Swaziland Newsletter No. 900 – 24
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.
Public: Bread price hike will make us poorer
By Stanley Khumalo and Khulile Thwala, Times of
eSwatini, 22 October 2025
MBABANE: Government’s approval
of a seven per cent increase in the price of bread has sparked widespread
discontent among members of the public.
They are of the view that the
hike will worsen the already high cost of living. The announcement, confirmed
by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, means that from November 1,
2025, the price of an 800-gram loaf of white bread will increase from E16.73 to
E17.90, while brown bread of the same size will cost E15.60, up from E14.58.
Although the rise may appear
marginal on paper, consumers say it will translate into a heavy financial blow
for thousands of households already battling rising costs of food, fuel and
transport.
The hike in the 800g-loaf of
bread with E1.17 amounts will cost a consumer who buys a loaf of bread every
other day, E4.68 more weekly which amounts to E243.36 per year. However, it
will be double this amount for a family of four with minimal resources as bread
is consumed often to subsidise the high cost of food. This is because they will
buy a loaf of bread daily, which cumulatively will amount to E486.72 per year.
The decision has ignited a
wave of frustration across the kingdom, with many emaSwati accusing government
of ignoring the plight of the poor.
During interviews conducted by
this publication, several residents described the adjustment as a huge blow to
those who live from hand to mouth.
“I was shocked to hear about
the increase. We are already struggling to buy basic groceries. For the poor,
this is not just about bread, it’s about survival,” said one consumer.
Another consumer in Mbabane
said the hike showed a lack of empathy from policymakers.
“The timing is terrible. The
cost of everything is up and now they are raising bread prices again.
Government should have found another way to support bakeries without punishing
consumers,” she said. For many low-income earners, bread remains a dietary staple,
often the only meal that children have before school.
“Every Lilangeni counts. When
the price of bread goes up, it affects everyone, especially those earning below
E2 000 a month. It means skipping breakfast or sending a child to school on an
empty stomach,” said a resident of Simunye.
The seven per cent increase
comes just three years after Cabinet approved a 20.76 per cent rise in July
2022, which pushed bread prices to record highs. Many consumers say they are
still reeling from that previous hike and had hoped that prices would stabilise.
To read more of
this report, click here
eSwatini loses about E1bn US funding in 2 years
By Musa Simelane, eSwatini Observer, 19
October 2025
Eswatini has lost nearly E1
billion in United States (US) government funding between 2024/25, marking one
of the sharpest aid contractions the country has faced in recent years.
According to official data
published by foreignassistance.gov, Eswatini’s total US foreign assistance
allocation dropped from USD 76.6 million (about E1.38 billion) in 2024 to USD
20.9 million (about E378 million) in 2025 — a 72.7% decrease.
The difference, approximately
E1 billion, represents the single largest year-to-year reduction in funding
since the US began documenting its global aid spending online. The drop
followed the suspension of United States Aid for International Development (USAID)
funding at the beginning of 2025, a decision announced under the administration
of President Donald Trump.
The order, part of what was
termed ‘foreign aid realignment’, froze most US government development
programmes worldwide while a review was conducted. For Eswatini, this meant
that nearly three-quarters of its regular assistance disappeared in a single budget
cycle.
The numbers tell a stark
story. In 2024, the kingdom benefited from more than E1.38 billion in American
support. About a year later, that figure had fallen to about E378 million,
slashing funds available for public health programmes, non-governmental partnerships,
and education support.
For Eswatini, a country that
has relied heavily on donor funding to sustain its health sector, particularly
in the battle against HIV/AIDS, the implications are significant.
For over two decades, the US
government, largely through USAID and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR), has been the country’s single largest external partner in the
fight against HIV/AIDS. Programmes funded by these mechanisms have provided
antiretroviral drugs, training for healthcare workers, maternal-child health
services, and logistical support for clinics across all four regions. The
impact was evident in the years leading up to 2025.
