Swaziland
Newsletter No. 948 – 16 October 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.
eSwatini Parliament’s vigorous debate calls upon Government to take over public transport or subsidize
By Zweli Martin Dlamini, Swaziland News, 12 October 2026
MBABANE: Eswatini, a tiny Kingdom where
about 70% of the population lives below the poverty line has already started
experiencing the negative impact of the ongoing United States-Israel war
against Iran that triggered a surge in fuel prices, resulting to an increase in
the costs of basic commodities.
Proposed bus fares increase has started to
dominate the public discourse as Parliament debates the issue and this, comes
as public transport owners struggle to sustain their businesses amid the ever
increasing costs of fuel.
Senator Lorraine Nxumalo suggested that,
just like in other countries, Government must consider taking over the public
transport industry and provide buses, kombis and shuttles at affordable prices.
“In other countries, Government is fully
involved in the operations of the public transport industry and our Government
must consider doing the same or subsidize the industry”, she said.
King’s appointee Senator Princess
Ncengencenge warned about a looming chaos and surge in suicide cases amid
frustration triggered by financial challenges, the Senator said a majority of
emaSwati are financially broke and cannot afford the bus fares surge.
“We might see an increase in suicide cases
as a result of frustration, the issue of public transport fares is very serious
and does not only affect the owners but all emaSwati and other businesses
outside the transport industry”, said the Senator.
But some Members of Parliament (MPs) in
the House of Assembly supported other MPs who run public transport businesses.
Manzini Regional MP Thandeka Mavuso and
Sigwe MP David Cruizer Ngcamphalala expressed full support for the proposed bus
fares increase, citing high costs of running public transport businesses and
surge in fuel prices.
See also
Should Govt subsidise buses to keep
fares affordable? (eSwatini Positive News)
https://eswatinipositivenews.online/should-govt-subsidise-buses-to-keep-fares-affordable/
Pastors
take GBV fight to the streets, call for a peaceful eSwatini
By
Noxolo Dlamini, eSwatini Positive News, 10 October 2026
PIGG’S PEAK: Church leaders took a strong
stand against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), marching from the Pigg’s Peak Post
Office to the Church of God of Prophecy in a call for the nation to unite
against the killing of women and children.
The march was aimed at raising awareness
about GBV and encouraging citizens across the country to reject all forms of
violence, as pastors called for a peaceful society where women and children can
live without fear.
Goodwill Tsabedze pastor at the Church of
God of Prophecy, Ndzingeni Branch, said the initiative was intended to
sensitise the entire nation about gender-based violence, noting that public
awareness was important in building a peaceful country.
Tsabedze said initiatives of this nature
could contribute towards achieving peace by encouraging people to recognise the
seriousness of GBV and take a united stand against it.
The march provided church leaders with an
opportunity to communicate their position on violence and call on communities
to become part of the efforts to address the problem.
The pastors condemned the killing of women
and children, highlighting the need to protect vulnerable members of society
and promote respect for human life.
GBV remains a concern that requires
cooperation among families, communities, churches and other stakeholders.
Raising awareness is one way of encouraging people to speak out against abuse,
support victims and challenge behaviours that contribute to violence.
Churches also have an important role to
play in community awareness by using their platforms to promote peace, respect
and responsible behaviour. Through their congregations and outreach activities,
religious leaders can encourage people to reject violence and support those
affected by abuse.
The march in Pigg’s Peak therefore served
as a call for collective responsibility, urging citizens not to remain silent
in the face of violence against women and children.
The route from the Post Office to the
Church of God of Prophecy carried the message of the church leaders into the
community, reinforcing their call for a society that values and protects every
life.
As the pastors continue to advocate
against GBV, their message remains clear: ending violence requires awareness,
unity and a commitment from every member of society to promote peace.
See also
‘No to GBV!’ church leaders call for
an end to killing of women and children (eSwatini Positive News)
Politicians
say no to forfeiting gifts
By
Ntombi Mhlongo, Times of eSwatini, 14 October 2026
SIBEBE: Members of Parliament (MPs),
including Cabinet ministers, have expressed strong reservations about the
proposed legislation that would require them to declare and forfeit gifts
valued at E5 000 or more.
