Political and Human Rights Situation in Eswatini

Presented to the

KWAZULU NATAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

7 to 8 April 2025, Pietermaritzburg

By Rt. Rev. Zwanini A. Shabalala

Introduction

I would like to start by expressing my humble and heartfelt appreciating to Kwa-Zulu Natal Council of Churches and the organizers for the invitation to present on the situation in eSwatini. Program Director, I have been requested to speak about the situation in eSwatini, especially after the 2021 political unrest which changed the history of the kingdom. I am speaking at a time when there are deliberate efforts to clamp down any advocacy for the rights of people in the country and globally. Social justice, peace and protection of fundamental human rights have become scarce commodities in the world we live in today and those who try to promote these virtues have become state enemies.

The presentation will begin by giving background information on the kingdom of eSwatini (Swaziland), highlighting the political system and governance challenges. I will then go on to look at the human right situation in the country, with the help of analysis by different human rights organization. Then I will discuss a few examples of recent and current incidences that will lead us to discussion about the socio-political situation in eSwatini.

1. Brief background information on eSwatini

Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) is a small country located in Southern Africa and is land locked (almost completely surrounded by South Africa) with the Republic of South Africa and Mozambique forming the borders. Eswatini has a land area of 17,364 square kilometres, of which 11% is arable. The population is 1,173,900, with a growth rate of 2.5%.

The former British colony, attained independence in 1968 and remains an absolute monarchy currently ruled by King Mswati III. The king has led the country since 1986, mostly using the 1973 decree that banned opposition political parties. The 1973 decree was issued by King Sobhuza II when he repealed the independence constitution, claiming that it was not conducive for the Swazis. He declared that all powers were now vested in him and that all political parties were banned, including his own party the Imbokodvo National Movement. He announced that the people of eSwatini were going to develop their own governance system that would be suitable for them. For over three decades the county was without a return constitution and the decree was fully in force. Despite the adoption of the 2005 Constitution, which guarantees basic human rights, and the country’s international human rights commitments, the government has not reviewed the decree or changed the law to allow the formation, registration, and participation of political parties in elections.

The governance system followed by the country is known as the Tinkhundlla System, which is a constituency-based system in which executive authority vests with the king who is the head of state. All three arms of government are directly under the king who appoints the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice and even influences the election of Presiding Officers in parliament. Although Eswatini signed the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance in January 2008, the government did not take any steps to ratify or implement the Charter. The country is also part of the establishment of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, but is not complying with the guidelines even though it endorsed them. Under the present system members of parliament are elected on individual merit to represent their geographic constituencies which are formed by a number of chiefdoms. Political parties cannot contest elections and those individual political party members who get elected in their constituencies cannot represent their political parties when they are in parliament.

2. Dual system of governance and dual legal framework.

The kingdom of eSwatini has followed a dual system of governance whereby the traditional governance structures run parallel with the modern system. At the top of both systems is the king who is also referred to as the Ingwenyama. According to section 228 of the constitution, the Ingwenyama “is the traditional head of the Swazi State” who enjoys the same legal protection and immunity as the king. The fact that the king and Ingwenyama refer to one and the same person makes it easy for the traditional and modern roles to be confused and can easily be manipulated. This is more so because even the legal system uses both the Roman Dutch law and Swazi customary law. The customary law is not codified and as such interpretation and application of the law depends on the one who has power over others. For instance, women are always on the receiving end of the customary law as men are often the ones who interpret the law.

3. Legal framework for the protection of Human Rights in eSwatini

Chapter 3 of the Constitution of Swaziland provides for the protection and promotion of fundamental rights and freedoms, something viewed as a major milestone in the history of human rights in eSwatini. Moreover, eSwatini has signed to and ratified a number of key human rights instruments at international, continental and regional level. However, there is selective domestication and implementation of these instruments.

Some of the human rights instruments ratified by eSwatini include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, ILO Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CAT) and many others.

