Swaziland Govt. imposes curfew as prodemocracy protests grow and reports say ‘King has fled kingdom’

A curfew has been imposed across Swaziland (eSwatini) as prodemocracy protests intensify and unconfirmed reports say absolute monarch King Mswati III has fled the kingdom.

The Swazi Acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku announced on Tuesday (29 June 2021) there would be an immediate curfew between the hours of 6pm and 5am.

He said in a statement, ‘All offices must be closed by 3:30pm to allow workers to get home safely. Essential workers will be required to produce a permit when travelling at night. No one is expected to be in the streets after 6pm.’

Schools will be closed with immediate effect, he said.

Last Thursday Masuku, speaking on behalf of the King, banned all protest marches but they continued unabated.

There have been reports across the kingdom of violence between police and protestors. Live ammunition has been fired by police and there are reports across social media of injuries among protestors.

Swaziland is not a democracy. King Mswati rules as an absolute monarch. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections and the King chooses the Prime Minister and government cabinet ministers as well as top judges and civil servants. Groups advocating for democracy are outlawed under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.

In his statement, Masuku warned protestors, ‘Our security forces are on the ground to maintain law and order.’

On Tuesday morning the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation and other media outlets published unconfirmed reports that King Mswati had fled Swaziland.

See also

King Mswati reportedly flees Swaziland as prodemocracy protests intensify

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2021/06/king-mswati-reported-to-have-fled.html

 

Swaziland democracy protests continue despite ban and police violence

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2021/06/swaziland-democracy-protests-continue.html

 

Swaziland absolute monarch bans pro-democracy marches as protests against him mount

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2021/06/swaziland-absolute-monarch-bans-pro.html

King Mswati reportedly flees Swaziland as prodemocracy protests intensify

King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland (eSwatini), fled the kingdom after prodemocracy campaigners defied his order to stop protest marches, according to unconfirmed reports.

The South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported on Tuesday (29 June 2021) that he had left but details were ‘still sketchy’. It said thousands of people had taken to social media after reports that he had fled the kingdom ‘after pro-democracy protests turned into chaos’.

The Swaziland News, an online newspaper, reported the King ‘fled’ on Monday evening.

It said he had also ordered the arrest of two members of parliament who supported the protestors.

Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati as an absolute monarch. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections and the King chooses the Prime Minister and government cabinet ministers as well as top judges and civil servants. Groups advocating for democracy are outlawed under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.

Protestors have marched across the kingdom – mostly in rural areas – to deliver petitions at local government centres calling for widespread reforms. Among them is a demand they be allowed to elect the prime minister.

Themba Masuku, the Swazi Acting Prime Minister on Thursday speaking on behalf of the King, issued a ban on all protest marches but many went ahead over the weekend in defiance.

The Swaziland News reported on Tuesday, ‘It has been disclosed that the army was deployed to control the situation at Matsapha on Monday evening a few minutes after the King fled using his private jet. The soldiers immediately started opening fire and the exact number of causalities could not be ascertained at the time of compiling this report, protests are expected to intensify on Tuesday night with protestors targeting King Mswati and Government properties.’

It added, ‘An effort was made to contact King Mswati directly on his mobile phone for a comment after his Spokesperson Sabelo Dlamini avoided questions several times, however, both numbers of the King not available on the network at the time of compiling this report and his whereabouts remain unknown.’

Later on Tuesday, Acting Prime Minister Masuku issued a satement saying the King ‘is in the country’. He promised updates on the situation in the kingdom ‘as the day progresses.’

See also

Swaziland democracy protests continue despite ban and police violence

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2021/06/swaziland-democracy-protests-continue.html

 

Swaziland absolute monarch bans pro-democracy marches as protests against him mount

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2021/06/swaziland-absolute-monarch-bans-pro.html

Newspaper editor flees Swaziland for second time after arrest and police torture

Zweli Martin Dlamini, the editor of the Swaziland News, has fled Swaziland (eSwatini) for the second time after being arrested and tortured by police who accused him of sedition.

Dlamini told South Africa Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) Media Monitor programme on Sunday (8 March 2020) police raided his home after he published articles in the online newspaper that were critical of King Mswati III, who rules Swaziland as an absolute monarch.

Dlamini said police raided his home at about 5.30 am with a search warrant and took away his laptop and electronic gadgets. He said they took a photograph of his four-year-old son and asked which preschool he attended.

