Swaziland: New Wave of Repression Against Unions and Democracy Movement

Swaziland’s monarchy has unleashed a new wave of repression against the country’s trade unions and democracy movement with the arrest of several prominent union officials as people gather to mark 39 years of rule under a state of emergency in the capital Mbabane.

The arrests follow the banning of the newly-merged national trade union centre TUCOSWA, a 50,000-strong body which held its first Congress on 9 – 11 March this year.

“King Mwsati, who rules the country without any democratic legitimacy, is showing once again the absolute contempt of the Swazi elite for the people. We condemn the suppression of the right to freedom of association and the other fundamental human rights which form the basis of any decent system of government, and call on Swaziland’s neighbours and the international community at large to exert maximum pressure on the regime to accept that democracy must come to the country without any further delay,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.

Senior TUCOSWA officials Sipho Kunene and Muzi Mhlanga were forcibly taken by police on the morning of 12 April, and detained at Hhohho Regional Headquarters in the capital. Several other democracy advocates have also been detained, and the authorities have ordered protesters in Mbabane to disperse, refusing them the right to peaceful assembly.

King Mwsati is believed to hold a personal fortune of some US$100 million, while his feudal and autocratic rule has kept 65% of the population under the poverty line of $1.25 per day. Swaziland also has the highest HIV infection rate in the world.