Bend correctional facility as he failed to pay the
fine.
The newspaper reported, ‘The judgement has been criticised by some law practitioners who
pointed out that the accused was known to be mentally challenged as he normally roams
around the town centre, scavenging for food. When he appeared before court, none of his
relatives were present to state his condition.’
It is not unusual in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by absolute monarch King Mswati
III) for people to be sent to jail because they cannot afford the fine option.
In August 2014 it was reported that more than 1,000 people were in jail in Swaziland because
they were too poor to pay fines. That was nearly three in ten of the entire prison population.
In Swaziland offenders are often given the option of jail time or paying a fine. Correctional
Services Commissioner Isaiah Ntshangase said at the time there were people in jail because
they could not pay fines for a range of matters, including traffic offences, theft by false
pretences, malicious injury to property and fraud.
Figures revealed that 1,053 of 3,615 inmates in Swazi jails were there because they did not
have the money to pay the fine option - 29.1 percent of the entire prison population.
Ntshangase said the numbers in prison because they could not pay fines was growing.
See also
Man too poor to pay fine sent to jail
Swaziland’s Banned Political Party PUDEMO Elects New President, Leadership

The People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), the largest democratic movement
in Swaziland, elected a new leadership at its General Congress last weekend. Mlungisi
Makhanya was elected new President.
In his opening address, outgoing President Mario Masuku highlighted the need for the
rebuilding of PUDEMO and condemned the corruption of Swazi King Mswati’s absolute rule
at PUDEMO’s 9th General Congress, held in Witbank.
“No amount of ritual pseudo electoral processes can redeem such an inherently flawed
system”, Masuku said in a press release from PUDEMO.
141
According to the press release, PUDEMO will launch campaigns against land evictions, the
Swazi government’s corruption, gender based violence and unemployment.
Sacrifice and resilience
Mario Masuku was PUDEMO President for many years. He has been arrested on many
occasions and charged, though never convicted, with terrorism and sedition, the latter for
shouting “Viva PUDEMO” at a May Day rally. He has spent several years in prison awaiting
trial.
He was, however, a well-respected figure outside Swaziland, meeting with heads of state in
the region and receiving a democracy award in the Danish Parliament from former Danish
Speaker of the House, Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the UN General
Assembly, Mogens Lykketoft.
“This congress was an historic moment indeed, also for Comrade Mario Masuku, who is now
ready for different roles as the epitome of sacrifice and resilience in the struggle for freedom
in Swaziland,” said new Secretary General Wandile Dludlu.
Masuku is currently working at a home for orphans and vulnerable children here at Mbabane
on a daily voluntary basis and plans to continue his work to promote human rights in
Swaziland.
New leadership
Former Secretary General Mlungisi Makhanya was elected President of PUDEMO, and
Zodwa Mkhonta Deputy President.
Former youth leader Wandile Dludlu was elected new Secretary General and Jabulani
Malinga National Organising Secretary.
Stalwart activist Mphandlana Shongwe remained on the National Executive Committee.
Swaziland is a small semi-feudal absolute monarchy with a population of 1.3 million. More
than two thirds of the population live in poverty, many on food aid.
Amnesty International has called the Swaziland’s Suppression of Terrorism Act, which is
used to charge many PUDEMO members for trivial offenses, “inherently oppressive” and
Freedom House ranks Swaziland as one of the repressive countries in the world in regard to
political rights.
See also
PUDEMO leader defies bail conditions
Release of leaders ‘changes nothing’
Terror charge for shouting slogan
142
U.S. Halts Funding to Swaziland NGO as Anti-abortion Policy Bites

