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Forget that Mathunjwa is in mourning. He is also stuck.
His nephew, 35-year-old Sicelo Mathunjwa, was shot in the head on Tuesday evening when Eswatini police dispersed people with gunfire in the small industrial area of Matsapha, 35 kilometers from the capital Mbabane.
“Sicelo is dead, he died there,” Mathunjwa told Al Jazeera, saying he could not leave Mazombiswe village to go to his nephew’s village of Hosea, 30 kilometers (18 miles) away, and said goodbye to tensions in a small landless country formerly known as Swaziland. .
In recent days, Eswatini, the last absolute monarchy in Africa, has been shaken by major pro-democracy protests over the years, with security forces carrying out young protesters mainly in street fights to challenge the night cover.
Mathunjwa said his nephew, a garment factory worker, was a spectator when Eswatini Beverages, a company owned by King Mswati III, set fire to the police against the protesters who set the building on fire.
“Matsapha was standing next to the brewery that night,” the 59-year-old said in a phone interview. “My kids went to the funeral home to identify the body and saw a hole in the back of their head.”
Activists from two political movements, the Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) and the United People’s Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), told Al Jazeera that at least 40 people had been killed during the crackdown.
Speaking on Thursday, the office of acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku said “no official report has yet been received on the alleged deaths. We will investigate the allegations.”
It demands “political diversity, responsibility”
Although protests demanding political reform are rare, they are not new in Eswatini.
Tensions have been lingering for months in the mountainous kingdom, where the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated socioeconomic grievances and monarchs and their close circles have been criticized, while most of the country’s population lives in extreme poverty.
The current protests banned the king from sending petitions to parliamentarians to demand democratic reforms that sparked a decree on June 24. In May, a public outcry from police student Thabani Nkomonye against the alleged murder was made public.
Demonstrators have stolen and blown up businesses in Matsapha, but the presence of security forces on the streets has made citizens vulnerable to the use of force.
“Eswatinin continues to face dangerous civil incidents, including the use of deadly force by security forces,” the U.S. embassy in the country said statement this week, communications disruptions stand out.
Meanwhile, a sharp night spot has emptied the streets while the airport and public transportation are closed. The CPS said 13 of its members have been arrested.
“We are not surprised by the regime’s heavy response,” PUDEMO leader Mlungisi Makhanya told Al Jazeera. “We, the people, are saying that we need to open up a constitutional space … for people to decide how they want their government,” he said.
“We need to move to a new transition where there is political diversity and responsible leadership in front of the local people, not one that hardens hearts against the monarchy,” he told Al Jazeera.
Although the small kingdom of 1.2 million people accepts the monarchical rule, Makhania warned that Mswati’s continued absolutism threatened to escalate calls for a republic.
Crowned as a regent at the age of 18, Mswati inherited the throne from his father, King Sobhuza II, who in 1973 banned the registration of political parties.
Instead, the country’s system allows candidates to run for parliamentary seats, leaving a political party with a majority in parliament. The Prime Minister is appointed by the King, who has full executive power.
The king has not directed protests throughout the week – observers say it is a tactic that is consistent with the modus operandi of the monarchy when there are problems.
“Feelings of democracy in Eswatini are not new things. These are feelings that people have maintained for decades and the monarchy has been able to walk things through a combination of stick and carrot mechanisms, ”said Menzi Ndhlovu, Signal Risk policy and leading country risk analyst. tell Al Jazeera’s Inside Story program on Thursday.
“In times of unrest, there is a tendency for the monarchy to remain silent until things are sorted out. No wonder the king is silent while his generals and his police officers do the work, when the population calms down, and then when things are a little calmer, he will probably come out and talk. “
Statement by the Acting Prime Minister: 1 July 2021 pic.twitter.com/f5hJYSKdTn
– Government of Eswatini (@ EswatiniGovern1) July 2, 2021
Earlier this week, Masuku, the acting prime minister, dispelled speculation that he had left the country from Mswa. He said the protests were “worrying and disturbing” and told people to “address their concerns” to the government via email.
He also maintained the deployment of security forces to ensure order.
“The government has tightened security to restore the rule of law, to protect all peace and emaSwati. We will continue to tolerate all looting, arson, violence and other crimes aimed at businesses and people’s property,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
Calls for interview
Lawyer and activist Thabani Mas said Mswati’s growing desperation against restrictions on citizens could increasingly turn into a crisis of legitimacy. While in prison in 2015 for criticizing the judiciary, Masko wrote an open letter to former U.S. President Barack Obama, begging him to convince other world leaders to push for constitutional change.
However, Masko believes that the only way to get out of the “absolute cause” is through dialogue.
“They are trying to reach out to all actors in civil society, unions, youth groups, businesses and churches and seek consensus. We are trying to create a platform to negotiate with the government, but it is difficult to down lines of communication and difficult to move,” he said.
“The only way to end this tension is for the government to work towards moving forward if it sees the need for dialogue,” he said.
However, politicians in exile, such as CPS general secretary Kenneth Kunene, say the first condition of the conversation is “a ban on political parties”.
Unable to return to Ecuador for fear of persecution, Kunen and several members of his party have found refuge in South Africa.
The South African regional heavyweight on Thursday expressed “great concern” over the actions of security forces and called for “absolute restraint and protection of people’s lives and property.”
“We are particularly concerned that lives have been lost and property destroyed,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela said.
When he returns to Mazombiswe, Mathunjwa mourns the loss of his nephew and father of three children.
“Her father died a long time ago and she had to take on the role,” he said. “He was the only boy in my brother’s house, he is the only boy on the farm, now his sisters will have to take care of the family,” Mathunjwa added.
“We will remember that he was a loving and communicative person who brought the whole family together. That’s really painful for us. “
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