In 2009 the Swaziland Commission on Human Rights Commission and Public Administration (CHRPA) was established and this was done in fulfilment of Chapter 9, Part 2 of the Constitution which provides for the establishment of the Commission. This is an important body that is supposed to be independent and to be accessible to all emaSwati. Unfortunately, it has not been the case with our Human Rights Commission as for many years it was housed in place that restricted access, especially for women in mourning gowns and those wearing pants. This was due to the fact that it was within compounds of traditional institutions that have such restrictions. As if that was not enough, the commission was not fully capacitated in terms of personnel and working equipment. Lately members of the commission were not replaced after some were redeployed by the government to other departments. It has been a limping commission whose effectiveness has been highly compromised, something that leave doubt if it was ever meant to function. For instance, after the 2021 social and political unrest in eSwatini the commission produced a report which sounded critical to the government. Such a report was later disowned by the government and some commissioners felt intimidated by the state.

4. Analysis of the human rights situation

The perception on human rights by many emaSwati, especially traditionalists and those in authority is that human rights are a foreign concept. Such attitudes have created antagonism between proponents of human rights and those in authority. As mentioned in the introduction, individuals and organizations promoting the protection of basic human rights become enemies of the state. They are quickly labeled as those who are against the king or as terrorists and they lose any form of government support. There seems to be an all out war against proponents of social justice and democracy. These sentiments are prevalent in all arms of government, including parliament where some members view civil society organizations as anti-monarch.

It is very unfortunate that such attitudes can now be found globally, even in countries that were known to be leading democracies. The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Gaza, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and recently in Mozambique are clear signs that those in power are not willing to listen to the less powerful. I think the latest example of that is what we are now seeing in the USA where the new administration takes decisions that have serious consequences to a number of people without any consideration of the impact they will have.

In order to have a better understanding of the current human rights situation in eSwatini one needs to look at what has happened in the past three to four years. Let me highlight a few incidents that occurred in the past three years.

• Civil and political unrest

The June 2021 civil unrest in eSwatini saw a majority of emaSwati finding their voices to critically question the governance system of the country. There were many factors that made this possible, starting with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which exposed government inefficiencies. In the height of the pandemic people were frustrated by the lock downs, not going to work, children not going to school, no social gatherings and no church services. People’s entire livelihoods were threatened and many lost their jobs and other sources of income, rendering them vulnerable and increasing the levels of poverty in the country. The youth in particular were affected in as far as their education was concerned as they could see their chances of ever finding employment diminishing. We all know that once young people start to believe that they have no future they are a ticking time bomb.

The pandemic also affected the country’s already ailing economy, leaving most small and medium enterprises with no option but to close shop thus increasing unemployment. Like many countries, Eswatini was forced to impose many restrictions and the partial lockdown to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Unfortunately, such restrictions also came with a number of unintended consequences even on the economy. There was also a sharp increase in cases of abuse, especially at family level where Gender Based Violence increased.

In desperate situations it is common that basic human rights are trampled upon as it becomes the survival of the fittest. It is at such times that people look up to the government to provide the relief they need. Unfortunately, service delivery by government was always poor and the pandemic just compounded an already desperate situation. The health sector was failing to cope with the demands caused by Covid-19 at a time when everyone needed health care. We saw many people dying due to shortage of drugs in hospitals, lack of equipment and limited hospital staff that was also without protective clothing. At the same time corruption was sky rocketing and this is evident by the many cases of corruption related to covid that are still being addressed even now. The poor service delivery was not only in the health sector but in all areas where people needed services from the government and that caused a lot of frustration and anger.