6 August 2018
The Family Life Association of Swaziland / Ewsatini has lost a quarter of its total funding
after the United States tightened up its policy against abortion.
A total of 56 jobs have been lost.
The halt in US funding worth the equivalent of E10.7 million is a direct result of an executive
order signed by US President Donald Trump on his first full day in office. He reinstated and
extended what is known as the Mexico City Policy or Global Gag Rule which had first been
put in place in 1984.
Under the revised rule organisations receiving aid from the United States have to show they
do not use their own non-United States’ funds to provide abortion services, counsel patients
about the option of abortions, refer them for abortion or advocate for the liberalisation of
abortion law.
Abortion is not legal in Swaziland, unless ordered by the courts.
FLAS was opened in 1979. For almost the first two decades of operations its strategic focus
was contraception and family planning services. On its website FLAS explains, ‘However,
since 1999, FLAS has undergone a process of transformation that has seen its focus shift
from family planning to comprehensive and holistic sexual and reproductive health and rights
(SRHR) and HIV services and information. This was largely prompted by the International
Conference on Population and Development in 1994. Given that more than half of
Swaziland’s population is younger than 20 years of age, FLAS’s target population is now
youths aged 10 to 24 years.
‘For over a decade FLAS’s core services have included counselling and treatment for sexual
and reproductive health (SRH) issues, family planning including vasectomy and tubal
ligations, male circumcision, pre- and post-natal care, immunisations and screenings
including for cervical cancer, breast cancer and pregnancy tests.’
Maxwell Dlamini, FLAS Resource Mobilisation and Communications Office, told the
Sunday Observer newspaper in Swaziland (5 August 2018) its E10.7 million funding from
the United States had been halted and 56 jobs (26 staff and 30 community workers) were lost
as a result. The Associated Press news agency had previously reported this was about one-
quarter of FLAS’s total funding.
Dlamini told the Observer FLAS recognised that unsafe abortion was a major killer of
women in Swaziland. FLAS came across several women each day with unwanted
pregnancies, he said.
The Observer reported, ‘He added that its recognition as a health problem was essential as
well as designing preventive measures for it.’
He said FLAS worked within the law in Swaziland.
Coordinating Assembly of Non- Governmental Organisations (CANGO) Communications
Officer Nkosingiphile Myeni said many non-governmental organisations providing sexual
143
and reproductive health services believed that the US policy did not reduce abortions but
increased more unsafe and unhealthy ones, leading to more women’s deaths which could be
averted.
See also
Kingdom’s confused law on abortion
Corruption Rife Among Security Firms Servicing Swaziland Government and Public
Enterprises
3 August 2018
More than half of the companies providing security services to government ministries and
public enterprises in Swaziland / Eswatini have been found to be corrupt and engaged in
fraudulent activities, according to an official report.
They have forged or obtained through corruption certificates falsely stating they comply with
the kingdom’s labour laws. Corruption is said to be rife.
This was revealed by the Swaziland Public Procurement Agency (SPPRA) in a study of the
kingdom’s private security industry. The industry is marred by serious irregularities, and lack
of regulation.
SPPRA said four of 12 tenders issued by parastatals in one month were for the provision of
security services, an industry whose operations have been found to be marred by serious
irregularities, including the lack of regulation.
Private security companies were also found to be involved in illegal behaviour such as under-
pricing, early termination of contracts and overpricing its tenders to clients.
The Swazi Observer newspaper reported on Monday (30 July 2018) some security companies
were found in possession of authentic documents such as those issued by the Swaziland
National Provident Fund, labour compliance certificates and others, despite these companies
‘glaringly not being compliant with the law’.
Corruption is believed to be widespread in Swaziland where King Mswati III rules as sub-
Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. 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.’
144
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.
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
Swaziland ‘riddled with corruption’
King’s airport fails to attract airlines

