Swaziland Newsletter No. 898 – 10
October 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.
‘Ripe’
or not, consent age is 18 – Traditionalists
By Musa
Simelane, eSwatini Observer, 5 October 2025
Traditionalists have clarified that
under Swazi Law and Custom, a girl’s readiness for sex depends on maturity, not
looks. “Below 18 is rape,” they warn.
As the debate continues to swirl around
the age of consent for females in the country, traditionalists have stepped
forward to weigh in on the matter.
They have clarified that, under Swazi Law
and Custom, a girl’s readiness for sexual intercourse cannot be determined by
her physical appearance but rather by her age and maturity.
This follows the ongoing constitutional
case involving Government Spokesperson Alpheous Mfana Nxumalo, who is
challenging certain provisions of the Sexual Offences and Domestic
Violence (SODV) Act of 2018. Nxumalo faces two counts of unlawful sexual
intercourse with females aged 17 and 18, respectively.
The case has reignited a national
discussion on what constitutes the legal and customary age of consent in
Eswatini. Nxumalo’s matter, heard by the Constitutional Court, revolves around
his argument that Parliament failed to refer the SODV Bill to the Council of
Chiefs as required under Section 115 of the Constitution.
Judgment in the case has been reserved,
and the ruling will be delivered on a date to be announced by the Registrar of
the High Court.
The hearing sparked widespread debate on
social media, particularly after courtroom exchanges touched on the issue of a
girl’s “readiness” for sexual intercourse under Swazi Law and Custom. Many
questioned whether traditional perspectives align or conflict with the SODV
Act, which sets the age of consent at 18 years.
Traditionalists, however, have sought to
clear any confusion. They insist that Swati customs have long upheld respect
for womanhood and chastity — and that even within cultural norms, the age of
consent does not fall below 18.
To read more of this report, click here
https://eswatiniobserver.com/traditionalists-affirm-age-of-consent-remains-18/
15
wives, 30 kids, 100 servants: African king’s grand entourage locks down Abu Dhabi
airport
By Yati
Gupta, The National Bulletin (India), 6 October 2025
15 Wives, 30 Kids, 100 Servants: A
video of the entry of King Mswati III of Eswatini at Abu Dhabi Airport has
become viral on social media where the extravagant entourage of the monarch is
reported to have brought operations in three of the terminals to a temporary
halt.
The play was dramatized by the king
landing in a private jet with allegedly 15 wives, 30 children and approximately
100 servants, which is why the airport officials had to impose a short-term
lockdown to cope with the huge number of people that had never been seen
before.
The subject of the viral video is the
ruler of Swaziland, King Mswati III, who is the last absolute monarch left in
the whole of the African continent. The video was shot on July 10, 2025, and he
wears the traditional leopard-printed clothes, with his wives in colorful
African costumes around him.
His father, the late King Sobhuza II, used
to have a huge royal household and was said to have had over 70 wives, 210
children and almost 1,000 grandchildren. King Mswati III assumed power in 1986,
but he is said to have more than 30 wives and over 35 kids. Having a net worth
that is estimated to be over 1 billion, he is still one of the richest monarchs
in the world.
It was also reported that the visit of the
king in Abu Dhabi was to make high level economic discussions, yet it was the
show-boat-like demonstration that got the people into noticing the visit. The
half-dressed king is observed in the video to be bowed and saluted by his
entourage whilst the royal aides unload a huge assortment of luggage.
The users of social media responded
rapidly, with many of them making jokes that the entourage of the king
resembles a whole village. The show has also stirred criticism over his lavish
living with almost 60 per cent of the population of Eswatini living in poverty.
Every year, King Mswati has the
traditional ceremony of the Reed Dance whereby he will choose a new bride which
has remained a subject of fascination and controversy at the same time. The
fact that he has just been to the United Arab Emirates has again brought world
attention on his extravagance and the sharp contrast between his national
economic plight.
More
deportees from U.S. arrive in African nation of eSwatini
By The
Associated Press, 6 October 2025
MANZINI: A group of 10 migrants deported
from the United States arrived early Monday in the African nation of Eswatini,
authorities there said.
They are the latest of more than 40
deportees sent to Africa since July after the Trump administration struck
largely secretive agreements with at least five nations there to take migrants
under the new third-country deportation program that rights groups and others
have protested.
A lawyer for two of the latest deportees
told The Associated Press earlier on Monday that their flight had arrived in
the southern African kingdom after departing from Alexandria, Louisiana, and
stopping in Puerto Rico, Senegal and Angola.
Tin Thanh Nguyen, the U.S.-based lawyer,
said he represents two Vietnamese nationals who were on the flight. He said
they had been held at the Alexandria Staging Facility immigration detention
center in Louisiana. Nguyen said he tracked their flight with help from rights
group Human Rights First.