Dlamini was then taken to Mbabane police station where 20 officers were waiting for him. They questioned him about an article he wrote in the newspaper headlined ‘King Mswati’s speech is actually a lie from the throne’ which criticised the King’s speech at the opening of parliament on 31 January 2020. They also questioned him over an article: ‘Buganu: Who gave the King power to call our wives for a sex ceremony.’

Dlamini said in his interview, ‘They [police] said now that I am before them I must forget about my rights.’

Zweli Martin Dlamini 

He added, ‘They then suffocated me with a plastic bag. They tied me up.’

He was released after about eight hours. He told SABC he left Swaziland to get a medical check-up following the police assault. He said he did not feel safe to return to the kingdom.

He said he thought King Mswati had a hand in his arrest and the King had pressurised police to deal with him over his articles.

On 7 February 2020, The Swaziland News reported Dlamini was being harassed and receiving death threats from King Mswati’s first born daughter Princess Sikhanyiso, who is the  Minister of Information Communication and Technology.

Dlamini had previously fled to South Africa in fear of his life in 2018. He had received death threats from a local businessman and his newspaper Swaziland Shopping was shut down by the Swazi government.

See also

Exiled editor Zweli Martin Dlamini to return to Swaziland

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/11/exiled-editor-zweli-martin-dlamini-to.html

 

‘Editor flees after death threat’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/editor-flees-after-death-threat.html
 

Swazi Government forces newspaper to close

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/swazi-govt-forces-newspaper-to-close.html

SWAZI KING WRONG ON CONSTITUTION

King Mswati III, Swaziland’s absolute monarch, mislead when he told a television reporter that the constitution in his kingdom was the will of the people.

In fact at the time the 2005 constitution was being drafted, the International Bar Association, a group invited by King Mswati to make comments, called it ‘flawed’ and ‘a fraud’.

King Mswati said in an interview with the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) uploaded to the Internet on Monday (14 August 2017), ‘When we created the constitution, this constitution which went around the people of this country, every Swazi participated... was invited to come make a submission in terms of how you want to see your constitution of this country, even when the constitution was drafted before it was actually adopted.  It also was to give back to the nation, to read, and everyone was able to be given a chance to make submissions and to comment... this was a process that took some years, so we finally have a product of after nine years of consultation.’

He also said Swaziland was a democratic nation ‘in the sense that it is people driven. It is not a one person state. It is the people saying this is how we want to be governed.’

The King and his supporters have maintained for years that the Swazi Constitution is legitimate and the will of the people. However, the International Bar Association , a group of experienced lawyers, was called in by King Mswati III in 2003 to comment on the first draft of the constitution. It called the process ‘flawed’ and reported that one critic went so far as to call it a ‘fraud’.  The resulting report called Striving for Democratic Governance was stark in its criticism of both the process of ‘consultation’ on the constitution and the wording of the document itself.

One of the IBA’s main conclusions was that the ‘position and powers’ of some ‘stakeholders’ in Swaziland ‘including the Monarchy’ are in effect ‘actually placed above the Constitution and its principles’.

The IBA studied what was going on during the drafting process, which was controlled by the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC).

The CRC did not allow the judiciary or NGOs to contribute to the drafting process and ensured that individual Swazi people were interviewed in the presence of their chiefs. As a result the ‘overwhelming’ majority wanted the King to keep all his powers and wanted the position of traditional advisers to the King to be strengthened. They also wanted Swazi customs to have supremacy over any international rights obligations.

The IBA report states, ‘The terms of reference of the Commission did not allow expressly for group submissions, and as apparently they were not entertained, NGOs per se were effectively prevented from commenting. The IBA panel considers that, unfortunately, this in itself deprived the CRC of much valuable input.’

The IBA report goes on, ‘The CRC also faced a number of practical problems. There were disputes between local chiefs, collecting views during the rainy season in Swaziland was difficult, and several Commission members resigned.

‘The extent to which individual Swazis were consulted has also been questioned. The CRC did not keep records of the submissions it received and media coverage of submissions was apparently banned.

‘There is therefore no formal record of how Swazi citizens presented their views and of what in fact they said to the CRC.

‘Furthermore, information was elicited in a highly charged atmosphere. Individuals were reportedly asked, in the presence of chiefs, whether they wanted to retain the King and whether they preferred political parties.

‘The CRC report states that “there is a small minority which recommends that the powers of the monarchy must be limited” and continued that “an overwhelming majority of the nation recommends that political parties must be banned”.

‘The report concludes that “an overwhelming majority recommends that the system of Government based on the Tinkhundla must continue” and, as well as the ban on political parties being maintained, that the executive powers of the King should be maintained, the position of traditional advisers to the King strengthened, and Swazi customs have supremacy over any contrary international rights obligations.’