18 July 2018
Swaziland’s King Mswati III airport dubbed a vanity project for the King and a white
elephant has failed to attract any new airlines in the four years since it opened, the kingdom’s
civil aviation authority has admitted.
This was despite continued claims that airlines from across the world wanted to use the
airport at Sikhuphe built at an estimated cost of US$250 million in the wilderness in
southeastern Swaziland about 70 km from a major city.
Sabelo Dlamini, Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWACAA) Marketing and
Communications Director, told the Observer on Saturday newspaper (14 July 2018) a
number of presentations had been made to airline services, but so far none had agreed to fly
into the airport.
The Swazi Government also failed to launch its own airline called Swazi Airways. It was
claimed it would fly to 10 countries once it had become fully operational. The destinations
were the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zambia, Rwanda, South Africa, Namibia,
Tanzania, Uganda and Botswana. The airline closed for business in April 2017 when it
became clear the tiny kingdom could not afford a single aircraft. Even so, E20 million (US$2
million) had been spent on leasing a 29-year-old Boeing 737-300 that never once flew
commercially. In addition, an estimated E750,000 a month was paid to 23 airline staff who
had no work to do.
There has been constant misinformation about the prospect of airlines choosing to use the
airport. In October 2009, King Mswati claimed Etihad Airways from the Gulf State of Abu
Dhabi was showing ‘deep interest’ in using the airport.
145
In May 2011, the Swazi Observer reported Sabelo Dlamini saying, ‘We have established
possible routes which we want to market to the operators. Some of the proposed routes from
Sikhuphe are Durban, Cape Town, Lanseria Airport in Sandton, Harare and Mozambique.’
In June 2012 he told Swazi media that at least three airlines from different countries had
‘shown interest’ in using the airport, but he declined to name them. He remained optimistic
about the prospects for the future and said SWACAA was talking to airlines in other
countries as well.
Then in February 2013 SWACAA Director General Solomon Dube told media in Swaziland,
‘We are talking to some including Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airline and various Gulf
airlines.’
In March 2013 SWACAA claimed five airlines had signed deals to use the airport when it
eventually opened, but an investigation by Swazi Media Commentary revealed that two of the
airlines named did not exist. It also said Botswana Airways would use the airport, but it did
not.
In October 2013 SWACAA claimed it had targeted small and medium business travellers to
use the airport. It said low-cost airlines were interested in using it for business travellers who
might want to fly to nearby countries ‘on a daily basis’.
In March 2016 Minister of Public Works and Transport Lindiwe Dlamini said Air Mauritius
would fly from the airport.
In January 2016 the Swazi Observer reported Swazi Air was ready to fly to Dubai, Cape
Town, India and Durban.
KMIII Airport was built on the whim of King Mswati, who rules Swaziland as one of the
world’s last absolute monarchs. No research was undertaken to determine the need for the
airport.
Critics argued for years that there was no potential for the airport. Major airports already
existed less than an hour’s flying time away in South Africa with connecting routes to
Swaziland and there was no reason to suspect passengers would want to use KMIII airport as
an alternative.
During the 11 years it took to build the airport was called Sikhuphe, but the name was
changed in honour of the King when it officially opened in March 2014.
The airport cost an estimated E2.5 billion (US$250 million) to build.
In October 2013 a report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the
airport was widely perceived as a ‘vanity project’ because of its scale and opulence compared
with the size and nature of the market it sought to serve.
Since it opened only one commercial passenger airline, Swaziland Airlink, which is part-
owned by the Swazi Government, has used the airport. The airline was forced to move from
the Matsapha Airport, even though an independent business analysis predicted the airline
would go out of business as a result.
146
See also
Airport move will ‘bankrupt airlink’
Proof: King’s airport pointless
Only 36 pc of Swazis approve of PM

