Swaziland Newsletter No. 904 – 21
November 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
is the first African country to get twice-yearly HIV prevention shot
The
Associated Press, 18 November 2025
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP): Eswatini on Tuesday became the
first African country to receive lenacapavir,
the first twice-yearly HIV prevention injection hailed by global health
officials as a game-changer in the fight against a virus that has killed tens
of millions of people across the continent.
Developed by Gilead Sciences, lenacapavir
has demonstrated near-total protection in clinical studies. Its rollout,
initially planned for 10 high-risk African countries, is part of the U.S.
President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR,
in partnership with the Global Fund. By 2027, the initiative aims to benefit at
least 2 million people in those countries.
Daniel O’Day, chair and CEO of Gilead
Sciences, described the Eswatini rollout as “extraordinary” because “it’s the
first time in history that a new HIV medicine is reaching a country in
sub-Saharan Africa in the same year as approval of the United States” and
because Eswatini “is the country with the highest incidence of HIV in the
world.” The U.S. approved the drug in June.
The United States, whose deep
cuts to foreign aid this year under President Donald Trump have
severely impacted Africa’s health programs, initially planned to distribute
250,000 doses this year to the 10 countries. Zambia also received its first
shipment Tuesday, while Gilead seeks regulatory authority in Botswana, Kenya,
Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
That was increased to 325,000 due to
“early demand signs,” Brad Smith, senior advisor for the Bureau of Global
Health Security and Diplomacy, told journalists.
The U.S. government has noted that over 25
million people across Africa are living with HIV.
In Eswatini, a tiny kingdom in southern
Africa, about 6,000 high-risk people are set to benefit from the drug’s initial
rollout, primarily to prevent HIV transmission from mothers to newborns. Home
to roughly 1.2 million people, Eswatini currently has over 200,000 people
living with HIV, with most receiving treatment funded by PEPFAR, Smith said.
To read more of this report, click here
United
Nations Human Rights Council Working Group condemns eSwatini Judiciary, Judge
Mumcy Dlamini’s ruling convicting pro-democracy MPs
By
Zweli Martin Dlamini, Swaziland News, 18 November, 2025
MBABANE: The ‘ruling’ delivered by the
United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Working Group has contextually
condemned the conviction of pro-democracy Members of Parliament (MPs) Bacede
Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube while ‘directing’ the eSwatini Government to release
them within six (6) months from the date of the ruling.
But King Mswati has released only one (1)
MP Mthandeni Dube after tricking him to apologise through Justice and
Constitutional Affairs Minister Prince Simelane, “efforts are being made by
Prince Lindani to convince MP Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza to apologize and be
released as well”.
The pro-democracy MPs were arrested and
subsequently slapped with politically motivated terrorism charges merely for
demanding democracy in the tiny Kingdom ruled by King Mswati as an absolute
Monarch.
But the King uses draconian laws to
suppress dissenting views and thrash calls for democratic reforms in a country
where political parties are banned, human rights defenders are arrested,
tortured or even killed for demanding democracy.
In its ruling dated 15th October 2025, the
United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group narrated the events leading
to the MPs conviction and further condemned the manner in which the matter was
handled by the eSwatini High Court.
“The source states that on 25 July 2021,
approximately 20 police officers arrested Mr. Dube in his home for allegedly
committing a terrorist act in breach of section 5 (1) of the Suppression of
Terrorism Act, 2008. A similar number of police officers arrested Mr. Mabuza
for contravening regulation 4 of the Disaster Management (Coronavirus COVID-19)
Regulations, 2020, after barricading the gate to his office and threatening to
shoot him unless he surrendered. According to the source, on 26 July 2021, the
two men were charged on the basis of the two aforementioned laws, for inciting
people to revolt against the State, which allegedly led to riots around the
country, causing loss of life, injuries and destruction of property. Mr.
Mabuza’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related charge was brought because on 5
June 2021, he had allegedly failed to keep a register and ensure the
sanitization of the participants of a meeting he had convened,” reads the
ruling in part.
To read more of this report, click here
http://swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=10616
See also
Authorities must unconditionally
release Mthandeni Dube and Bacede Mabuza (Amnesty International)
eSwatini
confirms receiving over $5m from US to accept deportees
Agence
France-Press (AFP), 17 November 2025
Eswatini has confirmed for the first time
that it had received more than $5m from the United States to accept dozens of
people expelled under Washington’s aggressive mass deportation drive.
The tiny southern African kingdom has
taken in 15 men since Donald Trump’s administration struck largely secretive
deals with at least five African countries to accept migrants under a
third-country deportation programme fiercely criticised by rights groups.
A document revealed by Human Rights Watch
in September and seen by AFP said Eswatini agreed to take 160 deportees in
exchange for $5.1m to “build its border and migration management capacity”.
Questioned in parliament about the
arrangement, the finance minister, Neal Rijkenberg, confirmed the government
had received the $5.1m.
“We were told it was for the US deportees
after we enquired,” he said, adding the ministry had been kept in the dark
throughout the process.
The first
group of five men arrived in July aboard a chartered US military
plane, with a second batch received
in early October.
Washington branded some of them “depraved
monsters” convicted of crimes including child rape and murder.
