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In the past few months, the Swatini Kingdom experienced the worst political violence in post-colonial history. The riots in this small landlocked southern African country between South Africa and Mozambique began in May, when protesters took to the streets to condemn the police brutality after the death of a 25-year-old college student Thabani Nkomonye, ​​who was generally believed to have been killed by traffic police.
Soon, the riots spread to rural areas, which caught the royal regime by surprise. As the demonstrators began to demand extensive political and economic reforms, the government refused to engage in dialogue. The confrontation with the police escalated, and the army was sent to quell the riots that followed. According to reports from activists, nearly 70 people were killed and many shops, commercial properties and farms were looted.
The unrest posed a major challenge to King Mswati III, and he was unwilling to respond to the demands of the people. This uncompromising may deepen the crisis and lead to further violence.
Absolute rule
Since 1986, King Mswati III has ruled Swatini under the banner of Swati custom. The parliament is partly appointed by the king and partly elected by universal suffrage, but those who stand for election as members cannot represent any political party. The king appoints the prime minister and has considerable influence on all executive and legislative decisions. He is also the commander-in-chief of the army and police.
As the protesters’ demands have evolved over the past few months, people have begun to demand changes to this political landscape. Thousands of emaSwati have submitted petitions for political and economic reforms to their Tinkhundla (the name of siSwati for the local constituency).
The main requirement is to allow universal suffrage for the prime minister. Various social and economic issues have also been raised, including the need for jobs, university scholarships, better infrastructure and better health care.
A large number of rural youths appeared in the protests. This is a group that is highly deprived of rights and has little say in the political arena. Social media has played an important role in mobilizing urban and rural people and creating sharing platforms. In particular, a new organization played a key role in connecting activists and concerns across the country: the Swaziland Economic Freedom Fighter (EFFSWA), which is the eSwatini affiliate of EFF in South Africa.
The South African EFF, led by Julius Malema, has multiple regional branches, has been challenging the political hegemony of the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, and has stood in the many popular struggles affecting young people and the working class At the forefront. The area. The party has also consistently opposed the excessive behavior of the Swati monarchy.
The style and strategy of social media messaging and mobilization showed that Swati activists learned from their colleagues in South Africa and were able to successfully organize and channel the frustration and anger of the country’s severe economic and political situation.
A large-scale economic crisis
Riots and robberies involve people from different backgrounds, including young and not so young, workers and the unemployed. The protesters’ understanding of the country’s economic inequality spurred the choice of targets.
Companies known to be closely related to the monarchy and retail stores owned by South Asians have been targeted. The attack on the latter reflects years of xenophobic incitement by key figures in the government and parliament, who have consistently used the South Asian community as a scapegoat for eSwatini’s economic problems.
But the country’s economic difficulties are related to the plundering of resources by the ruling family and their cronies, rather than the existence of immigrant communities. ESwatini’s economy is closely integrated with South Africa and other foreign capital, and is run by a small number of black emaSwati elites with royal ties and a small but wealthy local white community.
The main economic activities of the formal sector include sugar production and processing, wood and textile manufacturing, and the service and retail sectors dominated by branches of South African companies. Major economic actors often establish secret partnerships with the king and his family, and a large amount of public resources are diverted to private interests, such as using public pension funds to inject liquidity into companies close to the king’s interests.
For the vast majority of people who have no connection with the royal family and lack white privileges, what is left is unstable employment, alarmingly low wages, and poor working conditions—if they are lucky. In 2019, official statistics showed that the overall unemployment rate was 22%, while the youth unemployment rate was 46%. The latest available poverty level data shows that in 2016, 72% of the population had a daily income of US$5.50 or less. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation today may be even worse.
According to Swati tradition, all Swati citizens are eligible to obtain a piece of land in a rural area by paying tribute to the chief. But over the years, this customary land tenure system has also deteriorated. Today, due to the increasing marketization of land allocation, many emaSwati cannot claim this right.
The chiefs, who used to demand nominal fees, are now charging exorbitant fees that are far beyond the affordability of most young people, and the market has developed and informal land sales have increased, which is conducive to the rich who can buy out poor families. Large tracts of land are held by members of the royal family, or concessions to enterprises related to the royal family, further exacerbating the shortage of land.
Prospects for change
This deep-rooted poverty and inequality can only be resolved through bold economic and political reforms. However, the king and his group have stated that they will not negotiate with those who demand changes. At the same time, the rituals and institutional checks and balances provided by custom to curb the power of the king so that he would not become a ruthless dictator and failed.
On July 16, in his first public appearance after the riots, King Mswati III evaded the issue of serious violations of the human rights of the protesters, denounced his critics as “marijuana users” and expressed his unwillingness to engage with the opposition. Serious national dialogue.
After criticizing the government, he replaced Acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku with Cleopas Dlamini, the former CEO of the same public pension fund, which invested heavily in workers’ funds Private enterprises that benefit the interests of the royal family.
On July 25, the two pro-democracy MPs Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube who participated in the protest were arrested on unwarranted charges under the infamous “Suppression of Terrorism Act”, which is often used against regime dissidents .
If the Swati ruling elite suffered heavy losses during the regime change, then the masses deprived of it are much smaller. This may lead to an explosive situation where the desperate emaSwati continues to take to the streets, while the king and elites deploy more brutal forces to quell dissatisfaction.
Before the killings, the protesters’ demands for political reform were formulated in the vision of a multi-party democratic system, which included a constitutional monarchy with ceremonial status but no administrative power. Trauma and anger, many people are now calling for the complete collapse of the monarchy.
The king and his allies have accumulated so much wealth that they face great risks of peaceful withdrawal from power. They will not advance without continuous external pressure, so now it is up to neighboring South Africa, the Southern African Development Community and the entire international community to take action.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
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