A prominent former opposition Eswatini lawmaker was freed onTuesday after being pardoned following more than four years in prison over 2021 pro-democracy protests that rattled Africa’s last absolute monarchy.
The landlocked kingdom is ruled by King Mswati III, who has held the throne since 1986 and wields unchecked power, facing no meaningful challenge to his authority.
Mthandeni Dube was released from the high-security Matsapha Correctional Centre, 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the capital, where 14 men deported from the United States as part of its crackdown on immigrants were also being held.
Dube was arrested in July 2021 alongside fellow MP Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza for inciting unrest during protests calling for democratic reforms, which were violently suppressed by security forces and left dozens dead.
“I am happy that the King has released me,” Dube said at the low-key ceremony where 11 other prisoners — nine men and two women — were also freed.
The group, all dressed in orange prison uniforms, stood quietly as their release was announced.
Officials said the freed inmates would remain under the supervision of the correctional services and would not be allowed to make public speeches or join protests.
“Only today can they entertain the media, and from tomorrow, none of them is expected to meet journalists,” said Commissioner General Lomakhosini Dlamini.
Mabuza, who was sentenced to 25 years, did not apply for a pardon, correctional services spokesman Baphelele Kunene told AFP.
Human Rights Watch last week decried a lack of accountability for the killings during the 2021 protest.
“The security forces also shot indiscriminately at protesters and passers-by with live ammunition, killing scores of protesters and injuring hundreds more, including children,” it said in a 26-page report.
Yet, “it is appalling that more than four years later, the victims and survivors are living with the consequences of the brutality they suffered without any remedies for their rights violations,” said HRW Africa researcher Nomathamsanqa Masiko-Mpaka.
Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, is the last absolute monarchy in Africa, and political parties are banned.
King Mswati enjoys flaunting his wealth, yet he rules over one of the poorest countries in the world, where more than half of its 1.2 million inhabitants live in poverty.
The 57-year-old can veto any legislation, appoint the prime minister and cabinet, and is constitutionally above the law.
AFP
