The Southern Africa Litigation Centre through the support of the Hivos SRHR fund published a policy brief focusing on the harmful practice of child marriage and the opportunity for law reform in Eswatini. This is in line with the Day of the African Child, commemorated on 16 June 2022, whose theme was “Eliminating Harmful practices […]
Tag: Swaziland
SADC should distinguish between this sideshow and the people of Eswatini’s long struggle for democracy and human rights. Recent allegations that Eswatini’s July 2021 ‘winter revolution’ involved foreign-funded protest action aimed at regime change have put the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the country’s pro-democracy movements in a bind. They have also emboldened King […]
Two southern African countries, South Africa and Eswatini, are undergoing important reforms. South Africa is reviewing its electoral system while Eswatini is revisiting the powers of the monarch through a national dialogue. South Africa and Eswatini can look to Lesotho for lessons. It’s a fellow member of the Southern African Development Community and has grappled […]
In places such as Cameroon, Guinea Bissau, Rwanda or post-coup Mali, the media’s vigilance extends well beyond issues that matter to the public. Journalists are forced to watch their own backs — and data, too. Mancho Bibixy was pulled from his hideout in Bamenda, Cameroon, in the dead of night on January 17, 2017. In […]
With concerns growing over the proposed national dialogue in Eswatini as a response to ongoing violent protests, the international community must engage. Protests in the kingdom of Eswatini which first started back in May 2021 – and in which scores of citizens have died – have continued into 2022, creating increased domestic pressure to address […]
Harare, Zimbabwe — Media watchdogs in southern Africa are calling on the governments of Angola, Eswatini and Zimbabwe to do more to protect press freedom following the publication of the Freedom in the World 2022 Report which says those countries are among the most oppressive authorities to media in the region. The Media Institute of […]
Lusaka — Authorities in Eswatini must immediately investigate the brutal assault by correctional officers on Nomthandazo Maseko, a reporter for the privately owned news website Swati Newsweek, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. At noon on February 8, about 20 correctional services staff in Matsapha, a town about […]
With COVID-19 vaccination coverage at around 28 per cent in Eswatini, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is working to support the Ministry of Health’s national campaign to increase coverage, by vaccinating vulnerable people in the most remote and rural communities in the Shiselweni region. Most rural communities don’t have health facilities or vaccination points and people […]
The U.S. will lift travel restrictions to eight southern African countries on New Year’s Eve, the White House announced Friday. The restrictions, imposed last month, were meant to blunt the spread of the COVID omicron variant. The Nov. 29 ban barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who had recently been in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, […]
Creatives in different mediums, from filmmaking to fine art, are documenting and depicting their experiences in the beleaguered country for all the world to see. A recent documentary titled The Unthinkable documents the events of June and July in eSwatini, showing the brutality meted out by the regime’s security forces to unarmed people. Filmed and […]
The European Union wants member states to halt air travel with South Africa and several surrounding countries over a new coronavirus variant. Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic were all quick to react. The emergence of a new coronavirus variant in South Africa has sparked international concern, with the European Union saying on Friday it […]
The Kingdom of Eswatini, the small, landlocked southern African country that shares borders with South Africa and Mozambique, has been in political turmoil since May. The country is Africa’s last absolute monarchy. The death of Thabani Nkomonye, a 25-year-old University of Eswatini law student, at the hands of the police in early May sparked the […]
The issue of land, especially its redistribution, remains contentious in South Africa 27 years after the formal end of apartheid. Land redistribution was promised at the end of apartheid. The failure of the African National Congress (ANC) government to do so is emblematic of its failure to fundamentally transform the country. Yet, dispossession of land […]
Cabinet says it noted and welcomed the intervention of President Cyril Ramaphosa following the pro-democracy unrests that have engulfed Eswatini. In his capacity as Chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, President Ramaphosa, concluded a one-day working visit to Eswatini with His Majesty King Mswati III on Tuesday, […]
Following months of turmoil and bloodshed, eSwatini Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku has conceded that the kingdom urgently needs to implement sweeping reforms. However, Legalbrief reports that activists do not believe the government’s offer of talks is genuine. They accuse King Mswati III of living a lavish life while ruling over one of the poorest […]
MIGHTY Warriors skipper, Emmaculate Msipa, has promised the nation they will finish off the job in Eswatini tomorrow, to book a place in the last qualifying round, of the Africa Women Cup of Nations. The winners will progress to the last qualifying round where they will meet either Angola or Botswana. Zimbabwe carry a healthy […]
Many people still think of climate change as a phenomenon that we will only face in the distant future. Perhaps that’s partly because climate change projections about rising temperatures and extreme weather events are tied to future dates: 2030, 2050, or 2100, for instance. But it’s important to realise that we already are experiencing climate […]
King Mswati III of Eswatini will only engage Swazis in dialogue to end pro-democracy protests after the Incwala Festival of First Fruits, his government has announced. The summer festival has already begun and will conclude at the end of January or early February, heralding the beginning of the harvest season. It is the main ritual […]