Swazi Media Commentary: July 2025

Friday, 4 July 2025

Swaziland Newsletter No. 884 – 4 July 2025

Swaziland Newsletter No. 884 – 4 July 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.

eSwatini grapples with escalating GBV crisis

By Mandisa Mdluli, Times of eSwatini, print edition (edited), 1 July 2025

MBABANE – An infant aged four was raped by her 86-year-old grandfather at Mankayane.

The infant was reportedly sexually violated by the grandfather behind a shack while at Deda, Mankayane, on Thursday. The perpetrator of the sexual violence has since been arrested. The minor was one of the 13 people sexually violated in the past week.

In the wee hours of Friday, a woman aged 23 of KaLanga, Mpaka, was said to have been sexually violated inside a car, without protection and by someone known to her. In a community within Mpaka, on the same day, a teenager (16) of Dvokodvweni was reportedly forced into sexual intercourse without a condom by an unknown person while she was inside a house at Mpaka.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, a teenager (14) was said to have been raped by her step-father, who is 42 years while at Mahlabatsini, Matsapha. Also, two women, aged 22 and 20 respectively, both from Phumlamcashi, reported being forced into sexual intercourse at knifepoint inside a house.

Two suspects have since been arrested and charged in connection with this case, while between May and June 2025, a 22-year-old was arrested for statutory rape of a 17-year-old..

A woman aged 21 from Nkhaba was said to have reported being raped once, without a condom, by a known individual inside a house at Nkhaba.

At Logoba, a teenager, aged 15, was reportedly raped once without the use of a condom by her step-parent inside a house. The suspect in this case has not yet been arrested, while in the same area, another girl aged 14 was said to have been raped once without the use of a condom inside a house by a known individual. The suspect has not yet been apprehended.

These sexual violations are against the backdrop of a gender-based violence (GBV) crisis which this publication reported that there were five children murdered, 312 raped, 20 sexually assaulted, 67 domestically abused since the beginning of the year.

This horrid reality, compounded by an increase in intimate partner violence, signals a deep societal breakdown that demands urgent and collective intervention, according to a press statement released by the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Thulisile Dladla.

In the communiqué, Dladla said the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) reports that between January and May this year, a total of 540 cases of GBV against children have been recorded.

She said these include 89 cases against children below the age of five, 103 cases against children aged 6-11 years old and a distressing 384 cases affecting adolescents aged 1217 years old.

Dladla condemned the senseless killings and highlighted the broader severity of the situation with blunt statistics. She said the National Surveillance Report of 2024, alongside data from the REPS (DCS Unit), reveals an overwhelming 14 308 reported cases of GBV in 2024 alone.

Of these, 3 336 cases targeted children under 18 years old, while a vast majority, 9 690, were perpetrated against women. Dladla said this data emphasises the growing severity of GBV in the country and it was further confirmed by daily media headlines reporting on these gruesome acts of violence.

…

One of the most alarming aspects of these reports is the revelation that several survivors were allegedly raped by individuals familiar to them. At Lomahasha, a 19-year-old woman reported on May 20, 2025 that she was forced into sexual intercourse by her own cousin. This incident, occurring within a residential setting, raised serious questions about safety within perceived secure environments and the betrayal of trust.

Siphofaneni also recorded two deeply troubling cases that highlighted the pervasive nature of this crime and the vulnerability of young girls. In one instance, reported on May 20, 2025, a 12-year-old was allegedly subjected to repeated sexual intercourse by a known person over an extended period, from February 2024 to May 2025.

This timeline of abuse, spanning over a year, indicates a horrific, prolonged ordeal for the young survivor. Another report from Siphofaneni, also on May 20, 2025 detailed an 11-year-old girl being raped by an unknown individual in January 2025 within a house. While the perpetrator is unknown in this instance, the setting again points to a violation occurring in what should be a safe space.

In Gege, a 13-year-old girl was reportedly raped by a known person in a wattle forest on May 19, 2025. Fortunately, a suspect was arrested in this case on the subsequent day.

