Swaziland
Newsletter No. 922 – 10 April 2026
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.
We won’t promote same sex marriages – King
By Joseph Zulu and Mlondzi Nkambule, Times Sunday,
5 April 2026
LOBAMBA: Should same-sex
marriages be allowed?
This was the question male
worshippers asked during the Easter service session yesterday, among three
topics they had chosen for discussion. It was also the same question presented
to His Majesty the King at the end of the session.
In response, the King,
speaking at Engabezweni Royal Residence where the service was held, declared
that Eswatini would not endorse practices he likened to those of biblical Sodom
and Gomorrah, reaffirming the country’s adherence to Christian values, cultural
traditions and moral teachings. When the King made this statement, the
worshippers responded with resounding applause, clapping in agreement and
shouting; “Wena wa Phakathi!”
The King made the remarks
during the Easter service gathering attended by church leaders from across the
country, where discussions centred on faith, family, morality and national
identity. His address, which formed the highlight of the event, followed earlier
submissions by senior church leaders who emphasised peace, unity and the
protection of Christian values.
“We will not promote Sodom and
Gomorrah,” the King said firmly, drawing reference to the biblical story as he
spoke against same-sex marriages, which he noted were being legalised and
encouraged in some parts of the world.
The Easter gathering, held in
a spirit of worship and reflection, brought together pastors and congregants
from around the country, who engaged in theological discussions and shared
teachings based on the Bible. They selected six topics but ultimately decided
on three, which were presented to His Majesty the King for final guidance.
The King commended the
initiative, saying it demonstrated love for God. He said Eswatini could not
have any other life without God and noted with appreciation that worshippers
from congregations across the country were in attendance. “Today we have seen large
churches from around the country. We are very happy. God will bless us for what
we are doing,” said the King.
He added that a day like this
allowed preachers to teach one another and that the Bible contains revelations.
“When you translate what it actually says, you begin to see the difference.
Some read the Bible like a novel or a bedtime story, but when pastors sit down
and discuss it, everything is explained properly,” said the King.
The King noted that the topics
discussed during the gathering were not only relevant locally, but also
reflected broader global debates, particularly around morality and social
values.
To read more of
this report, click here
See also
King Mswati
receives huge support for banning Gays and Lesbians in Eswatini, Swaziland News
story trending in SADC countries (Swaziland
News)
https://swazilandnews.co.za/articles/351
King reaffirms
stance against same-sex relations (eSwatini Observer)
https://eswatiniobserver.com/king-mswati-stance-same-sex-relations-eswatini/
Cabinet Ministers might support vote of no confidence
against Prime Minister Russell Dlamini amid division in Cabinet
By Zweli Martin
Dlamini, Swaziland News, 6 April 2026
MBABANE: Thulisile Dladla, the
Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) might soon act as the Prime Minister amid a looming
vote of no confidence against PM Russell Mmiso Dlamini who stands accused of
corruption, undermining the authority of Parliament and dividing Cabinet thus
delaying service delivery in the country.
It has been disclosed that,
Members of Parliament (MPs) are already holding meetings, lobbying against the
PM whose fallout with Parliament escalated after he attempted to interfere with
the budgeting process while disregarding the functioning of State institutions
but, the Finance Committee led by Lobamba Lomdzala Member of Parliament (MP)
Marwick Khumalo quickly intervened and stopped the PM from messing-up the
National Budget.
Appointed MP Prince Lindani, Princess Nkosungumenzi, Hhukwini MP Alec Lushaba,
Deputy Speaker Madala Mhlanga and Nhlambeni MP Manzi Zwane are among the
members of Finance Committee who stopped the Prime Minister from manipulating
the National Budget, preventing what was to become a National budgeting crisis.
But the Prime Minister
subsequently ran to Senate seeking Senators intervention in overruling the
House of Assembly, however, the learned Attorney General (AG) Sifiso Mashampu
Khumalo subsequently told Senators that, the House of Assembly “has more powers
when it comes to issues of the National Budget”.
As a result, a few days later
King Mswati signed the Appropriation Bill of 2026 into law after the House of
Assembly passed the National Budget, submissions made by some Senators
including Princess Ncengencenge were ignored after the AG provided legal advice
suggesting that, Senators have no power to change the National Budget passed by
the House of Assembly.
To read more of
this report, click here
https://swazilandnews.co.za/articles/371
See also
Cracks In Cabinet:
How ministers have publicly challenged PM (eSwatini Observer)
https://eswatiniobserver.com/cabinet-divisions-ministers-challenge-pm-eswatini/
PM Russell Mmiso
Dlamini secretly takes flight to Johannesburg to allegedly meet his Lesotho
Advisors on democratically elected Prime Minister (Swaziland
News)
https://swazilandnews.co.za/articles/342
MPS demand law to stop elderly land evictions
By Ntombi Mhlongo, Times of eSwatini, 9 April
2026
EZULWINI: MPs have called on
government to introduce stricter laws to protect elderly citizens from being
dispossessed of their land under the guise of farm ownership, as well as from
losing their properties in urban areas due to unpaid rates.
This happened yesterday during
a workshop on the ratification of international legal instruments, held at
Happy Valley Hotel.
Mbabane East Member of
Parliament (MP) Welcome Dlamini highlighted provisions within the protocol
aimed at safeguarding the welfare of older persons, including the need for
pensions and broader social protection services.
