Political crisis in eSwatini: A litmust test for SADC

Southern Africa’s regional bloc SADC this week acknowledged that political tensions were rising in eSwatini, following the murder of a top human rights lawyer and activist. Thulani Maseko was shot dead on 21 January 2023, sparking international alarm and outrage at the level of political violence in Africa’s last absolute monarchy. There is absolutely no doubt in the minds of peace loving citizens of SADC that eSwatini’s repression of civil society organisations must be brought to a complete halt. King Mswati’s rule by decree is regressive in every sense; and bears a heavy toll on the everyday lives of ordinary eSwatini citizens. The last absolute monarch in Sub

Saharan Africa, King Mswati III is hell- bent on serving his narrow interests at the expense of the eSwatini, which he refuses to democratise. To King Mswati, democratising eSwatini is obviously a threat to his wealth and the royal family’s future.

King Mswati exercises absolute power in Swaziland, and instead of wielding this power for good, reports indicate that he used it to increase his household budget to more than USD61 million in 2014 ( even though over 60 percent of Swaziland’s 1.2 million people survive on less than USD1 per day). Organisations such as SADC and the African Union ( AU) need to come up with a solid strategy to respond to the spiralling eSwatini crisis and to rein in King Mswati and his government. African leaders should stop this tendency of handling tyrants such as King Mswati with kid’s gloves while the continent sinks into turmoil. SADC and African Union leaders should join the civil society in condemning the brutal murder of Maseko and the repression of civil society organisations in the tiny Kingdom of eSwatini. As suggested by Justice Professor Key Dingake, Judge of the National and Supreme Courts of Papua New Guinea and Residual Special Court of Sierra Leone, civil society must be involved in every stage of setting up a judicial inquest, including the terms of reference into the murder of Maseko. King Mswati should not be allowed to walk away with murder while SADC presidents fold their arms and watch.

As argued by Ringisai Chikohomero, a Research Consultant, ISS Pretoria; SADC is best placed to lead the national dialogue process in eSwatini.

To do so effectively however, there must be a deliberate change in strategy. First, he suggests, the regional body must act more boldly and with greater urgency. This means moving away from its collegial approach towards one that gets the king to engage in talks. Mswati has been given too much space to dictate the pace of a peaceful resolution, to the detriment of the SADC initiative and Eswatini’s citizens. The regional bloc should establish a high- level presence in the country rather than continuing with intermittent visits by officials. Chikohomero suggests that this can be achieved using SADC’s existing structures, like its Mediation Reference Group and the panel of elders currently led by former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete. These mechanisms have the mandate and capacity to engage with the king. Activating them would also indicate to Mswati that SADC is serious about finding a lasting solution.