Swaziland Newsletter No. 899 – 17
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.
MPs
want vetting process before marriage
By
Sabelo Majola, Times of eSwatini, 15 October 2025
MBABANE: Members of Parliament (MPs) want
a legislation that will necessitate the vetting of individuals before they
commit to a marriage.
This call comes after the legislators
expressed worry with the high number of divorces reflected in the Ministry of
Home Affairs Second Quarter Performance Report.
In the period between July 2025 and
September 2025, 196 divorces were registered at the ministry. This shows a
decline of 26 per cent, compared to 247 that were registered in the first
quarter. Early last year, this newspaper reported that in just one year,
registered divorce cases increased by 70 per cent, according to the Annual
Vital Statistics Report 2023.
It was reported that among both sexes,
divorces occurred between the age groups of 30 and 34 and 40 and 44 years.
According to the report, most brides got divorced between the ages of 35 and
39, while grooms retired from their matrimonial unions between 40 and 44 years.
At the backdrop of these figures, MPs want a policy that will look into the
readiness of couples, considering such things as financial stability, age of
consent and if families of the couple have given a green light to their union,
among other things.
To read more of this report, click here
See also
Easy marriages a major cause of
rising divorce rate (eSwatini Observer)
https://eswatiniobserver.com/easy-marriages-a-major-cause-of-rising-divorce-rate/
Over
46 girls sexually violated in 3 months
By Kwanele Sibiya, eSwatini
Observer, 13 October 2025
Over 46 young girls aged
between zero and 17 years have been sexually violated in Eswatini in the past
three months.
This was revealed by Swatini
Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) Executive Director Nonhlanhla Dlamini, who
expressed deep concern over the rising number of child abuse cases, especially
those involving sexual violence.
“In the last three months
(from July to September), we received over 46 cases of children that have been
sexually violated. The cases involve children aged between zero to nine, 10–14,
and 16–17,” Dlamini said on Friday during a press briefing held at SWAGAA
offices.
She said despite extensive
advocacy on child protection and gender-based violence (GBV), the scourge
continues unabated.
Dlamini further criticised the
justice system, alleging that it was failing to protect child victims.
She said it was painful that
children, the future generation, were being abused while the system appeared
indifferent.
“It is disheartening that the
very justice system that should protect them seems not to be doing anything
about it,” she said.
Meanwhile, Youth Sustainable
Development Centre Director Nokuthula Mamba said society was normalising
discriminatory cultural norms, leaving many young people without a voice.
To read more of
this report, click here
https://eswatiniobserver.com/over-46-girls-sexually-violated-in-3-months/
See also
Daily horror: Children face rising
wave of sexual abuse (Times of eSwatini)
Fine foreigners for impregnating
girls – MP (eSwatini Observer)
https://eswatiniobserver.com/fine-foreigners-for-impregnating-girls-mp/
Police take strong stand against
sexual abuse of children (eSwatini Positive News)
https://eswatinipositivenews.online/police-takes-strong-stand-against-sexual-abuse-of-children/
Public
safety concerns grow as eSwatini accepts more US-deported criminals
By
Taschica Pillay, Independent on line (South Africa), 12 October 2025
Human rights organisations and legal
experts have expressed outrage over eSwatini’s continued acceptance of deported
prisoners from the United States (US).
South Africa’s neighbouring country has
become a destination for criminals, some convicted of murder, child rape, and
gang-related activities.
This week 10 more criminals arrived in
eSwatini, following the first group of five in July.
It has been reported that the
country agreed in May to accept up to 160 deportees in exchange for $5.1
million to “build its border and migration management capacity”, according to a
deal signed with the United States and seen by AFP, an international news
agency.
Mzwandile Masuku, human rights lawyer and
executive director of the Swaziland Litigation Centre, expressed apprehensions
about eSwatini’s ability to manage these deportees effectively.
He pointed out the country’s ongoing
struggles with escapes from correctional facilities and highlighted the porous
nature of the borders between eSwatini and its neighbours.
“This poses a serious regional issue
especially in view of the fact that eSwatini is a small country in the region
and the big economies might prove the best destination.
“We have porous borders between states,
which cut across families and domestic farming land,” he said.
In July US President Donald Trump’s
administration sent five men, immigrants from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and
Cuba. They were convicted of child rape, murder, burglary, and being gang
members and whose countries refuse to take them back.
In a statement issued by His Majesty’s
Correctional Services this week, they confirmed the arrival of 10 third country
nationals from the US.
“These nationals have been securely
accommodated in one of the country’s correctional facilities, as the government
continues to collaborate with relevant local and international stakeholders to
facilitate their orderly repatriation.
“We further reiterate the government’s
assurance that the individuals pose no immediate threat to public safety, as
they remain under strict supervision and care within the Department’s
facilities,” read the statement.
Abigail Jackson, the White House
spokesperson reportedly said, those deported to eSwatini had been convicted of “heinous
crimes”, including murder and rape. “They do not belong in the US”, said
Jackson.
