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Southern Africa: SADC Deploys Team to Eswatini
The Herald, 16 July 2021
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has deployed a technical fact-finding team to the kingdom of eSwatini to engage with the stakeholders following recent political… Read more »
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Eswatini: Mswati's Iron Fists and Hollow Handshakes Mask Moves to Conceal Crimes Against a Mourning Nation
Daily Maverick, 14 July 2021
The king of Eswatini has summoned the nation to convene at Ludzidzini Royal Palace on Friday ahead of another mass anti-monarchy protest as police collect bullets from dead bodies… Read more »
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Eswatini: Internet Restored As Activist Mounts Court Challenge
Thomson Reuters Foundation, 13 July 2021
Activists in eSwatini went to court to challenge an internet shutdown they say impacts their freedom and livelihoods. Will similar legal challenges arise elsewhere in Africa? Read more »
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Zimbabwe: Why Is West Silent On South Africa, Eswatini Violence?
The Herald, 15 July 2021
In August 2018, just after Zimbabwe's general elections, the country witnessed some demonstrations that were staged by opposition activists who had lost patience in waiting for the… Read more »
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Eswatini: Mswati Tests His Popularity After Deadly eSwatini Protests
Daily Maverick, 14 July 2021
Embattled Eswatini King Mswati faces a test of his popularity after calling his people to a meeting at the palace on Friday to address the lethal and destructive protests which… Read more »
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Eswatini: MTN Sits Between a Rock and a Hard Place in eSwatini, but It's Trying to Do the Right Thing
Daily Maverick, 12 July 2021
In late May, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari instructed mobile networks to suspend Twitter access in the country. Outraged citizens accused the government of censorship and… Read more »
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Eswatini: U.S. Joins Calls for Independent Investigation Into 'Inappropriate Use of Force'
Daily Maverick, 11 July 2021
By the middle of last week, with sheer and unbridled brute force, the Eswatini monarchy and its government had managed to force a retreat by pro-democracy protests and restore a… Read more »
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Southern Africa: ESwatini Government Accused of Using Covid-19 As an Excuse to Avoid a Meeting Between Opposition and SADC
Daily Maverick, 11 July 2021
Eswatini's political opposition says the country's government is trying to use Covid-19 restrictions as an excuse to prevent its political opponents from meeting the Southern… Read more »
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Southern Africa: End Game for Zuma and Mswati
New Frame, 9 July 2021
Like the former South African president, the king of eSwatini is destined to fall from grace and power. But as the wheel of history turns, it is imperative to think about viable… Read more »
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Eswatini: Collective Trauma - Dialogue Is Essential After Suppressed Discontent in eSwatini Finally Boils Over
Daily Maverick, 8 July 2021
There is a curious sense of disembodiment among the populace of Eswatini. It is a numbness that comes from being unable to comprehend how an essentially peaceful nation can so… Read more »
eSwatini Restores Internet After Weeks of Outrage
Activists in eSwatini went to court to challenge an internet shutdown they say impacts their freedom and livelihoods. After communications were restored the court case was dropped. Activists say they are hoping for dialogue with government so that they can have a country that benefits all.
Internet shutdowns are an increasingly popular instrument among dictators and autocrats who want to control their citizens and pre-empt political threats. In 2019, the Sudanese government responded to democracy protests with a near blackout of the internet, while simultaneously launching a wave of violence against citizens. In January 2021 Uganda's government ordered telecoms operators to suspend all internet gateways ahead of elections already marred by brutal crackdowns. In late May 2021, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari instructed mobile networks to suspend Twitter access in the country. Outraged citizens accused the government of censorship and clamping down on dissent. And at the end of June 2021 one of the world's last absolute monarchies, eSwatini, ordered a shutdown of the internet, writes Sasha Planting for the Daily Maverick.
InFocus
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For nearly two weeks, South Africa's media, to their credit, reported on the increasing level of violence in eSwatini and we have seen journalists threatened, detained and ... Read more »
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The eSwatini army has taken full charge after mass pro-democracy protests left many people dead, according to a Human Rights Watch official. Dewa Mavhinga, director for Southern ... Read more »
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A team from the Southern African Development Community will arrive in eSwatini, after the kingdom was rocked by pro-democracy protests and claims of a deadly crackdown, writes ... Read more »
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As weeks-long protests spread throughout eSwatini, acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku announced a dusk to dawn curfew across the kingdom. Although a number of media houses, led by ... Read more »
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Tanzania, Chad, Ethiopia and Uganda's long internet shutdowns and social media blackouts between January 2020 and February 2021 have been termed "counterintuitive and a violation ... Read more »
