Swaziland
spent an uncomfortable time at the United Nations in May hearing organisations
from within the kingdom and outside give details accounts of human rights
violations committed by King Mswati III’s regime. The UN Human Rights Council
was given cases involving the correctional services, police, game rangers and
attacks on LGBTI people. An 11-year-old boy has been locked up in detention for
ten years although he has committed no offence.
These
are some of the stories contained in Swaziland: Striving for Freedom, volume
22, that contains a compilation of reports published by Swazi Media Commentary
website from March to June 2016. It is available to download
free of charge from Scribd.
King
Mswati, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch is to
use his subjects’ money to buy a private Airbus jet at a cost of US$13 million.
This at a time when Swaziland has gone begging to the international community
for cash aid to feed its population who face starvation due to drought.
The
King, who will assume the chair of the Southern Africa Development Community
(SADC) in August, has also been misleading the world about the extent of
‘democracy’ in his kingdom. He says there are elections in Swaziland so that
demonstrates its credentials, omitting to say that political parties are banned
from taking part.
Swazi
Media Commentary website has no physical base and is completely independent of
any political faction and receives no income from any individual or
organisation. People who contribute ideas or write for it do so as volunteers
and receive no payment.
See
also
LATEST
ON SWAZI FREEDOM STRUGGLE
SWAZI
KING IN WORLD’S SPOTLIGHT
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