In November 2007 the Swaziland High Court ruled that documents pertaining to the drafting process could not be made available for public scrutiny, thereby allowing the ruling elite to maintain the fiction of full consultation.

Under the constitution the monarchy remains above the law and political parties are banned.

Many organisations have called for Swaziland’s constitution to be rewritten to make the kingdom more democratic.

In July 2008 the European Union declined an invitation to monitor the Swaziland national election later that year because, it said, it was clear the kingdom was not a democracy. Later, it suggested a wholesale review of the constitution was in order.

In November 2008 the Commonwealth Expert Team, which had monitored the election called for a review because the elections were not credible since political parties were banned in Swaziland. It said that the review ‘should be carried out through a process of full consultation with Swazi political organisations and civil society (possibly with the support of constitutional experts).’

After the most recent national election in 2013, the African Union (AU) mission that observed it called for fundamental changes in the kingdom to ensure people have freedom of speech and of assembly. The AU said the Swaziland Constitution guaranteed ‘fundamental rights and freedoms including the rights to freedom of association’, but in practice ‘rights with regard to political assembly and association are not fully enjoyed’. The AU said this was because political parties were not allowed to contest elections.

The AU urged Swaziland to review the Constitution, especially in the areas of ‘freedoms of conscience, expression, peaceful assembly, association and movement as well as international principles for free and fair elections and participation in electoral process’.

In 2015, following a visit to Swaziland, a Commonwealth mission renewed its call for the constitution to be reviewed so the kingdom could move toward democracy.

In its report on the 2013 elections, the Commonwealth observers recommended that measures be put in place to ensure separation of powers between the government, parliament and the courts so that Swaziland was in line with its international commitments.

They also called on the Swaziland Constitution to be ‘revisited’.

The report stated, ‘This should ideally be carried out through a fully inclusive, consultative process with all Swazi political organisations and civil society (needed, with the help of constitutional experts), to harmonise those provisions which are in conflict. The aim is to ensure that Swaziland’s commitment to political pluralism is unequivocal.’

It also recommended that a law be passed to allow for political parties to take part in elections, ‘so as to give full effect to the letter and spirit of Section 25 of the Constitution, and in accordance with Swaziland’s commitment to its regional and international commitments’.

See also

POLL OBSERVERS: REWRITE CONSTITUTION

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/10/poll-observers-rewrite-constitution.html

SWAZILAND PM CONSTITUTION LIES

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2010/05/swaziland-pm-constitution-lies.html

 

SWAZIS DID NOT CHOOSE POLITICAL SYSTEM

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/04/swazis-did-not-choose-political-system.html

SWAZILAND ‘READY TO ACCEPT SA LOAN’

South African Broadcasting (SABC) is reporting that Swaziland is ready to accept the conditions that will get it a R2.4 billion bailout loan.

SABC says unless Swaziland gets some money it will not be able to pay its civil servants salaries, ‘and may trigger a collapse of its public service’.

But the South African Treasury says Swaziland has not indicated whether it is ready to sign an agreement, and that its bailout conditions, which include making moves towards democracy remain unchanged.

The news came before it became clear that the Swazi Government cannot pay its salaries for November and proposes to delay payments for at least two weeks.

See also

PANIC AS SALARIES CUT NEWS LEAKS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/11/panic-as-salaries-cut-news-leaks.html

‘SWAZI REGIME UNRAVELS’: SDC

Swaziland Democracy Campaign

27 June 2011

Swazi Regime Starts to Unravel: The Democratic Movement Gathers Pace!

The Revolution Will Not Be Imported!

Once again the Trade Union Movement has taken the lead in pushing forward the democratic agenda in Swaziland. The protests that have unfolded this week, starting on June 22 led by the Swaziland National Association of Teachers, and joined by the Swaziland Federation of Labour and the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (soon to be merged into a single federation) have shown the crucial role of organised labour in challenging the regime.

Despite ruthless waves of repression over the last period, both in terms of draconian legislation and through the brutal activities of a bloated security apparatus, Swaziland comrades have refused to bow their heads. Workers, students, social movement activists and those from faith based organisations have maintained their organisational cohesion. They are deepening their reach into rural and less organised layers, and most importantly, they have courageously placed themselves at the service of the mass movement calling for an end to the corrupt and grossly inefficient Tinkhundla regime. In the face of the desperate antics of the regime, there is a coming together of still broader layers of activists, emboldened by the trade union movement, and many of them entering mass organisation for the first time, and still others who have been cautious about committing themselves to mass action.

