Sadc leaders fret over Eswatini crisis

By The NewsDay | Jul. 7, 2021 | 2 Min read

ZIMBABWE on Monday joined other Southern African Development Cooperation (Sadc) leaders in engaging stakeholders to address the crisis in Eswatini, which has seen violent protests against King Mswati III’s reign amid calls for dialogue to end the crisis.

BY MOSES MATENGA

Violent clashes have rocked Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, for weeks now, amid speculation that King Mswati III fled the country in the wake of the bloody protests that have resulted in over 40 deaths.

The Eswatini government has, however, denied that the king had fled the kingdom.

In a statement yesterday after dispatching a delegation comprising Foreign ministers from the Sadc region, including Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa, the chairperson of the Sadc Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, said dialogue was key in ending the Eswatini crisis.

The mission, led by Botswana minister of International Affairs Lemogang Kwape, met some of the stakeholders to discuss the way forward.

“The purpose of the mission was to gather first-hand information on the disturbances, including the state of security in the country, and to appeal for calm and restraint from all the stakeholders, as well as to propose consideration of an open national dialogue, as a way forward in the efforts towards finding a lasting solution,” Masisi said.

He said the mission held consultations with the government and also made attempts to meet with a broad spectrum of other stakeholders across the country.

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“Due to the short notice, it was not possible to reach many of the stakeholders. As a result, it was agreed that a second mission will be dispatched urgently to Eswatini to continue the consultation process with the other stakeholders in the country,” Masisi said.

He said there was a clear sense of urgency to address the crisis.

Meanwhile, media organisations across the globe joined the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) to urge Mswati to desist from attacking journalists and shutting down the internet as protests raged on in the kingdom.

In a letter dated July 6, 2021 addressed to Mswati and copied to the High Commission of The Kingdom of Eswatini in Pretoria, South Africa, Misa regional governing council chairperson Golden Maunganidze, said targeting of journalists should stop forthwith after two scribes were shot at by Eswatini police.

“This is grossly unacceptable and goes against the values that the kingdom claims to uphold,” Maunganidze said.

“We are deeply worried by the turn of events in Eswatini and call upon the authorities to do everything possible to ensure that media workers are protected and are not subject to wanton attacks by security forces. In that respect, and by virtue of this letter, we appeal to Your Majesty to halt these media violations in Eswatini.”

Several other media organisations in southern Africa have endorsed the calls for a return to normalcy in Eswatini.