Swaziland Newsletter No. 907 – 12
December 2025
News from and about Swaziland, compiled by
Global Aktion, Denmark (www.globalaktion.dk)
in collaboration with Swazi Media Commentary (www.swazimedia.blogspot.com),
and sent to all with an interest in Swaziland - free of charge. The newsletter
and past editions are also available online on the Swazi Media Commentary
blogsite.
Commemoration of Human Rights Day: Land disputes
dominate complaints at 46%
By Khulile Thwala, Times of eSwatini, 11
December 2025
MBABANE: Land disputes remain
the country’s most pressing human rights issue, accounting for nearly half of
all grievances lodged with the Eswatini Commission on Human Rights and
Administration.
Commission representative
Nelly Zwane said land issues alone constituted 46 per cent of all complaints
received nationally. These ranged from forced evictions and boundary conflicts
to disputes involving traditional authorities and strained relations between
farm dwellers and landowners.
“We receive reports of land
evictions and disputes on a daily basis,” she said. “Farm dwellers’ issues are
constant, and most cases involve families contesting boundaries or raising
concerns over processes handled by traditional structures.”
This was revealed during the
commemoration of Human Rights Day held at the Mbabane Theatre Club yesterday,
where experts, civil society and government representatives unpacked the
country’s most persistent rights violations under the theme “Human rights: Our
daily essentials.”
Civil society echoed these
concerns. Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organisations (CANGO)
Executive Director Thembinkosi Dlamini, speaking during the panel discussion,
said the country’s colonial history continued to influence today’s land conflicts.
He cited the Vuvulane farm dwellers dispute and the recent success story of the
Mbondzela resettlement as longstanding examples of communities being displaced
or inadequately compensated.
He criticised the lack of
adherence to Section 9 of the Constitution, which mandates proper resettlement
and compensation standards. “The land policy that is meant to regulate
resettlement has been in drafting stages for close to 30 years,” he noted, adding
that “Dutch law continues to override customary law in practice, leaving
vulnerable people without adequate protection.”
The executive director further
pointed out that major agricultural and infrastructural projects often left
communities disconnected from the benefits. “Sugar cane plantations make
millions, yet the communities relocated to make way for them remain underdeveloped
years later,” he said.
He also lamented that courts
were ‘not rising to the occasion’ in adjudicating land matters decisively,
adding that judgments that could clarify what constitutes legal occupancy
remained scarce.
To read more of
this report, click here
Allow girls who can’t stop sex to use contraceptives –
Mhlambanyatsi MP
By Joseph Zulu, Times of eSwatini Sunday, 7
December 2025
MBABANE: A shocking youth crisis. Each year, at least
4 000 pupils fall pregnant and a considerable number of these are in rural
areas like Lundzi. Yesterday, a gathering known as Eswatini Anti-teen Pregnancy
Campaign took place at Lundzi, a town within Mhlambanyatsi Inkhundla, situated
near the South African border.
The Anti-Teenage Pregnancy
Campaign aims to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies in Eswatini, that are
invariably imposing damage to, or even cause the stop of a female teenager’s
education. It seeks to take the important messages out to the young residents
of the 59 tinkhundla (constituencies) of the country, as well
as assisting in reducing, even eliminating, the underlying causes that give
rise to female vulnerability to careless sex.
Yesterday, the campaign, which
was held at Mbuluzi High School exposed the alarming depth of challenges facing
Eswatini’s young people, as community leaders, teachers, police officers and
politicians called for urgent, coordinated action to confront the rising number
of school-going girls who fall pregnant each year.
The gathering brought together
hundreds of pupils, many of whom listened in silence as adults from different
sectors painted a picture of the social pressures pushing children into early
sexual activity.
To read more of
this report, click here
See also
No customary law allows sex with
minors – judges (Times of eSwatini)
eSwatini government moves to block underage children
from accessing betting platforms
By Chidubem, Igaming Today, 9 December 2025
Eswatini has announced new
steps to stop minors from entering online gambling spaces, with a plan that
targets mobile wallet accounts often used to bypass age restrictions.
Tourism and Environmental
Affairs Minister Jane Mkhonta‑Simelane told the House of Assembly that
authorities are working alongside gaming operators and telecom companies to
block secondary wallet numbers registered to children under 18.
She explained that many of
these accounts were created by guardians on behalf of minors, giving them
unintended access to betting platforms. According to the minister, the
initiative is rooted in the Gaming Control Act of 2022 and reinforced
by the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act of 2012, both of which place
strong emphasis on responsible gambling.