He suggested that the Deputy
Prime Minister’s (DPM) Office could take the lead in implementing an indigent
policy, particularly by establishing a comprehensive database of elderly
citizens.
“We need accurate data on
elderly persons so that they can benefit from these protections,” said Dlamini.
“Many are struggling to pay
municipal rates, which often results in their properties being auctioned. There
should either be exemptions or a special rating system tailored for them.”
Gege MP Magesi Dlamini echoed
similar concerns, noting that while government efforts to build houses for the
elderly were commendable, more needed to be done to address food insecurity.
“Some of these elderly people
are dying of hunger. We need to consider introducing community kitchens (emadladla),
similar to those established for children, to ensure they have access to basic
nutrition,” he said.
He further emphasised the need
for stronger legislative measures following the ratification of the legal
instruments, particularly in addressing urban property rates and ensuring
adequate social protection.
MP Magesi also raised concerns
about the current social grant system, questioning whether it was equitable.
“There are individuals
earning substantial incomes who are still receiving social grants. We need to
review such issues to ensure fairness and proper allocation of resources,” he
said.
Additionally, he called for
laws that would compel employed individuals to support their elderly parents,
arguing that neglect of older family members was a growing concern.
“Parents are often left
to care for grandchildren without sufficient support. While they do so out of
love, they suffer because their children fail to provide for them,” he added.
During the discussions, some
MPs argued that ratifying international legal instruments would have a limited
impact if they did not translate into tangible benefits for the elderly.
 |
Mbabane East MP Welcome Dlamini makes a submission at the workshop
To read more of
this report, click here
Cambodian deported by US faced ‘misery’ in eSwatini
prison
AFP, 7 April 2026
PHNOM PENH: A Cambodian
refugee long-settled in the United States, ex-convict Pheap Rom, remains
bewildered at how he wound up behind bars in the African nation of Eswatini for
months after being swept up in Donald Trump’s deportation blitz.
When Rom and nine other men — shackled and escorted onto a plane by US
authorities — landed in the kingdom of Eswatini in October, they were greeted
on the tarmac by a squad of “military guys with guns and masks,” the
43-year-old said.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” he told AFP in an interview in the
Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, where he was repatriated in late March.
“I didn’t understand why I was being deported to Africa because I’m Cambodian.”
Rom is one of around 20 men the United States has deported to landlocked
Eswatini — bordering South Africa and Mozambique — under a Trump administration
scheme challenged in courts and described by rights advocates as akin to “human
trafficking.”
Eswatini, Africa’s last absolute monarchy, is among several “third countries”
accepting migrants under shadowy deals enabling the US president’s push for
mass deportations.
The nation formerly known as Swaziland agreed to accept up to 160 deportees in
exchange for around $5.1 million, with plans to forward them to their home
countries after Washington said their direct repatriations were denied.
But Rom — living in the United States with “permanent resident” status since
1985 after his family fled Cambodia’s genocidal Khmer Rouge regime — is just
the second to be repatriated from Eswatini, after a Jamaican was returned home
last year.
The remainder may still be trapped inside the deportation process, opaque even
to those inside it.
Rom served a 15-year prison
sentence in the United States after pleading guilty to attempted murder for
firing a gun during two neighborhood disputes, leaving several people wounded.
“I know what I did was wrong,” he said. “I accepted my punishment.”
He was detained by immigration authorities upon his release in November 2024,
and his green card was revoked after an immigration judge ordered his
deportation due to his felony conviction.
He expected to be sent to Cambodia. But landing in Eswatini was like turning
back the clock to his prison term, Rom said.
His jailers seemed unaware that the men had served their time and looked at
them as if they were “criminals because of what the (US) administration was
portraying us to be.”
For the first two months at the Matsapha Correctional Center, Rom said he and
fellow deportees “went through misery” — allowed outdoors for only 15 minutes a
day and given one weekly phone call.
“We had an attorney there that was willing to try to come and talk to us, but
they weren’t letting that attorney in,” he said.
Lawyers in Eswatini have corroborated his claim to AFP, saying they have been
repeatedly denied access to people expelled by the United States who have been
detained without charge.
Eswatini’s government has said US deportees were “in good hands” and receiving
health care, including counselling.
To read more of
this report, click here
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2639101/world
How a single administrative error sparked 10 months of
critical medication shortages in eSwatini
By Subusiso Dlamini, Daily Maverick (South
Africa), 8 April 2026
Eswatini’s medicine crisis
deepened after a Ministry of Health administrative lapse caused critical
medication shortages, leaving patients without the necessary treatments for
pain and mental health conditions.
Records and insider testimony
from Eswatini’s main pharmaceutical supplier have revealed how a simple,
avoidable administrative error by the government in 2023 probably led to a
months long stockout of several critical medicines.
Following the error, the
Ministry of Health suspended Fortunate Bhembe, the only official empowered to
authorise controlled medicine imports, without preparing for the resulting
disruption to the supply chain.
Leaked high-schedule stock
cards from SwaziPharm — the Eswatini government's primary pharmaceutical
supplier — reveal a dire shortage of essential medications between February and
November 2024. During this period, stock levels for critical drugs used to
manage pain, epilepsy, and psychiatric conditions remained at zero.
To read more of this report, click here
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