According to
foreignassistance.gov, between 2022 and 2024, the majority of US funding went
toward HIV/AIDS, health systems, and related social support programmes. During
this period, Eswatini achieved one of the highest HIV viral-suppression rates
in sub-Saharan Africa, a success often credited to sustained US investment and
technical assistance.
But that progress is now at
risk. The 2025 reduction in US aid has already disrupted some long-standing
partnerships. Health workers who relied on US-funded programmes for salary
support, community outreach, and supply-chain stability face uncertainty. Clinics
supported by US partners report fewer resources to conduct testing and
outreach, while local NGOs have scaled down staff, with some shutting down
operations months ago.
The most prominent threat has
been medication supply continuity. Antiretroviral drug procurement and
distribution, previously underwritten by PEPFAR funds, are among the programmes
likely to experience continued shortfalls.
To read more of
this report, click here
https://eswatiniobserver.com/eswatini-loses-about-e1bn-us-funding-in-2-years/
A Cuban man
deported by the U.S. to Africa is on a hunger strike in prison, his lawyer says
By Gerald Imray, Associated Press (AP), 22 October
2025
A Cuban man deported by the
United States to the African nation of Eswatini is on a hunger strike at a
maximum-security prison having been held there for more than three months
without being charged or having access to legal counsel under the Trump administration’s
third-country program, his U.S.-based lawyer said Wednesday.
Roberto Mosquera del Peral was
one of five men sent to the small kingdom in southern Africa in mid-July as
part of the expanding U.S. deportation program to Africa, which has been
criticized by rights groups and lawyers, who say deportees are being denied due
process and exposed to rights abuses.
Mosquera’s lawyer, Alma David,
said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that he had been on a hunger
strike for a week, and there were serious concerns over his health.
“My client is arbitrarily
detained, and now his life is on the line,” David said. “I urge the Eswatini
Correctional Services to provide Mr. Mosquera’s family and me with an immediate
update on his condition and to ensure that he is receiving adequate medical
attention. I demand that Mr. Mosquera be permitted to meet with his lawyer in
Eswatini.”
An Eswatini government
spokesperson referred the AP, which requested comment, to a correctional
services official, who didn’t immediately respond to calls and messages.
Mosquera was among a group of
five men from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam and Yemen deported to Eswatini, an
absolute monarchy ruled by a king who is accused of clamping down on human
rights. The Jamaican man was repatriated to his home country last month, but
the others have been kept at the prison for more than three months, while an
Eswatini-based lawyer has launched a case against the government demanding they
be given access to legal counsel.
Civic groups in Eswatini have
also taken authorities to court to challenge the legality of holding foreign
nationals in prison without charge. Eswatini said that the men would be
repatriated, but have given no timeframe for any other repatriations.
U.S. authorities said they
want to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Eswatini under the same program.
The men sent to Eswatini were
criminals convicted of serious offenses, including murder and rape, and were in
the U.S. illegally, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said. It said that
Mosquera had been convicted of murder and other charges and was a gang member.
The men’s lawyers said they
had all completed their criminal sentences in the U.S., and are now being held
illegally in Eswatini, where they haven’t been charged with any offense.
The U.S. Department of
Homeland Security has cast the third-country deportation program as a means to
remove “illegal aliens” from American soil as part of U.S. President Donald
Trump’s immigration crackdown, saying they have a choice to self-deport or be
sent to a country like Eswatini.
To read more of
this report, click here
See also
Man deported by
Trump administration to Eswatini starts hunger strike after shocking abuses
(Tag24)
Illegal abortion
crisis alarms officials
By Lungisile Simelane, Times of eSwatini (Press
Reader edition), 17 October 2025
MBABANE: The rising rate of
illegal abortion in Eswatini has been flagged as a serious cause for concern.
Officials have directly linked
this trend to several factors, including paternity disputes, the poor economic
status of mothers and other causal effects.