11 July 2018
Just over one in three people in Swaziland / Eswatini approve of the job performance of
Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini or their member of parliament, a new independent report
found.
The figure was even lower for the job performance of their mayor or local councillor.
Afrobarometer in research just published also found the majority of those asked thought
services were not improving; 63 percent said government’s performance on education was
the same or worse/much worse than it was ‘a few years ago’.
A total of 68 percent said the same about access to health care; 66 percent thought equal
opportunities and treatment for women had not improved and 69 percent said the same about
their personal safety.
The research was published just as voters in Swaziland which is ruled by King Mswati III,
one of the world’s last absolute monarchs, prepare to vote at national elections.
Political parties are banned from taking part in the elections and the King appoints the Prime
Minister and government ministers. No members of the Senate are elected by the people and
the King also chooses 10 members of the House of Assembly.
Afrobarometer has surveyed the attitudes of Swazi people since 2013. It interviewed 1,200
Swazis in March 2018 for the present report.
It found only 36 percent approved of the PM’s performance; 37 percent that of the MPs; local
government councillor (28 percent) and mayor (31 percent).
In a 2015 Afrobarometer asked,‘In this country how free are you to join any political
organisation you want?’ only 7 percent responded, ‘completely free.’ Swaziland came last in
the survey of 36 African countries. Egypt and Sudan came second bottom with scores of 27
percent.
In addition, only 18 percent of those surveyed said they had complete freedom of speech and
56 percent said they had complete freedom to vote.
In a 2013 survey Afrobarometer reported two thirds of Swazi people wanted the kingdom to
become a democracy and they wanted to choose their own leaders ‘through honest and open
elections’.
See also
Swaziland not democratic say Swazis
Increase in support for free press
147
Court test for Swaziland name change

6 July 2018
The decision by King Mswati the absolute monarch to change the name of Swaziland to
Eswatini is to be challenged in court.
The King made the pronouncement on his 50th birthday in April 2018 and later signed a legal
notice.
The Institute for Democracy and Leadership (IDEAL) is challenging the notice in the Swazi
High Court. The King is above the law and cannot be challenged so the respondents in the
case are the Government and the Attorney General.
Human Rights Lawyer Thulani Maseko for IDEAL said the order contravened the Swaziland
Constitution as no public discussions was held before the King’s announcement.
The Times of Swaziland reported on Friday (6 July 2018) that in his founding affidavit
Maseko said Section 58(1) of the constitution stated people had the right to be involved when
the decision to change the name of the kingdom was taken.
The section provides that: ‘Swaziland shall be a democratic country dedicated to principles
which empower and encourage the active participation of all citizens at all levels in their own
governance.’
The newspaper reported Maseko saying, ‘The name change has constitutional implications in
as much as the name is entrenched is Section 1 and is mentioned at least 200 times in other
provisions of the Constitution.’
The King’s unilateral decision to change the name of the kingdom demonstrates his power.
Political parties are barred from taking part in elections and the monarch chooses the Prime
Minister, government ministers and top judiciary.
The European Union Election Experts Mission (EEM), one of a number of international
groups that monitored the conduct of Swaziland’s last election in 2013, made much of how
the kingdom’s absolute monarchy undermined democracy.
parliament is unable to pass any law which the King is in disagreement with.
‘The King will refer back the provisions he is not in agreement with, which makes the
parliament and its elected chamber, the House of Assembly, ineffective, unable to achieve the
objective a parliament is created for: to be the legislative branch of the state and maintain the
The EEM went on to say the ‘main principles for a democratic state are not in place’ in
Swaziland.
It stated, ‘Elections are a mechanism for the popular control of government and ensure the
government accountability to the people. The King appoints the Cabinet. A vote of no
confidence in the prime minister and government from more than two-thirds of the members
148
of the House, in October [2012], was easily reversed although the Constitution provides that
in such cases the prime minister shall be removed from office.
‘In this context, an analysis of the legal framework for elections seems quite a redundant
exercise, as the main principles for a democratic state are not in place. Although the electoral
legal framework contains the technical aspects required for the proper administration of
elections, it does not conform to international principles for the conduct of democratic
elections, as it does not respect one of the fundamental rights for participation –the freedom
of association.’
See also
People not electing their government
149
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richard Rooney was associate professor at the University of Swaziland 2005 – 2008, where
he was also the founding head of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department.
He has taught in universities in Africa, Europe and the Pacific. His academic research which
specialises in media and their relationships to democracy, governance and human rights has
appeared in books and journals across the world.
His writing regularly appears in newspapers, magazines and on websites. He was a full-time
journalist in his native United Kingdom for 10 years, before becoming an academic.
He has published the blog Swazi Media Commentary since 2007 and also has other social
media sites that concentrate on human rights issues in Swaziland.
He holds a Ph.D in Communication from the University of Westminster, London, UK.
He 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
150
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.’
151
Swazi Media Commentary
Containing information and commentary in

support of human rights in Swaziland
Click Here
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Swaziland: Striving for Freedom

