52 Years of Dictatorship: Eswatini Still Suffers Under the Shadow of the 1973 Decree
It has now been fifty-two years since King Sobhuza II unleashed a political earthquake that shattered the dreams of a democratic and independent Eswatini. On April 12, 1973, with the stroke of a pen and the muzzle of a gun, he banned political parties, dismantled democratic institutions, and declared himself the absolute ruler of the Swazi nation.
That act of betrayal wasn’t just a temporary suspension of democracy—it was a calculated, brutal move to erase people’s power from the governance of this country. Today, his son King Mswati III continues to uphold and benefit from that legacy of dictatorship, trampling on human rights and silencing voices demanding freedom.
This year, pro-democracy groups across Eswatini commemorated this dark chapter with renewed anger and determination. PUDEMO, the People’s United Democratic Movement, issued a powerful statement, reminding the nation that the April 12 decree was not just an attack on politics—it was an attack on every Swati’s right to dream, to speak, and to live with dignity.
“In a deceitful guise that the independence democratic system was unworkable in the Swazi context,” reads PUDEMO’s statement, “King Sobhuza dismantled all democratic institutions; banned political parties and all forms of opposition to his rule; and elevated himself above all three arms of government.”
What followed has been five decades of economic decline, social injustice, and national trauma. The effects of the decree are not just historical—they are lived daily by millions.
More than 70% of Swazis live below the poverty line, scrambling for survival in a country where wealth is hoarded by a tiny elite. Public hospitals are crumbling from drug shortages. Scholarships for bright, deserving students have become scarce. Even the roads that connect our people—once symbols of development—are neglected and broken.
This is what dictatorship looks like.
While the King and his inner circle live lavishly, the rest of us are being choked by hunger, unemployment, and hopelessness. The Tinkhundla regime is now plotting to raise the prices of bread and fuel—basic commodities that ordinary people rely on daily. Civil servants, the backbone of our public sector, have not seen meaningful salary adjustments, despite the skyrocketing cost of living.
Where is the conscience of this government?
PUDEMO’s statement reminds us that King Sobhuza’s move was never about preserving peace. It was about concentrating power in the hands of the monarchy, sidelining the people’s voice. That agenda continues today. “The royal family is entrenched in every sector of our society, wrecking havoc in a bid to perpetuate its hegemony,” the statement correctly asserts.
What is clear is this: the Tinkhundla regime cannot reform itself. It is fundamentally structured to serve the monarchy—not the people. Real change can only come from the people rising, organizing, and reclaiming what was stolen from us in 1973.
Despite persecution, arrests, and even killings of activists, PUDEMO and other democratic forces have remained steadfast. They’ve held the torch of freedom high when it was most dangerous to do so. And for that, we must honour them—not just with words, but with action.
April 12 should not only be a day of remembrance. It must be a day of resistance. A day when every Swati who believes in freedom says: enough is enough.
The monarchy has failed. The system has failed. The people of Eswatini deserve better.
We demand democracy. We demand accountability. And above all, we demand the return of power to where it rightfully belongs—with the people.