Authorities fail to make progress in addressing dismal state of the independence of judges and lawyers

International Commission of Jurists, 30 June 2025

SOURCE

Four months on from the publication of the ICJ’s report on attacks on the legal profession, and after multiple expressions of concern relating to the state of judicial and legal independence by the UN Special Rapporteur on judges and lawyers, Eswatini has failed to take concrete measures to address the crumbling state of rule of law in the country.

The ICJ’s report, No Situation is Permanent” – Repression, Intimidation, Harassment and Killing of Lawyers in Eswatini, underscored that lawyers, particular those taking human rights cases and cases in public interest, face immense obstacles in operating independently in the country.

The UN Special Rapporteur has conveyed similar concerns to the Eswatini authorities, most recently in a communication issued on 7 April, pointing to reports she had received of regular and targeted attacks on lawyers, including killings and attempted killings. Prominent among these is the extrajudicial killing of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, regarding which there has so far not been an effective investigation, nor have those responsible been held to account.

According to Eswatini human rights lawyer Mzwandile Masuku: “the UN Special Rapporteur’s communication raises pertinent issues that we as Eswatini lawyers have repeatedly raised with the authorities to no avail. The government’s apparent lack of response to the communication is disappointing”.

The ICJ is also concerned at the relative passivity of the Law Society of Eswatini in performing its statutory mandate to protect the rule of law and secure the independence of lawyers.

“The Law Society of Eswatini must play a bigger role in ensuring that lawyers are able to perform their mandate. Disappointingly, the Law Society has generally not responded adequately to complaints of its members about harassment and intimidation and has failed to put pressure on authorities to investigate the extra-judicial killing of Mr Thulani Maseko”, said Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, ICJ’s Africa Director.

The failure of the State authorities to ensure the rights of lawyers, coupled with the inadequacy of the Law Society to in discharging its protective function, have left the legal profession with little recourse.

“It is critical that lawyers are permitted to undertake their work without any fear of reprisal and that authorities endeavour to secure the independence of the judiciary. Unfortunately, it is often the case that the authorities have taken steps to endanger the independence of the judiciary instead of guarding it as required by the Constitution”, said Mzwandile Masuku.

To read the full report, click here

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/eswatini-authorities-fail-make-progress-mr6ye

eSwatini Government wants to delay salary increment for civil servants

By Bongiwe Dlamini, Swaziland News, 2 July 2025

SOURCE

MBABANE: The Public Sector Unions (PSUs) have collectively rejected a request by Government to delay the release of the highly anticipated salary review report, the Ministry of Public Service wanted a four (4) months extension to allow the Consultant to conclude the review process.

Worth-noting, the four months was expiring in November during the commencement of Incwala ritual ceremony and this means, Government was systematic seeking to delay the salary review at least until the 2026/27 financial year.

But Mbongwa Dlamini, the President of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) told workers outside the Ministry of Public Service on Wednesday that, as PSUs they granted Government only six (6) weeks to conclude the salary review process.

“We granted Government only six weeks not months the four months,” he said.

Eswatini Government workers including security forces, are financially struggling amid the delayed implementation of a salary increase.

A decade of deception: uncovering eSwatini’s multibillion accounting scandal

By Zwelethu Dlamini, Inhlase Centre for Investigative Journalism, 27 June 2025

SOURCE

Eswatini’s government finances are trapped in a cycle of systemic failure, marked by recurring material misstatements in bank balances, fictitious assets and liabilities, widespread unauthorised expenditure, and a glaring lack of adherence to financial regulations, year after year.

From the most recent 2024 audit pinpointing over E1.6 billion in understated expenditure and nearly E1 billion in unauthorised spending, to historical reports showing multi-billion Emalangeni discrepancies, the Auditor General’s consistent “qualified opinions” underscore a deep-rooted crisis of public financial mismanagement that demands urgent and decisive reform.

Part One: Eswatini’s multibillion Emalangeni accounting scandal

For nearly a decade, the public accounts of Eswatini have been shrouded in a fog of financial irregularities, material misstatements, undisclosed liabilities, a pervasive lack of accountability and unauthorised expenditures, as revealed by a relentless stream of “qualified” audit reports from the Auditor General and the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reports.