• Police brutality

The case of the University student who allegedly died in the hands of the police was another contributing factor to the civil unrest. It happened at a time when students and youth in general were frustrated by the Covid-19 lockdown. They took to the streets in big numbers demanding justice for Thabani and as always this was met with brutal force from the security forces. The brutality went to a point where the police even disrupted the memorial service of Thabani, something that led to the church to visit the police regional office to find out why they did such in a church service. To the Council of Swaziland Churches this was a clear violation of the rights of the family and friends to mourn the death of a son and friend. Some members of parliament joined the call for justice for the student and also condemned the action of the police.

While all this was going on there was another discussion that was going on in parliament where some members of parliament were questioning the manner in which the Prime Minister was appointed. At that time there was no substantive Prime Minister, following the death of the PM in December 2020, due to covid-19. The Deputy Prime Minister was acting and the acting period was going beyond 6 months and parliament wanted clarity on the legality of such acting and also proposed that the Prime Minister be elected. Since the appointing authority is the king, some felt like the proposal to elect a Prime Minister was a direct attack on the powers of the king and like many loyal emaSwati they wanted to be seen to be protecting the king. As such parliament could not debate this matter in a constructive manner. Those who were bringing this debate where asked if their view were those of their constituencies. They were made to go back to their constituencies for consultations and that was the beginning of the petitioning of members of parliament by the electorate in their constituencies. The petitions delivered to MPs highlighted a number of grievances, mostly around service delivery, corruption and bad governance. By the time the government stopped the petition delivery there were only six constituencies left, out of 79.

These are some of the contributing factors to the unprecedented violent unrest at the end of June 2021. The people were angry, frustrated and without any hope, and as if that was not enough the government was now forcing them to be quiet and not express their frustration. Their right to be heard was not respected by the government and the people defied the order banning the delivery of petitions and that resulted in confrontation, which led to the deadly violence that left over 46 people death, many injured and property damaged. The 46 people was the number that the government also agreed to as it came from the Human Rights Commission. We are aware however that there were actually more people who were killed. The demonstrations as well as the looting and destruction of property were signals that the people had been incubating frustration, dissatisfaction, anger and even hatred for a long time and now they had found an opportunity to vent out.

• How did the church and other civil society organizations respond?

As the church we warned the government and encouraged dialogue as the way to resolve the conflict. For instance, after the banning of petition deliveries by the Acting Prime Minister on the 24^th of June the Council of Swaziland Churches immediately wrote a letter to the Acting Prime Minister on Friday the 25^th of June 2021 requesting a meeting with him. In the letter we raised our concerns on the situation and already proposed the need for engagement. The ban of the delivery of petitions as announced by the office of the Prime Minister was of great concern to the church as we suspected that it would be defied and that such defiance would result in violent confrontations. That was the reason we expressed these fears to the government even before the eruption of violence but the government did not take the warning seriously. The Acting PM responded on the same day, proposing a meeting for either Monday or Tuesday the following week and we eventually met with him on Tuesday the 29^th of June 2021. By the time of the meeting, unfortunately the situation had escalated to violent confrontations. In the meeting with the APM and the Minister of Finance we gave an analysis of the situation and recommended that the government considers dialogue as the only way that would help the country. This was appreciated by the Acting PM who said that this was actually what the government believed in.

The Acting Prime Minister however expressed concern that they do not know whom to engage, to which the CSC offered to find the other stakeholders to engage. They appreciated that offer, but said they were still going to discuss in cabinet as they were not in a position to take a decision without the involvement of the whole cabinet. It must be stated that we did not get the chance to meet with government to hear their position, even after we sent a reminder through a letter written on Friday the 2^nd of July 2021. After the swearing in of the new Prime Minister His Excellency Cleopas Sipho Dlamini we wrote to him on the 28^th of July 2021 requesting for an appointment with him. We did eventually meet with the new Prime Minister but that meeting did not produce any fruits as the Prime Minister only addressed us for a few minutes. We however reiterated our position and willingness to work with the government and other stakeholders towards dialogue. By the time we met with the new Prime Minster we had already met with a number of stakeholders who were also eager to hold dialogue. Below are some of the stakeholders we met:

