“Greetings of the New Year my bro. Pls don’t forget us in Swaziland!”
I received this message from Thulani Maseko last January, my final communication with him. At the time, Eswatini was still simmering from yet another outbreak of unrest from months before, with activists’ push for pro-democracy reforms met by violent state-led repression and mounting reports of atrocities.
Mmegi Features’ scope of reportage includes periodical but in-depth regional coverage and Eswatini has featured often as the birthing pains of democracy have wracked the kingdom. Maseko was one of our contacts amongst many across the spectrum of actors in the kingdom, helping to illuminate the picture in that country for local readers.
The protests that began in June 2021 were amongst the most fervent in recent years and the accompanying social media clips of alleged atrocities by King Mswati’s forces, together reports of more than 50 civilian deaths, stunned the region and beyond.
And yet, in a demonstration of his nature, in my last communication with Maseko, he was largely stressing solidarity with Mozambique against the terrorist onslaught in the Cabo Delgado province. As co-chair of the NGO, Multistakeholder Forum (MSF), and a lifelong human rights campaigner, Maseko fought against injustice in all its forms anywhere in the regional neighbourhood.
“The people of Swaziland/Eswatini through their non-state representative organisations would like to express their solidarity with the people of Mozambique in general and the communities of Cabo Delgado province, in particular in their quest for peace and their fight against insurgents in their homeland,” he wrote.
Having spent 15 months in jail a few years ago for criticising his country’s judicial system and the absolute monarchy, Maseko knew all about the quest for peace.
Formerly a British protectorate, Eswatini became an independent kingdom in 1968 called Swaziland at the time. The kingdom has brutally repressed attempts to establish a constitutional democracy or republic over the years, with opponents of the monarchy accusing King Mswati of accumulating obscene wealth for his family and living in luxury, while the rest of the citizens remain poor.
At the height of the 2021 unease, pro-democracy social media activists circulated a 2011 article about an HIV positive rural Eswatini woman who had resorted to eating cow dung to survive and have enough strength for her medication.
The activists also shared the luxurious watches, vehicles and lifestyles of King Mswati and his extensive royal family enjoyed while the citizenry not only suffered poverty but were unable to find democratic expression due to the banning of political parties.
Apparently targetted as an “enemy of the state” by the monarchy and its government, Maseko rubbed the authorities up the wrong way frequently. In the same communication in which he spoke about Cabo Delgado, the late lawyer noted the ongoing threats from King Mswati who, in speeches at the time, appeared to grow exasperated with the pro-democracy activism.
“The King’s speech effectively threatened the security of Swaziland/Eswatini citizens who are clamouring for the restoration of their right to self-determination through determining how and who should govern them through a multiparty democratic process,” Maseko wrote.
“The speech also reiterated the common insults to the citizens that they are nothing and everything in the country belongs to the king.”
This week, activists in the kingdom said another more sinister speech by the king had likely set off the events that resulted in Maseko being shot through a window while watching TV with his wife and child in Mbabane last Saturday.
“People should not shed tears and complain about mercenaries killing them,” Mswati was reported as saying.
“These people started the violence first but when the state institutes a crackdown on them for their actions, they make a lot of noise blaming King Mswati for bringing in mercenaries.”
Mswati’s speech reportedly came a few hours before Maseko’s murder, causing many to link the monarchy to the assassination, a claim the Eswatini government has been quick to dismiss.
Local organisations in Botswana, the regional neighbourhood and the world have been quick to condemn Maseko’s death and call upon the Eswatini authorities to institute a thorough investigation to catch the perpetrators.
In the global reactions, however, all eyes have been on how SADC will respond, given that the organisation is supposed to be the primary entity responsible for holding regional states accountable for human rights and the observance of democracy.
While SADC officially advocates for democracy in the region, multi-party politics, freedom of expression and the protection of human rights, Eswatini has remained the continent’s last absolute monarchy, with King Mswati freely participating in SADC affairs without sanction.
After the 2021 disturbances, President Mokgweetsi Masisi, as the then chair of SADC’s Politics, Defence and Security organ, dispatched Foreign Affairs minister, Lemogang Kwape and other regional officials to investigate the unrest and reports of atrocities.
At the time, pro-democracy activists said the monarchy had hijacked the SADC visit and turned it into a window-dressing affair, blocking any oppositional voices from giving Kwape and his team a clear picture of what was going on in the kingdom.
The official report from that visit has not been made public and the tensions in Eswatini have been simmering since.
Eswatini is not the only place where SADC has been criticised for failing to take action. From the yesteryear diamond wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the political unrest in Madagascar, to the long-running political headache in Zimbabwe, SADC’s ability to peer-review and enforce its much-stated commitment to advancing human rights and democracy, have been seen as “all talk and no action”.
Critics say over the years, SADC has proven its ineptitude in confronting and resolving political crises amongst its members, becoming instead a back-patting fraternity of former Frontline States’ allies who, in the absence of a common enemy such as apartheid, have struggled to evolve into the robust political and economic organisation that regional citizens desperately need to champion their aspirations.
In Eswatini in 2021, SADC did however support the pro-democracy activists’ call for dialogue over constitutional reforms in the monarchy, something Maseko took heart from.
For all the frustrations in Eswatini, Maseko in his last communications with Mmegi Features made sure to stress his hope when talking about SADC.
“We know that in other countries, people say SADC has not been able to find lasting solutions for them, but we must have faith in the process,” he said.
“We very much support SADC’s call for dialogue.
“Dialogue has always been a way many of us have said the problems in this country can be resolved.
“This is a political and good governance problem and the solution can only come with a serious dialogue for a people-centred solution.”
In its statement this week, SADC joined the global chorus for investigations into Maseko’s death, but organ chair and Namibian president, Hage Geingob added his trademark frankness.
“When dialogue fails, people go to war.
“Therefore, we propose that national and inclusive multi-stakeholder dialogue takes place.”
Geingob’s remarks echo Maseko’s own oft-repeated calls prior to his death.
The only difference is that Maseko and other pro-democracy activists in Eswatini insisted that SADC itself, as an external party, must facilitate the dialogue.
Whether the regional body’s shock at the murder is enough to propel it to extend itself that far, will yet be seen.
