Swaziland
Newsletter No. 909 – 9 January 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.
WHO warns eSwatini has world’s highest male suicide
rate
By Sibusiso Dlamini, eSwatini Observer, 4
January 4, 2026
Eswatini has recorded the
highest male suicide rates in the world, placing the country at the centre
of a deepening public health emergency that the World Health Organisation (WHO)
says demands immediate, coordinated national action.
Globally, the kingdom ranks
second overall for suicide, with men accounting for about 80% of completed
cases.
This assessment has been
highlighted by BIO50+, a research and briefing platform, which analysed the
WHO’s Q3 2025 public health briefing for Eswatini, that warns that suicide
rates in the kingdom have reached levels that can no longer be treated as a marginal
or isolated health concern.
Instead, the agency frames it
as a systemic national challenge with implications for health policy, social
cohesion and economic stability.
According to the WHO briefing,
men bear a disproportionate share of suicide deaths in the country, accounting
for roughly four out of every five completed cases.
The imbalance mirrors a
broader global pattern, but is far more pronounced in the kingdom, pushing the
country to the top of global rankings for male suicide mortality.
Data compiled from health
facilities and law enforcement between 2021 and 2025 point to hundreds of
suicide-related cases, with the majority involving adults aged 25 and above.
While women and adolescents
are also affected, the scale among men has raised particular concern among
public health experts, who link the trend to social expectations around
masculinity, economic pressure and low rates of help-seeking for mental distress.
The WHO cautions that these
figures likely underestimate the true scale of the problem, as suicides are
often underreported due to stigma, misclassification of deaths and gaps in
community level surveillance, particularly in rural areas.
“The rising number of suicides
in Eswatini is a serious public health concern that requires urgent and
coordinated action,” the WHO has warned, calling on government, communities,
institutions and the media to treat prevention as a shared national responsibility.
To read more of
this report, click here
https://eswatiniobserver.com/who-warns-eswatini-has-worlds-highest-male-suicide-rate/
Parents frustrated as most urban schools full
By Siphosethu Dlamini and Sabelo Majola, Times of
eSwatini, 8 January 2026
MBABANE: With the new academic
year just days away, parents are still desperately searching for spaces for
their children, while head teachers maintain that most schools are already
full.
Across Mbabane and surrounding
areas, anxious parents were seen moving from one school to another in a
last-minute rush to secure placements, particularly for pupils entering Form I.
At several schools visited yesterday, long queues formed outside administration
blocks as parents waited from dawn, hoping to be among the few lucky ones to
secure spaces.
Others were seen clutching
envelopes, ready to make immediate payments should an opportunity arise.
However, many schools have reached full capacity and are no longer accepting
new admissions.
At St Mark’s High School Head
Teacher Khanyisile ‘Baah’ Shabangu confirmed that registration closed at 3pm
yesterday for pupils who had already passed their entrance interviews. She
revealed that only about 30 spaces were available on Monday for those who met
the school’s admission requirements and those slots had since been filled.
“Ninety-five per cent of the
admitted pupils have already paid their fees. Even if a few do not return, the
number of available spaces will still be very limited,” said Shabangu.
She added that while she
sympathised with parents who continue to visit the school despite being
informed that spaces are full, there was little the school could do due to
infrastructure and resource limitations.
“We wish we could take them
all in, but our facilities simply cannot accommodate more learners. The only
chance some parents have is the eventuality of a few admitted pupils not
showing up by the 3pm deadline,” she said.
A similar situation was
observed at Ka-Boyce High School, where parents said they had arrived as early
as 6am hoping to be assisted. However, school officials told them that all
spaces had been filled.
The Deputy Head Teacher at
Ka-Boyce, Nathi Nkambule, said: “It is very disturbing and painful to be
turning parents away, as we know they wish for their children to learn here,
but it is beyond our control. We had hoped to admit 135 pupils for Form I, planning
three classes of 45 learners maximum, but we have long surpassed that.”
One parent, when asked why he
remained at the school despite being told the school was full, said: “We were
told the school is full, but we’re still waiting, hoping something changes.” He
requested anonymity.
To read more of
this report, click here
PUDEMO notes escalating number of deaths amid shortage
of drugs in public hospitals
By Bongiwe Dlamini, Swaziland News, 1 January,
2026
MBABANE: The People’s United
Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) has noted with great concern the escalating number
of deaths in the country amid shortage of drugs in public hospitals.
In a New Year Statement
released by Deputy Secretary General (DSG) Maxwell Dlamini and sent to this Swaziland
News, the Eswatini main liberation movement said the public healthcare
system “remains” in a state of collapse.
“The public healthcare system
remains in a state of collapse. Hospitals and clinics across the country,
including Mbabane Government Hospital, Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital, and
facilities in Shiselweni and Lubombo are characterized by chronic drug shortages,
broken equipment, and understaffing and corruption-ridden procurement systems.
PUDEMO notes with deep anger the shocking increase in the number of Swazi
families who have unnecessarily lost their loved ones in public hospitals.
These deaths are not inevitable; they are the result of neglect and
mis-governance. The government’s failure to consistently provide dialysis
services has condemned patients to slow and painful deaths, while the permanent
absence of blood at the national blood bank has turned routine medical
emergencies into death sentences,” said the PUDEMO Deputy Secretary General.
On another note, PUDEMO
further condemned the continued plight of un-hired doctors and medical
professionals, alongside interns who have remained in compulsory internships
for over two years without salaries, while communities die for lack of
care.
