Swaziland Newsletter No. 896 – 26
September 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
support DNA testing before birth certificate motion
By
Khulile Thwala, Times of eSwatini, 22 September 2025
MBABANE: The call for mandatory DNA
testing before the registration of children’s birth certificates has sparked an
outpouring of support.
Ordinary citizens, activists and
legislators say the policy could finally put an end to one of society’s most
painful and divisive issues: Disputed paternity.
The proposal, expected to be tabled in
Parliament by Mahlangatsha Member of Parliament Mgucisi Dlamini and seconded by
Mhlambanyatsi MP Bonginkhosi Dlamini, goes beyond legislative formality. For
many emaSwati, it touches on the deepest layers of family life, identity and
trust.
Under the motion, the Ministry of Home
Affairs and the Ministry of Health would be required to work hand-in-hand to
develop and implement a clear policy on DNA testing.
The proposal further instructs Home
Affairs Minister Princess Lindiwe to amend the National Civil Registration and
Vital Statistics Act of 2023 within 60 days of the motion’s adoption, so that
DNA verification can be included as part of the birth registration process,
particularly in cases where paternity is disputed or unclear.
However, beyond the walls of Parliament,
the subject has struck a raw nerve, drawing overwhelming public interest and
passionate debate both on the streets and on social media.
For many, the issue is about lived
experiences, broken families, shattered trust and men and women struggling to
come to terms with betrayal.
Back in July, a case reported in northern
Hhohho sent shockwaves through the nation. A man discovered that the four
children he had raised with his wife for 13 years were not biologically his.
DNA testing ordered by the Pigg’s Peak Magistrates Court confirmed the
devastating truth.
To read more of this report, click
here
Opinion
by Zweli Martin Dlamini, Swaziland News, 20 September, 2025
The huge turnout during the ongoing Army
recruitment is a reflection of King Mswati’s poor leadership and of course, his
undemocratic Tinkhundla Government’s failure to create jobs.
During cultural events, such huge numbers
are normally politicized and twisted to reflect the popularity of the Monarchy
but, how do you twist such evidence suggesting that the Tinkhundla Government
has failed the people?.
Thousands of emaSwati are aspiring to join
the Army, some have no political connections it’s a life and death job
opportunity for them but only three (3) will be recruited from each Inkhundla.
Perhaps, let me state that what is
happening in this country is very painful and the ruling Tinkhundla
undemocratic Government must be ‘proud’ to see such huge numbers in a very
desperate situation because after all, that’s the political motive of the Tinkhundla
system.
King Mswati has been on the Throne for
nearly forty (40) years but, he failed to develop this country except to
establish a corrupt Government, failing to create jobs for the youth.
As a country, we must be worried after the
huge turnout during the ongoing Army recruitment, we can’t have such a large
population living in poverty, one day these people struggling to afford a
decent meal will have no alternative but, to consume the rich and powerful.
See also
King Mswati’s Army recruitment to
cost Government about R50million per-year, SNAT applauds creation of jobs but
calls for permanent employment of teachers (Swaziland News)
https://swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=10075
Over
half of eSwatini adults overweight, prone to chronic diseases
By Melisa
Msweli, Saturday Observer (eSwatini), 20 September 2025
More than half of Eswatini’s adult
population is now classified as overweight, nearly a quarter are obese, and
more than one in five live with raised blood pressure. These findings are from
the latest 2024 WHO STEPwise survey.
Tobacco use also remains high, with 11% of
adults — mostly men — reporting current smoking.
These statistics were revealed
by Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health, Khanya Mabuza,
during the opening of a bilateral seminar on the prevention and treatment
of diabetes, hypertension and their complications held at the Hilton
Gardens Inn yesterday.
The purpose of the seminar was to:
Strengthen the capacity of healthcare
workers
Promote early detection and management of
metabolic diseases
Foster collaboration with Taiwanese
experts to improve patient outcomes
Mabuza emphasised that the statistics
represent real people — mothers, fathers and children — whose
lives are at risk of stroke, heart disease, renal failure, blindness and limb
loss if conditions such as diabetes and hypertension are not effectively
addressed.
He urged doctors, nurses and other
frontline healthcare workers to seize the opportunity to enhance their skills
and translate knowledge into improved clinical practice.
To read more of this report, click
here
https://eswatiniobserver.com/over-half-of-eswatini-adults-overweight-prone-to-chronic-diseases/
Shocker
as UN proposes to shut down UNAIDS next year
By
Ntombi Mhlongo, Times of eSwatini, 21 September 2025
MBABANE: The Coordinating Assembly of
Non-Governmental Organisations (CANGO) has reacted with shock to the
announcement that the United Nations agency focusing on the HIV/AIDS pandemic
could close by the end of next year.
On Thursday, it was revealed that the UN
Secretary General has proposed ‘sunsetting’ UNAIDS by the end of 2026.