They are being held without charge in
Eswatini’s maximum-security Matsapha correctional centre, notorious for
detaining political prisoners, according to their lawyers.
To read more of this report, click here
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/17/eswatini-5-m-dollars-us-deportees
Painting hope: How eSwatini’s students
cultivate drought resilience through art
By Nate Engle, Lara
Loske-Garcia, Khulekani Msweli, Sarah A. Daggett, World Bank Blogs, 13 November
2025
Students at Ndabazezewe High School
in Eswatini arrange their canvasses to create a large mosaic mural. Photo:
Tribe Studios / World Bank
In
the village of Ngomane, Eswatini, behind the local primary school, sits a small
wetland. A hand-painted green flag, planted at the center of it, dances in the
breeze, announcing its presence and grandeur. A young girl in a green and white
gingham school smock stands beside this wetland, reciting a poem: “I am a
wetland, a treasure of grace. In the heart of Eswatini, my sacred space...
.”
This
performance, the flag, and other creative expressions—mosaic murals,
conservation flags, and “seed bombs”—were all part of the Art Never
Dries student workshops, a project funded by the World Bank Group and
co-designed with the government of Eswatini and Eswatini-based teaching artist
Khulekani Msweli. Together, we aimed to raise awareness and foster community
connections around the experience of drought in Southern Africa.
The
Kingdom of Eswatini is no stranger to drought, and in fact, its government has
been preparing for it over the past decade. In 2015-16, a historic drought
caused widespread destruction, consuming 19% of annual government expenditure,
a devastating 7% of the country’s GDP.
This
drought was a wake-up call for many countries in the region. But in Eswatini,
it sparked a transformative journey. The government, through the newly founded
National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), recognized the urgent need for a
proactive approach and launched one of the most comprehensive programs of
drought resilience investments on the continent. With the support of the World
Bank Group, through the Eswatini
Water Supply and Sanitation Access Project,
NDMA implemented a wide range of measures that are fortifying the country
against the potential risks of drought. The country has made significant
strides. From strengthening water infrastructure to developing a drought early
warning system that integrates indigenous knowledge and citizen science,
Eswatini is building a future where communities are better prepared for climate
shocks.
To
celebrate and amplify these efforts, we launched Art Never Dries, a
pilot community art project that invited students to creatively explore drought
resilience. During the five-day workshops, students at Ngomane Primary
School and Ndabazezwe High School participated in programming focused on water
conservation, traditional ecological knowledge, and the power of community
action. Community elders joined the workshops to share indigenous knowledge on
drought monitoring and resilience building, enriching the experience for
everyone involved.
The
final products are a sight to behold.
To
read more of this report, click here
SNAT demands increased
education funding
By
Joseph Zulu, eSwatini News, 15 November 2025
MBABANE: The Swaziland National
Association of Teachers (SNAT) has intensified its national campaign calling on
government to ‘Go Public, Fund Education’, arguing that years of stagnant
funding have pushed the country’s public schooling system into crisis.
Yesterday, teachers held a campaign
characterised by a march. They gathered at a busy junction on the
Mbabane–Manzini Highway, in the presence of police officers stationed at
various points in the town centre.
Teachers from all four regions — Hhohho,
Manzini, Shiselweni and Lubombo — assembled to voice frustration over what they
describe as chronic underfunding, poor infrastructure and declining learning
standards.
The teachers’ body initially gathered to
set out its demands before heading to the Ministry of Education and Training to
deliver a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The MoU was presented as a formal
statement of the sector’s collective grievances and expectations.
Speakers from regional branches painted a
grim picture of conditions in their schools. In Lubombo, SNAT members said
government had failed to keep pace with rising costs, insisting that increased
investment was long overdue. Representative Sifiso Mabuza said the sector had
been left behind for far too long, calling for “meaningful financial commitment
towards public education.”
In Manzini, Ntuthuko Mamba criticised
government for expecting teachers to carry out responsibilities that were not
matched with adequate funding. He noted that educators were being asked to
deliver elements of the new curriculum, including Cultural Arts, without the
resources required to teach them properly. “We cannot teach children to dance
if there is no funding for proper education,” he said.
From the Shiselweni Region came concerns
about widening inequalities across schools. Representatives warned that poor
funding risked forcing children out of school as institutions struggled to
cover basic operational costs. They also stressed the need for teachers to be
compensated fairly, saying current conditions were unsustainable.
The Hhohho Region echoed these concerns,
calling the situation a national and international issue. Speakers argued that
the country was lagging behind global education standards, with stagnating
funding failing to match escalating costs of commodities and school supplies.
The Swaziland Association of School
Administrators (SASA) added its voice, emphasising that many schools were
unable to pay support staff or maintain facilities. Recording Secretary Terence
Nxumalo said it was unacceptable that some schools functioned like businesses,
charging fees for services such as water because of insufficient government
allocations. He also noted disparities in Grade programmes, saying some schools
were at a disadvantage and urged government to standardise support.
Parents also joined the call for reform.
Cedric Chirwa, President of the Eswatini Schools Committee and Parents
Association (ESCAPA), said quality education is a constitutional right.
He criticised government for failing to
ensure equal access, noting that children of senior officials often attend well‑resourced
private schools while public institutions struggle.
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