This transpired during the MPs’ retreat at
Sibebe Resort, where the Eswatini Commission on Human Rights and Public
Administration/Integrity presented the Leadership Code of Conduct Bill, 2025,
which seeks to regulate the conduct of public officers, including
parliamentarians.
The proposed legislation sets out
restrictions on the acceptance of gifts, donations and hospitality by public
officers, with the argument being that these could influence their official
duties or decisions.
Under the Bill, gifts, donations or
commissions received by public officers in their official capacity would not
automatically become their personal property.
Instead, such items would be regarded as
belonging to government or the organisation represented by the recipient, with
the official required to declare them to the relevant institution.
The Bill specifically states that public
officers should not directly or indirectly accept property, gifts or
hospitality valued at E5 000 or above where these are likely to influence them
to perform certain favours.
For MPs, it was explained during the
retreat that gifts falling within the provisions would have to be declared and
forfeited to Parliament.
However, the proposals did not appear to
sit well with some legislators, who were heard grumbling as the presentation
progressed. Some openly suggested that the Bill would never see the light of
day.
The session also brought to the fore the
cultural significance of gift-giving in Eswatini, with MPs arguing that
receiving gifts, including livestock, was a longstanding practice in their
communities.
It was explained that traditional leaders
could receive gifts as part of Eswatini culture, while pastors could also be
given gifts by members of their congregations.
Some MPs revealed that they had received
goats and cattle on numerous occasions, with a few joking that the number of
animals they had accumulated had forced them to build kraals. Before the MPs
made their submissions, Speaker of the House of Assembly Jabulani Mabuza
clarified that the Bill had been tabled in Parliament but had not yet been
passed into law.
To read more of this report, click
here
https://times.co.sz/46322/news/politicians-say-no-to-forfeiting-gifts/
PS
Naniki seeks MPs’ guidance on female pupils’ trousers ban
By
Sabelo Majola, eSwatini Observer, 15 October 2026
The ministry of education and training is
seeking guidance from Parliament on whether to review the 2017 school uniform
policy or continue implementing it in its current form, particularly on the ban
of trousers at schools.
Principal Secretary Naniki Mnisi said this
while addressing Members of Parliament (MPs) during the second day of their
three-day retreat at Sibebe Resort yesterday.
Mnisi acknowledged that Emaswati have
constitutional rights, including freedom of expression, but these rights should
be exercised responsibly and should not undermine the rights of others.
She said every school fell under a
chieftaincy and that pupils were expected to observe a standard of dresscode
that respected the country’s traditions and way of life.
The PS said it was customary for locals to
dress decently when visiting places such as royal kraals and argued that the
same respect should be observed at schools.
She clarified that the ministry’s position
did not mean it was encouraging female pupils to wear short skirts simply
because trousers were not permitted. Instead, she said parents and guardians
had a responsibility to ensure that children were properly and decently
dressed.
Mnisi said the ministry was concerned
about the safety of pupils, particularly girls, alleging that some men viewed
those dressed inappropriately as targets for their sexual desires rather than
as pupils whose futures needed to be protected.
She said these men included teachers,
workers in the transport industry and others. The PS said the ministry could
not fold its arms and do nothing while pupils faced the risk of sexual abuse,
adding that some eventually became rape victims.
Mnisi further clarified that the dresscode
was not her personal policy but a government policy dating back to 2017. She
said the policy had been deliberately developed with relevant education
stakeholders before receiving Cabinet approval.
According to Mnisi, she was simply an
instrument of government tasked with implementing its policies and was not
imposing her personal beliefs on schools. She said she should therefore not be
regarded as being ‘offside’ for enforcing the policy, as some people had
concluded. Instead, she said, any criticism of the policy should be directed at
government, which had approved it.
“We have just celebrated the Teachers Day
recently where each selected school won a prize of E5 000 for dressing
decently. That is what we encourage as a ministry. We want to see pupils
dressed properly and decently,” she said.
Mnisi also pointed to school uniform
practices in other Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries,
saying pupils wore uniforms that covered their knees and were presentable. She
said the ministry wanted similar standards to prevail locally.
However, Mnisi acknowledged that there had
been informal feedback suggesting that many parents and guardians wanted their
children to be allowed to dress as they considered fit and proper. She said the
ministry could not do much about that without further guidance from Parliament,
on whether the existing policy should be reviewed or maintained. The ministry
recently moved to stop the adoption of trousers as part of the official school
uniform, with Mnisi warning headteachers against deviating from the existing
policy.
