Hunger is sweeping across Swaziland and vital medicines are running out as the Swazi Government continues to mismanage the kingdom’s economy. Universities and colleges are closed as armed police clear campuses as students protest against unpaid allowances and poor educational standards.
Meanwhile, the 49-year-old King Mswati, Swaziland’s absolute monarch, is to take a 19-year-old as a bride. It is his 14th wife (or his 15th, the Swazi people are not allowed to know).
These are some of the reports in the latest compilation Swaziland Striving for Freedom Vol 27 July to September 2017 from the Swazi Media Commentary website, coving the three months from July to September 2017. It is available to download free of charge at Scribd. Police continue to be out of control using heavy-handed tactics against legitimate protests and spying on all sections of the community, including parliamentarians. Wardens in jails sexually assault male prisoners and children at school receive illegal corporal punishment: one boy lost an eye during a classroom caning.
There are problems ahead in the kingdom which has one of the worst human rights records in the world. A new Public Order Act allows the state to further clamp down on dissent. Anyone who defaces a picture of the King could end up in jail for two years.
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.
See also
A DECADE OF NEWS AND VIEWS
SWAZILAND LURCHES INTO CRISES
HUMAN RIGHTS YEAR-END REVIEW
PROGRESS TO SWAZI DEMOCRACY?
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