Others attributed this to a
perceived increase in reckless behaviour among young people who are on
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP is a daily medication taken by
HIV-negative people to lower their risk of contracting HIV through sex or
injection drug use.
Just last week, a 27-year-old
woman from Ticantfwini was arrested and charged with attempted murder, after
she allegedly gave birth and then dumped the newly-born baby boy in a pit
latrine.
She was arrested by Manzini
Police following a tip-off from concerned citizens who heard what sounded like
a baby crying coming from a toilet. Upon investigation, it was confirmed that a
human being was inside, prompting the community to rally together to retrieve
the infant. It is alleged that the suspect gave birth alone inside a house
before dumping the baby.
In the same week, residents of
Simpompeni, near Siteki, were left reeling in disbelief on Monday morning,
2025, following the gruesome discovery of a human foetus dumped in a communal
rubbish bin.
The foetus, believed to be
between three and four months old, was found in a pile of refuse by a local man
collecting food scraps for his dogs. Eyewitnesses said the foetus had visible
hair, which added to the horror of the discovery.
Police have since taken a
woman in her mid-40s into custody as the main suspect in the case.
De-witched:
battling magic, misinformation and measles in eSwatini
By Nokukhanya Musi–Aimienoho,
Gavi, Vaccines Work, 21 October
2025
From the
frontlines of a nationwide measles campaign, a veteran nurse explains how a
dose of fact is the best inoculation against baseless alarmism.
Sister Thuli Magagula doesn’t
believe in magic – and yet, she knows for a fact that witchcraft can be
mortally dangerous.
In communities like Macetjeni,
in Eswatini’s eastern lowveld, where Magagula grew up, supernatural
explanations for disease were, and continue to be, commonplace.
Those captivating stories, she
realised after she matriculated at nursing school, concealed the realities of
preventable, treatable illnesses. By clouding popular understandings of
disease, witchcraft – or rather, its mythic shadow – was leaving children’s
lives at risk.
For close to 30 years now, the
nurse and midwife been advocating against the kind misinformation that blames
magical bad actors for symptoms brought on by pathogens.
“I witnessed first-hand how
preventable diseases like measles, tetanus and polio affected children, as many
families were losing their infants. Some of the children were said to have died
from bewitching,” the 52-year-old sister and midwife recalls.
“I lost friends to measles
when I was young. That experience ignited a fire in me to ensure no other child
suffers the same fate,” she reveals.
Moved by her childhood
experiences, Magagula was inspired to join Eswatini’s Expanded Programme on
Immunization (EPI) after nursing school. She has dedicated her life to
dispelling myths surrounding vaccinations.
“Meeting mothers who lost
children due to these diseases that could have been prevented with vaccines
strengthened my resolve to ensure that no family has to endure such a loss,”
she says.
Now an EPI Immunization
Officer, she plays a crucial role in delivering lifesaving vaccines to women
and children across the country.
 |
Sister Thuli Magagula checking vaccine potency at Nkonjwa clinic. Credit: Mpendulo Dlamini, Health Promotion Unit
Her small office is adorned
with images of smiling children and stacked with educational materials – a
reminder of why she fights, and how. But most days she’s on the road,
travelling to often-remote villages to vaccinate children, and it’s here that
she believes she makes the biggest difference.
Eswatini has made strides in
vaccination coverage in recent years – progress that can be heavily attributed
to dedicated vaccinators like Magagula. But there’s further to go.
According to WHO and UNICEF
immunisation data, coverage with the first dose of measles-containing vaccine
has crept up steadily since a 2020 low of 76%, to hold steady at 85% since
2023. Coverage with the second dose of the measles vaccine, meanwhile, rose
from 82% to 86% in the last year on record.
That’s encouraging, but well
below the 95% threshold for herd immunity. And, as Deputy Director of the
Ministry of Health Rejoice Nkambule points out, the threat of an outbreak has
been alarmingly immediate. Neighbouring South Africa and Mozambique are currently
battling epidemics of the highly contagious infection.
To read more of
this report, click here
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