• Political Party Assembly – we met of the 1^st of July 2021 and again on the 2^nd of July 2021. There were six political parties that we met.
• Ludzidzini Governor – we met on Saturday the 3^rd of July
• Eswatini Conference of Churches – we met on Monday the 5^th of July 2021
• Civil Society organisations under the Multi-Stakeholders Coordinating Forum – on the 5^th of July 2021
• League of African Churches – we met on Wednesday the 7^th of July 2021
• Multi-Stakeholders Coordinating Team – Wednesday the 7^th of July 2021
• Communist Party of Swaziland – 12^th of July 2021
• In addition to local stakeholders, the CSC is in constant communication with the Fellowship of Christian Council in Southern Africa (FOCCISA) to which we are members. FOCCISA issued statements on the situation, wrote to SADC, conducted a regional ecumenical prayer service and visited the country from the 1^st to the 5^th of November 2021. They have also taken the Eswatini issue to the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).
• Submissions to the SADC fact finding mission on the 17^th of July 2021 and later to the SADC Troika Organ special envoy which was headed by former South African Cabinet Minister Jeff Hadebe (22 October 2022).

The meetings with the two church bodies were to update each other on what we were doing as we believed that the whole church has a role to play in bringing about peace in the country. The political parties were critical as they have been part of the protests and have been calling for the democratisation of eSwatini for many years. The political parties expressed their willingness to engage but had some pre-conditions that would help level the ground for dialogue. The three main pre-conditions were

1. Cessation of all hostilities, including the removal of the army from the streets
2. Recognition and registration of political parties
3. Genuine and meaningful dialogue

• Lessons from the unrest

The anger and desperation of the people could be seen even on social media which was used as a platform to express the people’s concerns. Some people found an opportunity to say what they had always wanted to say about the monarch and government. There were even those who went to the extent of being disrespectful and vulgar. The government tried to shut down social networks and even the internet, but it was already too late.

What we should learn from this is the importance of listening to the people when they voice their dissatisfaction and not let them pile up frustrations and anger. Unfortunately, the country’s authorities did not learn and the anger and frustration of the people is once again accumulating, meaning that we will face another unrest in the not-so-distant future. The other unfortunate reality is that the government is now investing in more repressive strategies, instead of addressing the governance concerns. This will move the country further away from democratic principle and the respect of human rights. People now live in fear and fear is instilled deliberately to silence dissenting voices. The government will also be more prone to developing repressive policies and laws meant to silence the people and in doing so contravene international policies that they have signed to. The independence of the judiciary will be further compromised as courts will be used to scare people and we can see this already in recent judgements of the courts.

• The assassination of Human Rights lawyer, Thulani Maseko

Who killed Thulani Maseko? This is the million Emalangeni question that is in everyone’s mind, except the mind of the killer(s). At the moment everyone is speculating on who might have been behind the killing of Maseko and such speculations bring more harm than good to everyone. The government has come up with a number of theories on what could have happened and the possible reason for the assassination. We know, however that all their theories are attempts by the state to absolve itself and that they want everyone to believe that it was done by people within the Mass Democratic Movement. Unfortunately, people have lost hope in the government justice system as the government is seen to be failing to crack such a high profile case.

On the other hand, the Mass Democratic Movement is pointing fingers at the government, accusing the state of orchestrating the assassination. At the moment neither the state nor the MDM is presenting a solid case in support of their theory, instead the accusations are out of emotions.

What is the impact of the assassination on the human right discourse in eSwatini? This for me is the most crucial question. Whether intentionally or by default, whoever killed Maseko, who was a moderate proponent for change and a strong advocate for dialogue, seems to have managed to silence the voices of dissent and the advocates of social justice and democratic reform in eSwatini. Everyone is paralyzed by fear as the assassination was a clear statement that you can be killed and no one will do anything about it. The intimidation and silencing of human right defender in eSwatini paint a bleak picture for human right in the country. During the memorial service of Thulani Maseko I pleaded with representatives of human rights organizations who had come to eSwatini for the funeral to continue to support human rights defenders in eSwatini. I expressed my fear that the death of Thulani will paralyze the human rights movement in eSwatini and that is unfortunately, happened.

