Swaziland might never be the same again. King Mswati
III demonstrated his absolute power by renaming his kingdom Eswatini. He did
this during the so-called 50-50 Celebrations to mark his own 50th
birthday and the half-century of Swaziland’s independence from Great Britain.
The King also made headlines when he wore a watch worth $1.6 million and a suit
beaded with diamonds at his birthday party. His lavish spending is notorious;
days earlier he took delivery of his second private jet, this one costing about
$30 million after upgrades.
These were some of the stories published by Swazi
Media Commentary over the second quarter of 2018 and published in Swaziland: Striving for Freedom Volume 30
April to June 2018, available
to download for free from Scribd. While the King and the Royal Family
continued to spend millions on themselves the kingdom’s economy was in freefall
with the government admitting it was broke. Suppliers remained unpaid and
public services ground to a halt. Hospitals were without medicines and
schoolchildren went hungry as food supplies dried up.
Registration for the national elections to take place
in September descended into chaos with reports of inefficiency and corruption.
The election board’s claim that 90 percent of the eligible population signed up
to vote was met with scepticism. Political parties are banned from taking part
in the election which is widely regarded outside of Swaziland as bogus. King
Mswati chooses the Prime Minister and Government ministers and no members of
the Senate are elected by the people.
Swaziland saw its first ever LGBTI Pride parade in
June. Unwittingly it demonstrated how conservative and backward Swaziland is.
Newspapers took the opportunity to demonise LGBTI people but despite this the
event proved a success.
Laws in Swaziland have been used by the State as weapons against human
rights defenders, a major investigation of the kingdom by the International
Commission of Jurists revealed. Separately, the United Kingdom reported it was
to undertake an investigation into human rights abuses in Swaziland and in its
annual report on the kingdom the United States highlighted, ‘The most
significant human rights issues included: arbitrary interference with privacy
and home; restrictions on freedoms of speech, assembly, and association; denial
of citizens’ ability to choose their government in free and fair elections;
institutional lack of accountability in cases involving rape and violence
against women; criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct, although rarely
enforced; trafficking in persons; restrictions on worker rights; and child
labor.’
Swazi Media Commentary is published online, updated
most weekdays. It is operated entirely by volunteers and receives no financial
backing from any organisation. It is devoted to providing information and
commentary in support of human rights in Swaziland.
See also
SWAZILAND:
STRIVING FOR FREEDOM
SWAZILAND
UPDATE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
A
DECADE OF NEWS AND VIEWS
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