This would mean that UNAIDS, as an
independent entity, would cease to exist, with its functions – or many of them
– integrated into the broader UN system.
Large funding shortfalls have already
taken their toll, with staff reductions underway and many functions being
scaled back.
Reports indicate that the proposed plan
has emerged as the UN undergoes restructuring in response to a funding crisis,
according to a document published online.
As stated in a document posted on its
website, UNAIDS will ‘sunset’ by the end of 2026.
The document contains a set of proposals
from the UN to member states, who will ultimately decide on the matter.
It further states that UNAIDS’s expertise
should be shifted into the wider UN system in the following year.
Reacting to the news, CANGO Executive
Director Thembinkosi Dlamini said the organisation was shocked.
“I am beyond shocked myself at the fact
that the issue has reached this far. The understanding has been that there
would be a reduction in the size of the UNAIDS staff and possibly, the number
of countries where it operates. However, when they announce plans to shut it
down altogether, it becomes a major concern,” Dlamini said.
He explained that the importance of UNAIDS
could best be understood by looking into how the health sector operates.
According to Dlamini, the health sector is
more technical, as it provides crucial clinical and biomedical services to
communities, while UNAIDS complements these by supporting social behaviour
change and communication initiatives.
“This means that UNAIDS supports
non-governmental organisations in encouraging people to undergo testing for
diseases, adopt healthier behaviours, and, most importantly, adhere to
treatment – such as consistently taking their anti-retroviral drugs,” he said.
He added that if UNAIDS collapses, there
is a strong possibility that new infections will rise in the Kingdom of
Eswatini at an increasing rate, reversing the many targets the country has
achieved.
“What is crucial at this point is for the
country to be prepared. It is good that stakeholders are currently discussing
the national budget and making contributions. Our input as CANGO is clear: we
request that government enforce the integration of some of the services.
“These services should be reviewed and
then incorporated into the government budget because we cannot rely on donors,
especially at a time like this,” Dlamini stressed.
On the other hand, Minister for Health
Mduduzi Matsebula said the ministry was monitoring the situation and would
update the nation accordingly.
To read more of this report, click
here
Amnesty
International calls for action on U.S. deportees held in eSwatini
By Gerald
Imray, Associated Press, 19 September 2025
CAPE TOWN: Amnesty International on
Friday called for authorities in the African nation of Eswatini to give five
men deported there by the United States access to lawyers and explain why
they’ve been held in a maximum-security prison for two months without charges.
The men — from Jamaica, Cuba, Laos,
Vietnam and Yemen — were sent in mid-July to the southern African nation with a
reputation for rights abuses as part of the Trump administration’s
third-country deportation program.
The U.S. has said it also wants to deport
Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Eswatini. His wrongful deportation to his native El
Salvador has become a flashpoint in the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Lawyers for the five men sent to Eswatini
said they are being held at the Matsapha Correctional Centre, a
maximum-security prison. Eswatini authorities have declined to say where they
are, citing security reasons.
“The Eswatini authorities must officially
disclose the five men’s whereabouts, immediately grant them regular and
confidential access to their lawyers, and provide legal grounds for their
detention,” the inmternational rights organization said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security
said the five were all serious criminals who had been convicted of offenses
including murder and child rape, and had all been in the U.S. illegally and had
deportation orders.
Their lawyers say they had served their
criminal sentences in the U.S. before being sent to Eswatini to be held in a
prison without charges. The men are being represented by three separate
U.S.-based lawyers.
The U.S. has sent deportees to at least
four African countries since July under President Trump’s hard-line approach to
immigration, including South Sudan, Eswatini, Rwanda and Ghana. It has an
agreement to deport migrants to another nation, Uganda, although no
deportations there have been announced.
The Trump administration’s deportation
program has faced accusations that it is sending deportees to third countries
where they have no ties and where they are likely to be denied due process.
Homeland Security has said the U.S. is “using every tool available to get
criminal illegal aliens out of American communities and out of our country.”
To read more of this report, click
here
eSwatini activists protest US
deportation deal at embassy in South Africa
By Mogomotsi
Magome, Associated Press, 19 September 2025
PRETORIA: A group of about 100
pro-democracy activists from Eswatini protested Friday at the U.S Embassy in
South Africa’s capital over their country’s
deal to receive five immigrants deported
by the U.S.
The activists likened the arrangement to
human trafficking, and said their country’s absolute monarch, King Mswati III,
entered into the deal without consulting parliament. They also alleged he is
secretly obtaining benefits from the arrangement that are not being shared with
the Eswatini people.
The five men were deported to Eswatini in
July and are currently being held at a maximum-security prison where
their lawyers
allege they have not been granted access to
see them.
The deportations are part of the US
administration’s expanding third-country
program to send migrants to countries in Africa that
they have no ties with to get them off U.S. soil.
To read more of this report, click
here
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/lawyers-southern-africa-yemen-cuba-laos-b2829966.html
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