South African president meets Eswatini's monarch amid unrest in kingdom

By Phathizwe Zulu

MANZINI, Eswatini (AA) - South Africa's president was received Tuesday by the monarch of Eswatini for talks on deteriorating political and security developments in the kingdom.

In a joint media statement, President Cyril Ramaphosa and King Mswati III agreed that the Secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) would work closely with Eswatini to draft terms of reference for the procedures and composition of a planned national dialogue.

"The process towards the national dialogue will take into account and incorporate structures and processes enshrined in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini, including the role of the Parliament of the Kingdom, and the Sibaya convened by His Majesty King Mswati III," read the statement. A Sibaya is a nationwide public meeting during which citizens are invited to voice their grievances to the king.

President Ramaphosa and Mswati called on all stakeholders in Eswatini to work together to end violence and maintain calm in the kingdom as work commences on national dialogue.

The political situation continues to worsen in Africa's last absolute monarchy after King Mswati recently ordered security forces to crack down on pro-democracy demonstrators.

- Reaction from protestor groups

The general secretary of the Swaziland United Democratic Front, a pro-democracy coalition of various groups, dismissed the statement, saying that their struggle "must intensify."

Wandile Dludlu said the SADC "will never provide solutions for the Swazi people. We all know SADC will always read from king Mswati's script. Swazi solutions must come from Swazis themselves."

Another group, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), expressed disappointment in the SADC's handling of the situation in the country, with its spokesman, Siphelele Nkomondze, calling on the bloc to "take the people of Eswatini seriously before the situation escalates to an uncontrollable levels."

"The people of the kingdom are clear on what they want, they want democracy," said Nkomondze.

Calls for democratic reforms and an end to the king's absolute rule have been growing since the beginning of the year, with protestors venting their anger and frustration against the defiant monarch in countrywide demonstrations in June marked by deadly violence.

A recent report by the Eswatini Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration said it had varified 46 deaths during the unrest, while the governmetn reported 27 and civil society groups over 60.

During the protests, shops were looted and set alight, while roads were blocked using burning tires. Authorities responded by imposing a curfew and deploying the army, with security forces allegedly opening fire on the protestors.

The government later arrested two vocal members of parliament, Mduduzi Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, while another lawmaker, Mduduzi Simelane, fled to South Africa, where he is currently in exile.