Free Swaziland Movement — Democracy & Justice for Eswatini

A Pattern of Incompetence

In the year 2021, the people of Eswatini rose in unity and demanded political reforms. This was neither an isolated incident nor something out of the ordinary.

The Swazi population had tried unsuccessfully to shake off the yoke of royal oppression before, only to be brutally suppressed by the government.

The 2021 unrest was therefore an escalation of long-running tensions. King Mswati’s armed forces shot and killed 100 protestors while injuring many more.

Seemingly surprised, the SADC convened a special task force to visit the country, gather facts, and draft a report.

Eswatini itself was “quarantined”, placed in a special category of countries that had to be returned to order.

Why the Unrest was Predictable

The Southern African Development Community has drawn up many policies and strategies for maintaining peace and security. All of these are hollow and only exist on paper.

The most famous is the “Early Warning System”, which is a framework that enables the organization to detect security threats early and mitigate them.

This system failed in Eswatini. It continues to fail even today. Eswatini is one of the most volatile countries in the region.

Political power and wealth are concentrated in a poorly groomed monarch – King Mswati – and his shadowy cabals of hangers-on.

This self-serving elite violates human rights with impunity and deliberately marginalizes the rest of the population as a way of controlling them.

This control is peddled as “peace and stability”. Sadly, suppression has limits, and under the correct conditions, the people’s anger explodes into fury.

Why South Africa Requires Special Attention

If SADC’s early warning systems worked, they would have flagged South Africa’s current crises at least three years ago.

South Africa is descending into chaos. The economy is struggling, municipalities are poorly governed, central government services have broken down, corruption is rife, and even the police are now dysfunctional.

Naturally, the country’s citizens are furious. Predictably, they have turned their anger towards their fellow Africans, whom they accuse of taking their jobs and “overwhelming” public service facilities.

Feeling that the government is failing to do its job, they have formed vigilante groups to “clean” their country as an act of patriotism.

This is lawlessness, anarchy, and it has drawn the entire region into conflict. Why is the SADC not holding a special meeting to address this issue decisively?

How many people must lose their lives before the crisis is acknowledged, diagnosed, and resolved in a meaningful way?

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