We can also see further fragmentation in the MDM in the country as there is no trust amongst the different political parties and organizations. That means there will be no clear and unified voice by civil society that calls government to account where there are violations of human rights.

• The case of the two convicted Members of Parliament

The case of the two Members of Parliament, Mthandeni Dube and Bacede Mabuza, who were arrested in 2021 for political utterances they made in parliament and public addresses has been another serious threat to the future of human rights in eSwatini. The third member of parliament who was with them was Mduduzi Simelane who managed to evade the arrest and is currently in exile. Their arrest and the charges preferred against them shocked the nation as whatever they said was on behalf of their constituencies and the people of eSwatini. They were advocating for changes in the appointment of the Prime Minister, in that the PM should be elected instead of being appointed by the king so that he/she is accountable to the people. They also advocated for improved service delivery, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic which exposed government inefficiencies. Their other crime was supporting students who were demonstrating in demand for justice for the university student who died allegedly in the hands of the police and also calling for the government to prioritize payment of tuition and allowances for students.

The political statements made by the MPs appealed to a number of people who shared the same sentiments and frustrations about what the government was doing and/or not ding. They did that in the spirit of the constitution that guarantees freedom of expression as provided in section 24 of the constitution. They were however accused of murder, terrorism, sedition and other charges that left the nation confused. As if that was not enough, their trial took a long time as they were only convicted in June 2023 and sentenced in July 2024. Their sentences were also shocking as the High Court judge sentenced them to 25 year (Mabuza) and 18 years (Dube). The two MPs are currently appealing their conviction and sentencing and have come up with 31 grounds for their appeal.

The state made a clear statement to anyone who will dare challenge the status quo and this was a calculated act to silence proponents of democracy in eSwatini. The basic freedoms that are provided in chapter 3 of the constitution are only on paper, but far from being enjoyed by the people of eSwatini.

5. The Future of Human Rights in eSwatini

The threat to fundamental human rights and the shrinking space for human rights defender and civil society is not only in eSwatini, but is unfortunately a global phenomenon. To a large extent it is the reason behind the many conflicts and wars that result in the killing of many innocent people. Coming back to eSwatini, there are a few specific factors that threaten the future of human rights which have been pointed out by different human rights organizations. In the 2023-2028 Human Rights Society of Swaziland (HURISWA) Strategic Plan we have highlight five areas that I would like to refer to in this presentation. They all challenge us to create an enabling environment for human rights in the different sectors of society.

• Political will

There is an unwritten hostility towards human rights in Swaziland, which is demonstrated by ignoring the constitutional and other human rights obligations.  Government ignores and itself commits abuses. The ratification of different human rights treaties is seen as just “window dressing” and “lip service” since for many of them no domestication or implementation has occurred. Statements made by the country’s leaders also indicate that human rights have not yet been fully accepted. There is also a tendency by those in authority to discourage any support to civil society organizations that focus on human rights or social justice issues.

Such attitudes discourage or even prevent emaSwati from knowing their rights, how to protect themselves against violation nor how to use the existing human rights mechanisms to obtain redress. At the same time they make it easier for government and other third parties to violate the rights of emaSwati with impunity. Many people, apart from not knowing their rights, do not have money to pay for expensive court proceedings.  The Human Rights Commission is not capacitated and as such is often criticized because it is not visibly taking action yet violations are reported to it.