See also
Ministry bans trousers for female
pupils (eSwatini Observer)
https://www.eswatiniobserver.com/ministry-bans-trousers-for-female-pupils/
Taiwan
again rolls out the red carpet for an authoritarian monarch for National Day
By
Brian Hioe, New Bloom (Taiwan), 14 October 2026
King Mswati III of Eswatini was recently
in Taiwan for National Day. As a result, the red carpet was once again rolled
out for the authoritarian monarch, who presides over Africa’s last absolute
monarchy, by the Lai administration.
In particular, apart from Mswati III’s
presence at National Day, President Lai Ching-te and Mswati III visited Taiwan’s Air Force
Command. Lai touted support from Mswati III on establishing the Taiwan
Industrial Innovation Park, as well as Eswatini’s role as Taiwan’s gateway into
Africa. Eswatini is Taiwan’s only remaining diplomatic ally in Africa.
Ties between Eswatini and the Lai
administration have been in the spotlight in recent years, especially after a dramatic visit
to the country by Lai. In May, a planned trip by the Taiwanese president
for King Mswati III’s 58th birthday and the 40th anniversary of his accession
to the throne was abruptly canceled.
This occurred because countries that Lai
would have passed over on his flight to Eswatini, Madagascar, Mauritius, and
the Seychelles revoked
overflight permissions shortly before Lai was to set out. This was largely
interpreted as China flexing its muscles in terms of its influence in Africa,
with the Lai administration suggesting that China threatened to revoke debt
cancellation for Madagascar, Mauritius, and the Seychelles if they did not
comply.
Lai still later traveled to Eswatini
aboard Mswati III’s private aircraft. This took place with Lai abruptly
traveling to Eswatini, then only announcing that he had arrived after the fact.
Presumably, this was to minimize the space for China to react. Lai arrived in
Eswatini by traveling on King Mswati III’s personal aircraft, a former China
Airlines plane that was sold to the monarch in 2015. Lai later returned on the
same aircraft, taking a winding route that tested the operational limits of the
plane, but similar to the route taken by then-US Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi during her August 2022 trip to Taiwan.
Still, one notes that–as is broadly the
case with Taiwan’s diplomatic relationship with Eswatini–there was little
criticism of Eswatini’s record on human rights afterward. Eswatini is an
absolute monarchy. The constitution was voided in 1973, and political
parties were banned, as a result of which free and fair elections still do
not take place in Eswatini today. Although Mswati agreed to constitutional
changes in 2005, he retains his grip on power. Under Mswati III’s rule, life
expectancy has halved in Eswatini since 2000.
Pro-democracy protests rocked Eswatini in
the summer of 2021, with the public calling for the right to vote. In the
violence that followed, 28 were shot, with
demonstrators alleging that at least twenty were killed. Tear gas was used by
police against demonstrators, and Internet services were suspended, with a
curfew declared in major urban centers, in which buildings were burned during
the turmoil, including Manzini and Mbabane, as well as the industrial center of
Matsapha.
Much as occurred during Taiwan’s
authoritarian period, Eswatini also sees the killing of dissidents. In 2023,
opposition politician Thulani Maseko was
killed by unknown gunmen in a shooting widely suspected of being ordered by
the monarchy. Maseko was a human rights lawyer and public intellectual. At the
time, Mswati III stated, “People should not shed tears and complain about
mercenaries killing them,” implying that he had ordered the killing.
Nevertheless, after the demonstrations,
Taiwan announced that it would be donating 637 million NT to the government for
reconstruction–an act that makes it complicit in the government’s crackdown on
the protests. Either way, Taiwan simply chose to act as though the protests had
never occurred.
Indeed, in spite of its human rights
violations, Taiwan has continued to blithely engage in trade relations with
Eswatini. And Mswati III’s visit to Taiwan and plans for the Taiwan Industrial
Innovation Park are the latest such example. Still, in the absence of
international criticism of Taiwan’s ties to Eswatini, there will be little
incentive for the government to make any changes.
See also
Taiwan is a diplomatic ghost the
world can’t ignore for much longer (The Observer, UK)
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