ESWATINI’S HISTORY OF OPPRESSION AND RESISTANCE: FROM SOBHUZA’S DECREE TO MODERN-DAY CRACKDOWNS
The 1973 decree issued by King Sobhuza II marked the start of a dictatorship characterized by systematic persecution and killing of political activists, particularly members of the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) and, later, the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), formed a decade after Sobhuza’s proclamation. This decree remains a cornerstone of Eswatini’s political suppression, laying the foundation for decades of resistance and state brutality.
Dr. Ambrose Zwane, a founder of the NNLC and a champion of Eswatini’s independence from British rule, became one of Sobhuza’s first targets. He endured relentless harassment, arbitrary detention, and torture. In one instance, after serving a 60-day detention without trial, Dr. Zwane was rearrested the same day he was released, as ordered by King Sobhuza. Sibongile Mazibuko, current President of the NNLC, recalls how Dr. Zwane ultimately succumbed to poisoning after fleeing to Tanzania and returning to Eswatini gravely ill.
Following King Sobhuza’s death in 1982, PUDEMO emerged amid royal infighting. Young leaders like Mario Masuku, Mphandlana Shongwe, Zodwa Mkhonta, and Boy Magagula amplified calls for democracy, only to face arrests, treason charges, and brutal repression. The regime’s hostility toward PUDEMO was epitomized in the killing of Sipho Jele, who was tortured to death in prison for merely wearing a PUDEMO t-shirt.
King Mswati III’s infamous “Abekhanywe” speech during a Sibaya gathering further emboldened state violence. Delivered after a failed bomb plot at Lozitha Bridge, allegedly orchestrated by PUDEMO members Musa MJ Dlamini, Amos Mbhedzi, and Jack Govender, the speech effectively sanctioned the crackdown on pro-democracy activists. What followed was a wave of arrests, torture, and assassinations targeting PUDEMO members, with many fleeing to South Africa.
Thulani Rudolf Maseko, a human rights lawyer and PUDEMO member, publicly supported the accused bombers and was subsequently arrested. Maseko’s defiance symbolized the resilience of Eswatini’s pro-democracy movement but also underscored the high cost of dissent.
The brutality persists today. In June 2021, King Mswati deployed soldiers and police to suppress protests demanding democratic reforms, resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians. Activists have been assassinated in their homes, including Maseko, who was killed in January 2023 by alleged mercenaries acting on the King’s threats against democracy advocates.
PUDEMO Secretary General Penuel Malinga lamented the continued persecution of activists. “Our members have been facing persecution from the regime while others fled to exile. Emaswati have been suffering, languishing in poverty at the hands of this regime. To us as PUDEMO, this is 55 years of poverty and oppression,” Malinga said.
Resistance continues, with organizations like PUDEMO and international allies planning actions to pressure the regime. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP), in collaboration with Eswatini’s pro-democracy groups, have organized a border blockade at Oshoek on September 6, 2023—Eswatini’s Independence Day. SACP Mpumalanga Deputy Secretary Touch Ndlovu confirmed the blockade, emphasizing solidarity with Eswatini’s oppressed citizens.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini touted the country’s “economic development” during the 55-55 King’s Birthday and Independence Day celebrations, a claim starkly contrasted by the reality of widespread poverty, political oppression, and the systemic exclusion of political parties from governance.
Eswatini remains one of the world’s last absolute monarchies, where dissent is met with arrest, torture, and assassination. As pro-democracy movements intensify their efforts, the struggle for justice and democratic reforms in Eswatini continues, fueled by the sacrifices of those who have paid the ultimate price for freedom.