Mkhonta‑Simelane told the
House that the ministry is advancing new rules designed to strengthen
responsible gambling.
She explained that the
proposals include mandatory player-protection tools set out in the legislation
and the creation of a rehabilitation fund that will require clear policy
guidelines and proper financing.
“We will raise awareness on
gambling addiction, its warning signs, and the support services available,
through public education campaigns,” she said, according to
the Eswatini Observer.
She confirmed that draft
regulations under the Gaming Control Act have been completed and are now being
reviewed by stakeholders. Once enacted, they are expected to bring consistency,
transparency, and stronger oversight to the industry.
To read more of
this report, click here
Wages Council wants 15% pay hike for domestic workers
By Nokuphila Haji, eSwatini Observer, 10 December
2025
According to sources,
employees represented by the Trade Union Congress of Eswatini (TUCOSWA) and the
Federation of Eswatini Trade Unions (FESWATU) have submitted proposals for a
15% wage increment for all workers under this cadre.
These proposals were then
submitted to the Wages Council and are expected to be submitted to the Minister
of Labour and Social Security Phila Buthelezi in the next 30 days. The ministry
will be welcoming written presentations on the proposals.
The domestic workers have also
proposed an 8% increase for caregivers currently earning above the rates
stipulated in the existing Gazette.
The source added that caregivers had further proposed a 10% increase in the
Government Gazette for performing extra duties.
These proposals have not yet
been finalised by the ministry. According to a document containing the new
proposals, which was shared with this publication, sectors under the
caregivers’ cadre are expected to receive improved salaries after the proposed
increment.
Under the proposals, a cook is
expected to earn E1 591 per month, which translates to E91.04 per day and
E13.74 per hour. The council has proposed that caregivers earn E1 835.84
monthly, or E116.27 daily and E17.17 hourly. The document also indicates that a
driver’s monthly salary will match that of a caregiver.
The proposals further show
that a gardener, house attendant, laundress, children’s nurse and herdsman will
earn E1 553.48 monthly, translating to E86.92 daily and E12.13 hourly. The
council also proposes that a housemother be paid E2 058.89 monthly, with daily
and hourly rates of E92.57 and E12.13 respectively.
A house aunt is proposed to
receive E1 830.12 monthly, E83.11 daily and E12.13 hourly.
To read more of
this report, click here
https://eswatiniobserver.com/wages-council-wants-15-pay-hike-for-domestic-workers/
HRF succeeds in UN petition: Swaziland called on to
immediately release two former lawmakers
Human Rights Foundation media release, 4 December 2025
NEW YORK: The Human
Rights Foundation (HRF) received a favorable opinion from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
(WGAD), finding that Swaziland’s (unilaterally renamed eSwatini by King Mswati
III in 2018) detention of former lawmakers Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni
Dube is arbitrary and violates international human rights law.
Mabuza and Dube were arrested
in July 2021 amid nationwide pro-democracy protests calling for an end to
decades of absolute monarchical rule under Mswati. In their public speeches,
Mabuza and Dube called for the democratic election of the country’s prime
minister, urged the adoption of anti-corruption measures, and encouraged
citizens to exercise their constitutional rights. The regime argued that their
peaceful speeches triggered deadly riots during the demonstrations.
Mabuza and Dube were held in
pretrial detention for three years. During that time, their bail applications
were denied without legal basis, they were subjected to beatings by prison
guards, and they were repeatedly denied the right to contact their lawyers. In
July 2024, the High Court handed them heavy prison terms on trumped-up charges
of terrorism, sedition, and murder related to deaths that occurred during a
protest. Mabuza and Dube were sentenced to serve 25 and 18 years, respectively.
In November 2025, Dube received a conditional pardon, but his ability to travel
and communicate remains restricted. HRF brought the case of Mabuza and Dube before the WGAD in
August 2024.
King Mswati’s repression of
dissent has become increasingly brutal in recent years. The regime persecutes
political dissidents, student activists, and human rights lawyers alike using
arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings. The king has gone so far as to threaten to unleash
mercenary forces on those demanding democratic reforms.
