The Fight for Democracy in Africa’s Last Monarchy: Eswatini

By Sarah Akers, Woodson Martin Democracy Fellow, JMU Civic

Background

Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a nation in Southern Africa. The landlocked nation is bordered by South Africa and Mozambique. The nation of 1.3 million became independent from Britain’s rule in 1968 and developed a constitutional monarchy. Unfortunately, five years later, King Sobhuza II repealed the constitution, banned political parties, and began ruling by decree. After he died, his son, King Mswati III, became king in 1986 and ruled the same way until 2006 when the nation implemented a new constitution. However, this Constitution was still very restrictive with respect to freedom of expression, assembly, and association. It allowed political parties to exist, but they cannot participate in elections.

Pro-Democracy Protests

Pro-democracy protests began in Eswatini in May 2021 following the mysterious death of Thabani Nkomonye. Nkomonye was a 25-year-old law student allegedly killed at the hands of police. However, anger and resentment has been growing against King Mswati III and the monarchy for quite some time. Two-thirds of the nation’s population lives in poverty and a quarter of all adults have HIV. Despite this, King Mswati III lives a lavish lifestyle; protesters have accused him of using public funds to finance this lifestyle. They are now calling for widespread democratic reforms.

Amnesty International has noted the unfortunate history of supression of political activism in Eswatini. Despite the supression, protesters have organized marches, demonstrations in schools, and bus drivers blocking roadways. There have also been reports of protesters setting fires at businesses owned by or linked to the royal family. In response, the king imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in late June 2021. The military has also been deployed, sparking violent clashes between them and protesters. In early October, a protester was shot in the head by police while protesting in front of the US embassy.

More than a thousand protesters have been arrested, including children. At least 80 protesters have died and hundreds more have been injured at the hands of Eswatini security forces. Tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets, as well as real bullets, have been used to quell protests. Among the protesters arrested were two parliament members, Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube. They were arrested in late July under the Suppression of Terrorism Act and for violating COVID-19 regulations. Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa, Deprose Muchena, has stated, “The arrest and detention of MPs Mabuza and Dube is a travesty of justice. They have been held for peacefully exercising their freedom of expression and assembly.”

The nurse’s union in the capital city has accused the security forces of shooting at nurses who were traveling to and from work at the hospital. The union released a statement saying, “Clearly these blood-thirsty imbeciles, broods of vipers are hell-bent to kill nurses and the nation in defence of an ailing government.” They also called on their members not to treat any wounded police or soldiers.

King Mswati III, who has instituted a nationwide ban on protests, has called the pro-democracy protests “satanic” as well as referring to the protesters as “dagga smokers” and “drunkards.” In mid-October, schools were shut down indefinitely in response to the protests. Furthermore, the government has suspended access to Facebook and its messenger app, as well as severely restricting access to the internet. These restrictions were implemented after images of the violence were circulating on social media. King Mswati III owns shares in all of the nation’s telecommunication companies, so the restrictions were easily implemented.

Mediations

The Southern African Development Community (SADC), which is made up of sixteen nations, sent mediators at the end of October to Eswatini to guide ongoing dialogue. During their two-day visit, they met with King Mswati III, other government officials including the prime minister, and several civil society groups and trade unions. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also a leader of SADC, stated, “King Mswati III has accepted the need for national dialogue…I appeal for calm, restraint, the respect for the rule of law and human rights on all sides to enable the process to commence.”

The day after SADC left Eswatini, King Mswati III called for an end to the violence and announced that a national dialogue would be launched but only once the violence as well as the COVID-19 pandemic has ended. However, unions and civil society organizations have dismissed calls for dialogue. One organization called it a “ploy to mislead” the mediators. “We have long lost hope in such forums and, as a result, we will not participate in the meeting. We will not let the king who has blood on his hands decide how and when the dialogue will be held. There can be no calm or peaceful dialogue while the security forces continue to kill and maim people,” the organization said in a statement.

What the Future Holds

It is unclear what November holds, as the annual ritual ceremonies of Incwala, which traditionally celebrates royalty, begin. During Incwala, which typically lasts around a month, the king isolates himself and does not participate in any government activities. However, one thing is clear – protesters have shown no sign of giving up. The director of operations in southern Africa for Human Rights Watch said in a statement, “Despite the violent crackdown that we saw in June-July, the young people of Eswatini have come back and are persistent about their demands. This is an indicator that the king is in an increasingly weaker position because he has not been able to make the protests go away.”

This is evident in Madzabudzaru Kunene, a longtime activist in Eswatini who lost one of his legs during early protests due to police violence. Kunene stated, “I will fight even if they cut my other leg, and if I still have hands, they will have my hands, until they cut my heart. That is the way I will stop.”

What You Can Do

You can partner with the Eswatini Solidarity Fund to donate funds and goods, volunteer, and contribute politically by partnering with the ESF to “magnify the voices of the democratic movement in the country.”