Willem Els, the Institute for Security
Studies senior training coordinator of the ENACT (Enhancing Africa’s Response
to Transnational Organised Crime) programme, said should these criminals break
out they will look for an opportunity to get into South Africa and disappear in
the crowd because of the lack of policing and enforcement.
“With our porous borders, it is not just
lack of border security, the weakest link is corruption.
“The US wants to get rid of these
migrants. We don’t know what agreement was made, except that a lot of money is
being paid and these men have become eSwatini’s problem. The question is will
they be able to keep them locked in a maximum security facility and for how
long? asked Els.
This week’s arrival of deportees comes as
several rights groups including Swaziland (eSwatini) Litigation Centre,
Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre
(SALC) await the decision an urgent court application to stop the acceptance of
the criminals.
To read more of this report, click here
PUDEMO
President Mlungisi Makhanya says by reminding Prime Minister that he is not the
Head of Government, MP Welcome Dlamini confirmed King Mswati as an absolute
Monarch
By
Musa Mdluli, Swaziland News, 14 October, 2025
MBABANE: Mlungisi Makhanya, the President
of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) says, Mbabane East Member
of Parliament (MP) Welcome Dlamini has confirmed King Mswati as an absolute
Monarch by reminding Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini that, he is not the
Head of Government.
“The Prime Minister is not the Head of
Government but the King as the Head of State, is the Head of Government. This
tendency of addressing the PM as the Head of Government must stop because he
will continue to develop a political appetite seeking to control other Arms of
the Government,” said the MP inside Parliament on Tuesday.
Responding to this Swaziland News
when asked to analyse MP Dlamini’s Parliament submissions, the PUDEMO President
said, “it was so accurate that the Prime Minister is not the Head of Government”
but, a Chairman of Cabinet in terms of the eSwatini Constitution.
“In this country, the King is the Head of
everything and an absolute Monarch, so MP Welcome Dlamini must also remind the
Speaker that he is not the Head of Parliament, the Head of Parliament is the
King who is also the Head of the Judiciary. So basically, the King is the Head
of everything in this country and that’s why we are demanding a democratic
Government”, said the PUDEMO President.
See also
‘You are not the Head of Government’,
MP Welcome Dlamini tells Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini (Swaziland News)
http://swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=10293
‘We need to open the
gates of freedom of expression,’ says Makhubu
By Adekunle
Owolabi, Independent News (eSwatini), 15 October 2025
MBABANE: In his Career Chat column
for Khuluma Eswatini, Bheki Makhubu writes about growing concern as reports
show schoolchildren in Eswatini are abandoning their public examinations to
join the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) recruitment exercise.
The army’s annual drive, aimed at
strengthening national security and providing employment opportunities for
youth, coincides this year with Form III and Form V external examinations,
raising alarm among educators and parents.
Some pupils meeting the minimum age
requirement have temporarily left their exams to run the 3.2-kilometre
qualifying race for army selection. While there are no reports of permanent
dropout, the decision to prioritise recruitment over final exams signals a
troubling shift in values.
Eighteen-year-old Nobuhle Mbhamali from
Ndunayithini, a Junior Certificate candidate at Oslo High School, participated
in the recruitment under Sigwe Inkhundla. She told the media: “Nowadays, there
is no difference whether you’re educated or not. Everyone comes back to stay at
home because of unemployment. I’ve been offered a job opportunity, and I will
grab it.”
Makhubu noted that such attitudes reflect
growing frustration among emaSwati youth who feel education no longer
guarantees a better future amid high unemployment, especially for graduates.
“True, we live in very tough economic
times where jobs are scarce, but to allow our children to give up on education
is not the solution to the country’s myriad of problems,” Makhubu wrote. He
added that in a society that values education, students like Nobuhle would
complete school before seeking army employment.
He called for a national dialogue
involving experts in education, economics, and social development to address
this decline in educational value. “In a normal society, this spectre of
children opting to drop out of school to join the army at the tail end of their
educational journey would be a red flag that requires its own national
dialogue,” he said.
 |
Bheki Makhubu |
To read more of this report, click
here
Judiciary
warns MP against contempt
By
Kwanele Dlamini, Times of eSwatini, 10 October 2025
MBABANE: The Judiciary has advised
Hhukwini MP Alec Lushaba to stop insulting its members or risk facing contempt
proceedings.
According to a statement issued by the
Judiciary yesterday, if the Member of Parliament (MP) does not cease his ‘political
agenda and insults’ against it, the Judiciary will consider all legal remedies
available to defend its reputation, including contempt of court charges.
The Judiciary states that in Parliament on
Wednesday, Lushaba made ‘false and misleading’ statements to the effect that it
(the Judiciary) lied to members of the public that the Judicial Inquiry into
the Master’s Office was effectual when nothing was being done.
Lushaba also allegedly stated that the
Judiciary lied to the public that the terms and conditions of the judicial
officers were being attended to when, according to him, nothing is being done.
In its statement, the Judiciary refuted
the truthfulness of the submissions made by the MP and asserted that Lushaba
reportedly has an inclination to attack it for, among other reasons, political
gain.
To read more of this report, click here
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