In its decision, the WGAD
emphasized that Mabuza and Dube were detained based on vague and broadly worded
legislation, which enables the criminalization of the legitimate exercise of
freedom of expression. The experts specifically condemned the use of provisions
under Section 4 of the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act, 1938, which
punishes anyone who intentionally brings into hatred or contempt or excites
disaffection against the king or the government. The WGAD found that Dube and
Mabuza were detained for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of
expression, assembly, association, and participation in public affairs. It
declared the murder charges pretextual, as the men were not present at the time
of the deaths and the government presented no link between them. The experts
concluded that Mabuza and Dube were targeted and discriminated against because
of their calls for democratic reform.
“The WGAD’s opinion plays a
crucial role in the international community’s reckoning with Swaziland’s dire
human rights record,” said HRF Senior Legal Associate Venla Stang. “The
situation in the small kingdom rarely makes international headlines, but this
decision sends a strong signal to the Swazi regime: its human rights abuses
will no longer escape international scrutiny.”
HRF urges the international
community to hold the Swazi regime accountable for its crackdown on dissent and
to stand in solidarity with Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, who
should be unconditionally released.
Trump’s
deportations shake up eSwatini: A journey to the tiny African kingdom
By Nokukhanya Musi, El Pais International, 7 December
2025
A coalition of
NGOs has challenged in court the deal in which the United States paid $5.1
million to the African country to take in migrants who were deported without a
trial, some even after serving their sentences.
Pro-democracy activists in Eswatini demonstrate outside the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, on September 19. Themba Hadebe (AP)
MBABANE: Nearly 100 people
packed into the sweltering High Court chamber on an early October morning, in
Mbabane, the capital of Eswatini, filling the wooden benches and spilling into
the aisles. They had come to hear Judge Titus Mlangeni rule on whether accepting foreign deportees from the United States in exchange for millions
of dollars violates the nation’s own constitution — a question that has
consumed this landlocked kingdom, formerly known as Swaziland, for months.
The case, he declared, raised
constitutional questions serious enough towarrant review by the Chief Justice
and a full bench of judges. The full court met on November 3 and postponed its
ruling to an indefinite date.
However, the fact that judges
are considering the unconstitutionality of receiving deportees has been seen as
a significant victory for the activists and lawyers who have spent months
challenging a deportation agreement they say was signed in secret, bypassed
Parliament, and turned their country into what one critic called “a dumping
ground for America’s unwanted.”
Eswatini received $5.1 million
from the U.S., as confirmed in mid-November by Neal Rijkenberg, the finance
minister of the African nation, an absolute monarchy. The sum is considerable
for this small country of 1.2 million inhabitants, where two-thirds of the
population live below the national poverty line.
Human Rights Watch cited that
figure in September and denounced that, in the agreement signed on May 14,
Eswatini committed to accepting up to 160 deportees.
The first five — nationals of
Vietnam, Laos, Yemen, Cubaand Jamaica — arrived in July at the maximum-security
prison in Matsapha after being labeled violent offenders in the United States.
A month later, a coalition of NGOs took the case to court, arguing that the
agreement breached both Eswatini’s laws and the men’s due-process protections. They accused the monarchy-appointed government of
effectively serving as an extension of U.S. immigration enforcement. In
October, despite the pending legal case and growing public opposition, a second
group of 10 people arrived. Only one deportee, Jamaican citizen Orville Isaac
Etoria, has been able to return to his country.
The agreement has now spiraled
into a full-blown constitutional crisis. Yet for the five deportees, who are at
the core of the case, the ruling brought little immediate relief. They remain
in a notoriously overcrowded facility — the occupancy rate of Eswatini’s penal
system exceeds 171%, according to the World Prison Brief — with a record of
human rights abuses that has been confirmed by the U.S. State Department.
What’s more, they are being held without charge, unable to contest their
detention and effectively trapped between two governments.
The first five men deported to
the African country had been convicted of serious crimes in the United States,
including homicide and child rape, and had served their sentences. But rather
than being returned to their countries of origin, they were sent to Eswatini
under an agreement that the government had never disclosed to its own citizens
or Parliament.
The case has thrust this small
African kingdom into the center of a broader controversy over the Trump
administration’s third-country deportation program. Since July, the United
States has sent more than 40 migrants to at least four African nations — including South Sudan, Rwanda, and Ghana.
Rights organizations say the program circumvents due process by exiling
migrants to states with poor human rights records.
Eswatini is one such country.
The U.S. Department of State report cites cases of arbitrary detention,
politically motivated killings, and torture and cruel treatment by law
enforcement.
To read more of
this report, click here
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