And there are important lessons here for all those willing to support the democracy struggle in Swaziland. Drawing upon the experiences of the anti-apartheid movement and more recently, the momentous upheavals in Egypt and elsewhere, a key lesson is this, the revolution will not be imported! The revolution in Swaziland will be created, lead and developed by the people of Swaziland themselves. That is why; all those in solidarity with the democracy struggle must do all that they can to build the organisations on the ground. To respect their assessment of the balance of forces, and through a positive engagement, ensure that their solidarity activity complements their activity in Swaziland itself. It is this approach that guides the work of the SDC, and which is helping to strengthen the democratic movement.

Defend Those on the Frontline! Free All Prisoners, Drop the Phoney Charges!

As the excellent Special Assignment episode on Swaziland indicated, there are many comrades languishing in the rotten prisons cells of the regime. The programme exposed how Maxwell Dlamini, Musa Ngubeni, Zonke Dlamini, Bheki Dlamini and Amos Mbedzi are all being held, in appalling conditions, without access to their loved ones, or unhindered legal representation. Last week, well known SDC activist Mancoba Nxumalo was arrested and charged under the notorious Prisons Act, reputedly for helping to facilitate parts of the Special Assignment programme. After word of his arrest spread across the world, he was released, but faces very serious charges.

Clearly, the continuing detention of comrades and the charges being faced by others is designed to intimidate the popular movement, but the reverse is happening. The campaign for the release of all of these comrades, and for the dropping of the ludicrous charges against all activists is a priority, and we call upon all those who can, to politically and financially contribute to the legal defence of these comrades.

No Financial Bail-Out Without Democratic Control!

The continuing financial crisis in Swaziland has thrown into sharp relief the economic mismanagement and chronic corruption that has characterised the regime to date. This is a regime that has squandered and stolen the nations resources, and is now reduced to going with a begging bowl to South Africa having been rejected by even the conservative forces of the IMF and World Bank. This is a golden opportunity for South Africa and the rest of the region to put SADC good governance protocols into practice, and to listen, not to those who have misused and stolen resources, but to those on the ground who are leading the struggle for democracy, and who have shown by their sacrifice that they are the future of Swaziland. That is why we say don’t be fooled by the empty promises of Mswati.

As SNAT and others have stated, there is a need to make it absolutely clear that only when there is an open and transparent democratic process in place that has been arrived at with the direct involvement and support of the democratic movement can any moves towards economic development take place. To do otherwise would be to entrench the very reactionary forces that have created the crisis, and who discredit our continent by their dictatorial rule. The people of Swaziland deserve to be heard; they no longer can or should carry the economic and social burden of a wasteful and arrogant regime. There can be no development without democracy.

Escalate Solidarity!

In the coming weeks, the democratic movement will be escalating its activities, culminating in a repeat of the pioneering Global Week of Action that took place last year. All over the world, SDC chapters and solidarity organisations are planning to show their support for the democracy campaign. Many will once again, embrace the invitation of the democratic movement to travel to Swaziland to be part of the protest movement, and show their solidarity in practical terms. They know that there might be mass arrests once again, but taking their lead from the courage and determination of comrades inside the country, they will refuse to be intimidated.

It is now a year since the state murder of Comrade Sipho Jele. Actions to remember this fine comrade, and to call for the release of existing detainees and to accelerate the struggle for a democratic Swaziland are imminent. The SDC calls upon all supporters to join in these actions, and remember those who have paid the ultimate price, in the hope that we prevent any further barbaric acts.

The illegitimate Mswati regime does not have any mandate to govern Swaziland, or to prevent the legitimate protest actions of the democratic majority. The South African Government must not undermine the democratic movement, not least because it owes its own existence to the democratic mass struggle of its own people. The crisis in Swaziland is posing the question ever more sharply of who has the right to govern. Any attempt to bail out the despotic regime will be a slap in the face to democratic struggle everywhere, and will forever sully the reputation of those who seek to protect Africa’s last surviving absolute monarchy.

In addition to the SDC Chapter in Swaziland, there are now SDC Chapters in Joburg, Cape Town and Durban, and plans to establish one in each Province. Don’t wait, get involved!

Support the democratic movement!

Isolate the Mswati regime!

Build SDC Chapters!

Action speaks louder than words!

See also

HELD ACTIVIST ‘TARNISHED SWAZILAND’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/06/held-activist-tarnished-swaziland.html

SWAZI PRISONERS ON YOUTUBE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/06/swazi-prisoners-on-youtube.html