As seen through the pages of Swazi Media Commentary

ITUC condemns Swazi police attack

An injured protester at the march in Mbabane

Teacher who tackled gun-wielding Swaziland police commander arrested

A photograph of Myeni tackling Station Commander Raphael ‘Sikheshekheshe’ Maseko of

Musa Maxwell Zondinkhundla Myeni, the schoolteacher in Swaziland who came to

Swazi News front page the day after the incident

Protestors inside the magistrates’ court

Swazi Police shoot at demonstrators during legal strike over pay

Vicious Attack by Swaziland Police on Defenceless Workers Captured on Video

Widespread condemnation of Swaziland police brutal attacks on workers

Above and below: some of the pictures that circulated on Facebook

Condemnation of the Swaziland police’s brutal attack on protesting workers is growing.

Burning tyres at Manzini bus rank

The Swazi Observer reported about 30 police officers were involved.

Report Says Swaziland Police Spying On Legal Protests

It happened at the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) conference at

3 GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL MELTDOWN

In July Swazipharm, Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products and medical

Swazipharm describes itself as, ‘Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products

The action comes after Swazipharm, Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical

Six Children Die in Swaziland in Diarrhoea Outbreak. Vaccines Short Since

It would cost US$6 for the vaccine to immunise a child.

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

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

Last week Swazipharm, Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products and

Police Forced to Hitch-Hike to Crime and Accident Scenes as Government-Induced

Last week Swazipharm Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products and

Govt cash crisis: students get results

Govt cash crisis: schoolkids sent home

4 KING SOBHUZA AND APARTHEID

During Apartheid Era Swaziland Lobbied US and UK Not to Support Sanctions on

Women’s rights continue to be ‘a challenging issue’ in Swaziland, a report just published by

It also interviewed tourists from South Africa, Chile and China.

LGBTI Pride Gets Global Attention

‘The pride celebration was not endorsed by King Mswati III.’

Police Investigate Lesbian Officer

Minister Demands Journalist’s Arrest

The Health Minister of Swaziland / Eswatini Sibongile Ndlela-Simelane called on police to

Swaziland Police Beat-Up Journalist Photographing Them Attacking, Shooting At

Media Freedom Group Calls On SADC To Investigate Swaziland For ‘State-Sponsored’

Swaziland Photojournalist Assaulted, Camera Taken While Covering Protest March By

A Swaziland journalist was assaulted by marchers as he took photographs at a teachers’

9 BARNABAS DLAMINI OBITUARY

Immediately, the Dlamini-led Government clamped down on dissent. In 2011, Amnesty

Court Confirms Political Parties Cannot Compete in Swaziland’s Election

Swaziland Supreme Court dismisses appeal to unban political parties at elections

According to Section 79 of the Swaziland Constitution the Tinkhundla-based system of

Tax debtors barred from election

‘Vote rigging’ as registration tops 90%

Confusion over status of widows as Swaziland prepares for national election

Widows will be allowed to nominate candidates at the forthcoming election in Swaziland /

Doubt over validity of Swaziland election

Swaziland police force worshippers from churches to attend election nominations

Police in Swaziland / Eswatini forced worshippers out of churches to attend election

Observer group says Swaziland election nomination successful, despite some

All public events banned in Swaziland on day of primary election

‘All nominated candidates will be required to go to police headquarters to be vetted and a

Swaziland: Elections without democracy

Swaziland people not allowed to elect government

Voter bribery rife in Swaziland in run-up to first round of national election

Bribed Swaziland voters photograph their completed ballot papers