Africa’s last absolute monarchy: Anger against Eswatini’s king grows

There have been protests against the king in Eswatini for weeks, demonstrators have been killed. But that Mswati III. voluntarily allowing democracy – the opposition does not believe in that.

Nothing works anymore in Eswatini, in Africa’s last absolute monarchy. The kingdom enclosed by South Africa was formerly known as Swaziland. Not only are public institutions closed there, but also shops. There is a curfew, officially due to rising Covid numbers.

Still, there is no real calm, says Lucky Lukhele. With his “Solidarity Network Swaziland” he has been campaigning for democracy for years. He describes the past few days as violent:

The big cities in Swaziland, Mbabane and Manzini, are completely cordoned off. The army is running amok, soldiers are entering the houses and dragging everyone out. They take anyone between 15 and 30 years old with them. They think it’s the young people who cause the trouble.

Reports of at least 40 deaths this week

If the reports of the largest opposition party, PUDEMO, prove to be true, then the anger could hardly be stopped. The party reports that at least 40 people have been killed this week, hundreds injured by bullets and hundreds are missing.

The government does not confirm these figures, but even government information should be treated with caution. Because many high offices and positions are appointed by the king, from the prime minister to senators to judges.

Meluleki Simelane has a shop in Manzini, about 45 minutes’ drive south-east of the capital Mbabane: “There is unrest, people are looting shops, they are setting fires in shops. They want a new government, they want control of the government, they want not that the king is involved in everything. ”

In the criticism, but firmly in the saddle

The king, Mswati III., Is in the crossfire – but still rock solid. The government denied rumors that he had left the country because of the unrest. However, the king has not shown himself publicly anywhere this week.

He is well known for his dissolute lifestyle. He likes to show himself just as much in a suit as with a leopard skin around his shoulders, he has 14 wives and more than 40 children. According to Forbes magazine, he not only owns many shares in companies, but also numerous luxury cars, several palaces and his own aircraft. Meluleki Simelane also comes across this:

He’s taking the money from the people. At the same time, our streets are ramshackle, children don’t go to school, pensioners get a good 35 euros every three months – who can live on it? We need hospitals. Our clinics do not have any medication. If you go there you don’t get any medicine. But the king wants to build a new parliament building. We don’t need grandiose buildings – we need infrastructure for people.

Very few have water and electricity

Almost two-thirds of Eswatini’s residents live below the poverty line, few have water and electricity, and at least a quarter of the people are HIV-positive. The country has long been on the verge of economic collapse.

Nevertheless, the people do not want to chase the king from court, they just want to curtail his power. That Mswati III. Pius Vilakati does not believe that this could easily be accepted after 35 years in power. He is the spokesman for the Communist Party of Swaziland:

We don’t think the king will give up without a fight. He’s never done that before, he doesn’t even think about it. The internet has been shut down across the country. Mswati doesn’t want to talk to anyone – even though people want to consult with him on how to get democracy. He won’t leave without a fight.

Protests could flare up again

Eswatini is currently forced to be quiet. On Monday, the shops are allowed to reopen briefly so that people can go shopping. One hears already from student circles that the protests could flare up again. In this case, the ANC, the ruling party in neighboring South Africa, clearly demands that an autocratic crisis solution be avoided with a hard hand.