Addis Ababa / Washington, DC (27 February 2023)
It has been exactly five weeks since leading human rights lawyer and activist, Thulani Maseko, was assassinated in Eswatini in front of his wife and two children, forcing the world to take notice of the gross human rights violations taking place in the only remaining absolute monarchy in Africa. There were no less than two dozen condemnations from global organizations, ranging from the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres; President Dr. Hage G. Geingob of Namibia; Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson The African Union (AU) Commission; the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR); multiple special mechanism holders at the international and continental level; and an endless list of civil society actors, world leaders, and concerned governments.
However, there is little hope that King Mswati III, Eswatini’s government, and the country’s brutal security apparatus —which include private military companies that report directly to monarch — will never meaningfully acknowledge the calls for justice. This has led to a massive petition drive, whereby over 180 organizations have urged the government of Eswatini to act in god faith and in accordance with international standards.
The petition — copied to the African Union, United Nations, and various heads of states and governments — aims to galvanize positive action in building trust and faith in the process of speedily investigating and bringing to justice the killers of Thulani Maseko, as well as ensuring that expected norms that guide and protect the principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms are adhered to.
“It has been 30 days since the gruesome murder [of Thulani Maseko] took place. The government of Eswatini has done nothing to show that they are prioritizing investigations into his murder. Instead, it has entangled itself in contradictions about halting its tactics of intimidation and threats meted out to any pro-democracy advocates, human rights defenders, entities and individuals that espouse such values,” states the petition.
There have been numerous reports of civil society actors and colleagues of Thulani Maseko being intimidated and followed daily by state security and private military contractors in the employ of King Mswati III. The petition raised the issue of their safety being a real concern. Lawyers representing pro-democracy demonstrators — who the government have labeled as ‘terrorists’ — have been killed. And those lucky enough to escape death are currently under unlawful arrest, face intimidation and systematic harassment, resulting to their abandoning their clients. There has also been no signs of the government easing on its warpath to clamp down on any and all forms of dissent.
The petitioners have called on the Eswatini government to immediately:
1. Allow for an internationally supported panel to conduct a thorough, independent, and expeditious investigation into the circumstances around the killing of Thulani Maseko
2. Release all political prisoners in Eswatini and to refrain from the excessive use of force to disperse protestors, as well as the arbitrary arrests and killings of peaceful protestors and regime critics
3. Revoke contracts and halt the practice of hiring private military companies to ‘engage’ protestors and pro-democracy activists, deeming them terrorists, and thus, ‘legitimate targets ’for elimination
4. Cease the violent rhetoric used against pro-democracy activists and human rights defenders in Eswatini and those in the diaspora
Background: Since 29 June 2021, Eswatini has been in a perpetual state of crisis, with no less than one hundred innocent civilians — including schoolchildren and women — being killed by the army and security forces under the orders of the Head of State and Government, King Mswati III. More than 200 people were shot and assaulted in June 2021, leaving them with serious injuries and dismemberment; more than 700 were arrested and a majority of them not allowed legal representation, resulting in a high conviction rate and hefty fines and custodial sentences.
To this day, state targeted killings have continued unabated. Peaceful protesters in Eswatini have been targeted for elimination, as confirmed by Arno Pienaar, who leads the Bastion Group, a private military outfit registered in South Africa, which according to him, was contracted by King Mswati III to ‘kill terrorists’ (i.e. pro-democracy activists). Three weeks before the killing of Thulani Maseko, two other individuals were murdered by state security and their accomplices. One was abducted and later found dumped in a ditch, and the other was pursued by helicopter and shot from the sky; the latter has become common practice, the casual bloodsport used to intimidate the general populace in Eswatini.
In sum, this is how diabolical the situation currently is in Eswatini. The June 2021 crisis and massacre was a culmination of many years of lack of respect, protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms as enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples ’Rights. In fact, the policy of murder with impunity was announced by King Mswati III himself — it was broadcast four hours before Thulani Maseko was brutally killed on 21 February 2023.
For more information please contact:
In Banjul: Hannah Forster African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies
Tel: +220 771 1391, email: edir@acdhrs.org
In Harare: Arnold Tsunga Chief of Party, National Democratic Institute
Tel: +263 777 283 249, email: atsunga2002@yahoo.com
In Johannesburg: Jeggan Grey-Johnson, Open Society-Africa
Tel:+27836200578, email: Jeggan.greyjohnson@opensocietyfoundations.org
In Pretoria: Blessing Vava Crisis Action in Zimbabwe
Tel: +27 73 6059 018, email: director@crisisactionzimbabwe.org
In Washington DC: Jeff Smith Founding Director, Vanguard Africa
Tel: +1 860 710 0139, email: jeff@vanguardafrica.com