Billions of Emalangeni remain unaccounted for, with total misstatements reaching E8.44 billion in 2016 and E2.56 billion in 2024. This includes E155 million in fictitious assets and E645 million in undisclosed liabilities in 2024 alone.

A qualified opinion means that the Auditor General, while concluding that the government’s financial statements were fairly presented, there were areas that prevented the auditors from giving an ‘unqualified’/clean opinion. In simple terms, the consistent qualified auditors’ opinion means that the country’s financial records are unreliable.

Coordinating Assembly for NGOs (CANGO) Director Thembinkosi Dlamini said this crisis is evident in the government’s over-reliance on supplementary budgets. “What is approved in February may be totally unrelated to the reported budget outcomes in the next budget. In short, the usual Auditor General’s report then PAC appearance by accounting officers is no longer enough; rather than a conversation about this crisis should be held with all stakeholders in the room,” he said.

In 2024, government ministries and departments incurred unappropriated expenditures amounting to E155.9 million, including foreign payments and unbudgeted accruals. According to Auditor General Timothy Matsebula, this unlawful spending “translated to fictitious assets” on the government’s books as of 31st March 2024. He further warned that “unauthorised expenditures and unappropriated budgets are not only unlawful but also provide room for misappropriation of public funds and result in serious repercussions in the entire fiscal budget.”

A significant portion of the fictitious assets (E70,465,085.94) resulted from “Unappropriated Expenditure on Accounts Payable – Foreign Payments”, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation contributing 50 per cent of this amount.

This practice is not an accounting error but a calculated act of financial deception. Funds were spent without the legal authorisation from Parliament, and then, instead of being accurately recorded as unauthorised expenditures, they were disguised as “assets” to artificially balance the books. This mechanism effectively conceals illicit spending, allowing ministries to bypass critical parliamentary oversight and potentially divert public funds without transparent accountability.

To read more of this report, click here

https://inhlase.com/a-decade-of-deception-uncovering-eswatinis-multibillion-accounting-scandal/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLMbdhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFRZzlIdWVsUENUaG9VZ2pDAR6KAvuTkZj8D13V3uMxFxFFOmawqvFu6cBXmqAymcJUo_FnLAHx3-J8SneHQA_aem_YQ4RYxCyhfwBZtTEDtJ-gQ

Nomcebo Zuma abandoned by King Mswati after honeymoon period ended

By Rorisang Modiba, Scrolla.Africa, 2 July 2025

SOURCE

New details have emerged about why Nomcebo LaZuma walked out on King Mswati III – and it’s all about being ignored by her royal husband.

As Scrolla.Africa reported earlier, the 22-year-old daughter of former president Jacob Zuma left the Eswatini palace and returned to South Africa after just three months of marriage.

Swaziland News reports that the king spent time with Nomcebo at first, but soon stopped paying attention to her and focused on his other wives.

A source said the king usually spends more time with a new wife until she becomes pregnant, but that didn’t happen with Nomcebo.

The young bride became very upset about the neglect. She was sad, angry, and once even wrongly accused her bodyguards of stealing her jewellery.

The jewellery was later found, but it showed how unhappy she was in royal life.

The king’s spokesperson Percy Simelane said he doesn’t get involved in the king’s private life, only his public work.

Nomcebo’s friend said she may speak about her painful experience once she feels better.

Meanwhile, royal officials went to Nkandla to speak to Jacob Zuma, but he refused to meet them. He had not agreed with the marriage at first, but gave in after his daughter insisted.

King Mswati has more than 14 wives and over 50 children. The 56-year-old monarch is known for his polygamous lifestyle and lavish spending, while most of his people live in poverty.

The marriage was intended to be a cultural alliance between the Zuma family and Eswatini’s monarchy.

While her mother supported the union, Jacob Zuma opposed it and didn’t attend the engagement or wedding. King Mswati paid R2-million and 100 cattle in lobola.

Despite public appearances, such as a Vatican visit in October 2024, the marriage reportedly had problems from the start.

Nomcebo had paused her university studies for royal duties, but it seems the sacrifice wasn’t worth it.

Neither family has officially commented on the separation, but the failed marriage has exposed the reality of being one of many wives to an African king.