The Eswatini government confirmed in a
statement that 10 deportees had arrived and "have been securely
accommodated in one of the country's correctional facilities." It didn't
name them, give details on their nationalities or say where they are being
held. It said they were "in good health and undergoing admission
processes."
Four men from Cuba, Laos, Vietnam and
Yemen who were deported to Eswatini in mid-July have been held in the country's
maximum-security Matsapha prison without charge for nearly three months, their
lawyers have said. Nguyen represents two of those men.
The U.S. said the men sent to Eswatini in
July were convicted criminals who had deportation orders. A Jamaican man in
that first group was repatriated to his home country last month.
After the arrival of the latest deportees,
the Eswatini government said it "remains committed to the humane treatment
of all persons in its custody."
The four men have been allowed to make
phone calls to their families and lawyers in the U.S. However, authorities
haven't allowed an Eswatini-based lawyer to visit them. The lawyer won a court
ruling on Friday granting him access but the government immediately appealed,
blocking him from visiting them.
U.S. authorities have referred questions
over the men's treatment to officials in Eswatini, a small kingdom bordering
South Africa where the king holds absolute power and has been accused of
clamping down on pro-democracy movements.
To read more of this report, click
here
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/deportees-us-arrive-african-nation-eswatini-rcna235869
See also
eSwatini receives 10 third-country
deportees from US (Reuters)
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/06/africa/eswatini-deportees-united-states-intl-latam
eSwatini trades
prisoners intake for $5.1M border deal with US (AFP)
Mthandeni’s family waits,
release date unknown
By
Sibusiso Zwane, Times of eSwatini Sunday, 4 October 2025
NGWEMPISI: Former Ngwempisi Member of
Parliament (MP) Mthandeni Dube’s family, neighbours, and friends waited all day
long for his release yesterday, but in vain.
This publication visited e-Fakudze under
Ngwempisi Inkhundla and found a handful of men, including the former MP’s
neighbours and close friends, in the business area, which is about 800 metres
away.
When this publication approached them,
they revealed that they were there awaiting the arrival of their former MP, as
they had been told he was supposed to be released yesterday through a Royal
Pardon.
They also said that after they made plans
to host a prayer for him upon his arrival, the police warned them to call it
off for security reasons.
Consequently, they even posted on their
social media pages that the prayer had been cancelled for now due to security
reasons.
Therefore, they said they were there to
turn back people who might have wished to join the prayer session for their
former MP.
They said, luckily for them, it seemed the
message about the cancellation of the prayer successfully reached the people,
as no one showed up.
According to Dube’s neighbours and
friends, they arrived at the business centre at around 8am.
After seeing that nothing was happening
regarding his release, at around 11:50am, they decided to have a short prayer
at the former MP’s parental home. This, they said, was because Pastor Njabulo
Tfwala, whom they had asked to lead them in prayer when the former MP arrived,
had already made it there.
The prayer eventually started at around
12:30pm and lasted for about an hour. During the prayer, which was held in the
main house of the Dube family, Pastor Senzo Msibi, a close neighbour, said they
were hoping that by praying at that time, they would be praying together with
Dube. It is worth noting that Dube’s mother, Kesta (77), was among the family
members who joined the prayer.
Pastor Msibi said they should
continue with the prayer to thank the Lord for the good news they received that
Dube would be released from jail. He said they would sing praises to the Lord
with the hope that before the end of the day, Dube would be with them.
To read more of this report, click here
See also
MP Mthandeni Dube might not take-up
his SWALIMO Deputy President position as appointed by ‘Magawugawu’ after
release, political activists banned from attending his welcoming ceremony
(Swaziland News)
https://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=10201
Indian
police kills eSwatini University student merely for being ‘black’, eSwatini
Government urges emaSwati not to revenge against Indian citizens living in the
Kingdom
By
Musa Mdluli, Swaziland News, 5 October, 2025
MBABANE: Indian police allegedly killed
Sisonke Nkambule, a university student who was studying in the Asian country
merely because of his skin colour.
It has been disclosed that, the police
were searching for a theft suspect and the university student was found on the
streets, grabbed and dragged to the Police Station where he was detained and
heavily assaulted.
The university student was subsequently
released after it was discovered that he committed no crime but unfortunately,
he died a few days later due to serious injuries.
It is alleged that, the alleged racist
Indian cops grabbed Nkambule on suspicion that he was the one who committed the
crime because he came from Africa saying Africans are known for stealing.
Eswatini Foreign Minister Pholile
Dlamini-Shakantu released a statement on Saturday, confirming the death of the
student but, urged emaSwati to remain calm.
The Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation released the statement after emaSwati threatened Indians living in
eSwatini.
“We urge all citizens to remain calm and
avoid such incitement”, said the eSwatini Foreign Minister.
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