“This is not incompetence, it
is criminal neglect of public duty,” reads the statement in part.
See also
PUDEMO blames
Tinkhundla undemocratic Government amid escalating Gender Based Violence (Swaziland
News)
http://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=11007
Rife child sexual abuse exposes home vulnerability
By Bongiwe Dlamini, eSwatini Observer, 5
January 2026
The arrest of three men in
separate rape cases, including fathers and stepfathers allegedly sexually
abusing their daughters, indicates the continued exposure of children to grave
harm within spaces meant to offer protection.
The cases happened at Bhunya
and Malkerns. Bhunya police arrested two suspects in connection with separate
rape cases.
In one case, a 42-year-old man
from Zondwako was charged under the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence
(SODV) Act for allegedly repeatedly raping his biological daughter (19). The
police said investigations indicated that the abuse occurred over five years,
from 2020 to 2025, when the girl was 14 years old.
In a report, the police
alleged that the suspect exploited the victim’s innocence by raping her in his
consultation room (indumba) and manipulating her into believing that the acts
were culturally acceptable.
He allegedly told her that it
was customary for a girl to engage in sexual relations with relatives first and
further allegedly threatened to kill her if she disclosed the abuse.
The matter came to light after
the victim discovered that she was pregnant. She reportedly confided in her
mother, who then involved her uncles.
On December 31, 2025, one of
the uncles is said to have escorted her to the Manzini One Stop Centre, where
the case was reported and later transferred to Bhunya police, leading to the
suspect’s arrest.
In a separate case, Bhunya
police also arrested a 24-year-old man from Mangcongco in connection with the
alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl from the same area.
The two suspects appeared
before the Manzini Magistrate’s Court last Friday, where they were remanded in
custody pending the setting of their trial dates.
Meanwhile, the Malkerns police
arrested a 37-year-old man from Ndinda in connection with the alleged sexual
abuse of his stepdaughter.
The victim, a 17-year-old girl
from Timbutini, was reportedly abused for nearly two years between 2023 and
2025.
To read more of
this report, click here
https://eswatiniobserver.com/rife-child-sexual-abuse-exposes-home-vulnerability/
MPs visit paving
way for ex-MP’s release amid United Nations pressure
By Zweli Martin Dlamini, Swaziland News, 2
January, 2026
MBABANE: Mduduzi Bacede
Mabuza, the convicted pro-democracy ex-Eswatini Member of Parliament (MP) might
soon be released as the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNRC) Working
Group deadline approaches.
In a ‘ruling’ seen and
previously reported by this publication, the UN Working Group gave the Kingdom
of Eswatini a six (6) months ultimatum from October 2025 to release Mabuza and
ex-MP Mthandeni Dube or else, the unlawful and/or politically motivated conviction
will be escalated with the higher structures of the United Nations.
The United Nations Working
Group investigates cases of deprivation of liberty imposed arbitrarily or
inconsistently with the international standards set forth in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, or the international legal instruments accepted by
the States concerned.
But the UN Working Group
communicated the ruling or report to King Mswati’s Government on the 15th
October 2025 after investigating the politically motivated conviction of MPs
Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube.
Subsequent and/or after
receiving the directive, the King released MP Mthandeni Dube after tricking him
through Justice Minister Prince Simelane to apologize while MP Mduduzi Bacede
Mabuza is still behind bars at Matsapha Prison for politically motivated crimes
he never committed.
The pro-democracy MPs were
unlawfully convicted by Judge Mumcy Dlamini who is married to a royal family
member Prince Majahenkhaba and, the Judge was allegedly acting on orders or
directive issued by King Mswati.
But as per an investigation
report previously published by this Swaziland News, a delegation of MPs
accompanied by King’s Protocol Officer Khandlela Mdluli subsequently visited
ex-MP Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza at Matsapha Correctional Complex this week.
But even though the delegation
claimed to have gone to Matsapha Correctional Complex to visit inmates as part
of the Christmas celebration, this journalist subsequently gathered that ex-MP
Bacede Mabuza was “again negotiated to apologize” to King Mswati and be
immediately released.
Eswatini is an absolute
Monarchy, the then MPs Mabuza and Dube MPs were arrested merely for demanding
democracy and subsequently charged with terrorism, murder and other fabricated
politically motivated criminal charges.
Phindile Dlamini, the
Commissioner General of the Correctional Services declined to comment about the
meetings held to discuss the release of the pro-democracy MP.
But sources within the
corridors of powers told this publication that, appointed MP Prince Lindani is
allegedly leading the process of attempting to force or convince ex-MP Mabuza
to apologise to his father Mswati and be released.
“Attempts to intimidate him
failed as he refused to apologise and now, the strategy is to be polite and
negotiate him to before the UN deadline,” said a high profile insider within
the corridors of power.
But Madala Mhlanga, the Deputy
Speaker in the House of Assembly previously told this publication that, the
delegation of MPs accompanied by King’s Protocol Officer Khandlela Mdluli
visited ex-MP Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and other high profile inmates just to
demonstrate love and appreciate them as members of the society despite their
past ‘mistakes’.
The Deputy Speaker together
with Kwaluseni MP Sifiso Shongwe donated soccer kits to the Matsapha inmates
soccer team.
 |
| MPs visited convicted pro-democracy MP Bacede Mabuza who was arrested for demanding democracy in the undemocratic Kingdom of Eswatini |
See also
MPs visit Bacede,
Sipho Shongwe in prison (eSwatini Observer)
https://eswatiniobserver.com/mps-visit-bacede-sipho-shongwe-in-prison/
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