• Freedom of expression and role of the media

The media is vital to the promotion of human rights and is itself a subject of rights, in particular those of freedom of expression and access to information. However, several factors constrain the media, including poor understanding of human rights issues and the capacity to engage with them as they disseminate information to stimulate debate. There are also outdated and repressive laws that restrict freedom of expression; threats, intimidation, assault, arrest and incarceration of media practitioners. There continues to be fear in most newsrooms, leading to widespread self-censorship and this includes even the so-called independent media. The Times of Eswatini which has been known as independent gradually changed tune to be more pro-government and this week we were told that it is now bought by the Inyatsi Group which has strong ties with royalty.

• Swazi law and custom

Human rights have been cast as conflicting with custom yet this is not necessarily the case. There is evidence of human rights violations being committed under the guise of culture. However, there is concern that whether a cultural practice offends human rights is not always cut and dry, as mentioned earlier on that customary law is not codified. The other challenge is that some traditional authorities are against human rights education activities in their areas because they are seen as being a bad influence on the people.

• Religion

The Christian Church has not been able to speak in one voice on human rights violations despite glaring evidence that they are occurring and the church has itself been a victim. This is mainly due to the division in the church where there are different church bodies that do not have the same understanding of the church’s role in promoting social justice. While issues of capacity affect the church’s ability to make a greater impact, in some cases, church leaders do not address an issues for fear of offending the country’s governing authorities. The Council of Swaziland Churches has tried numerous times to engage the other ecumenical bodies in the country but they have always avoided issues that would be viewed as confrontational to the state of monarchy. On the other hand the state uses religion to control the masses as national religious events evolve around the king who becomes the main actor. During national prayers and in the Good Friday and Easter service the king is seen as the main “preacher”, while during traditional religious functions he is the “high priest”, so to speak.

6. The need for an all-inclusive social and political dialogue in Eswatini

The once beautiful and peaceful kingdom of eSwatini is wounded and bleeding, and people from all sectors of society are hurting. There is urgent need for healing in eSwatini. The sooner the people and leaders of eSwatini realize that, the sooner the nation will engage in dialogue that will lead to reconciliation and healing. It is very unfortunate that the mention of the word “dialogue” has become taboo in eSwatini, like one wants to overthrow the state. This is despite the fact that our leaders have said emaSwati believe in dialogue and managed to fool the world.

The church in eSwatini was one of the institutions that called for dialogue even before the conflict turned violent. We pleaded for dialogue to the government, SADC and other regional and international bodies because we believe it will bring a lasting solution to our situation. It is however very unfortunate that the last SADC meeting in Harare last year agreed to remove Eswatini from the Troika agenda. This was after the king had told them that things are now back to normal in eSwatini and the intervention from SADC was no longer needed. We feel SADC betrayed the people of eSwatini as they are witnesses that the political dialogue we asked for as emaSwati never happened and the people who had requested for the dialogue were never consulted to find out if indeed dialogue was no longer necessary. This is why we continue to plead with the friends of eSwatini not to be deceived by the eSwatini authorities into believing that all is well in the country because nothing is well. People still live with a lot of fear, mistrust, uncertainty, frustration and unhealed wounds from 2021.

7. Conclusion

In as much as we have looked at challenges within eSwatini and how the government is failing to address human rights issues, we should not forget the role of the international community in supporting eSwatini. However, whatever the international community does, must compliment local initiatives. That means there is a need to strengthen social cohesion amongst the different civil society actors.  The future of human rights in eSwatini may look bleak but I believe that with assistance from regional and international bodies we can safeguard the rights of the people of eSwatini. It is for that reason that I applaud the KZN Council of Churches for making it a point that the story of eSwatini is not forgotten. On behalf of the church and the people of eSwatini I would like to thank the organizers of this discussion for the courage to revive the conversation. I also hope that as the church we can find ways of facilitation healing in eSwatini even if we begin at the lowest level of society. I would also like to thank all of you who took time to listen to this sad story of the people of eSwatini.

Humbly presented by

Rt. Rev. Zwanini. A. Shabalala

The Bishop of ELCSA Eastern Diocese