In 2024, Eswatini’s human rights record deteriorated, as civic space, judicial independence, and the rule of law remain under threat. The authorities have yet to apprehend the killers of human rights lawyer and opposition activist Thulani Maseko, who was shot in his home in January 2023. There is no indication that the government has undertaken or is prepared to undertake a credible investigation into Maseko’s killing. The rights of women and girls remain a concern as incidences of brutal intimate partner violence, rape, and femicide persisted throughout the year.
Civil and Political Rights
The authorities in Eswatini have failed to implement long overdue democratic reforms in the absolute monarchy. In power since 1986, King Mswati III maintained control over the executive, parliament and judiciary in 2024. On January 21, 2023, the King, during a public address, warned those calling for democratic reforms that mercenaries would deal with them. The king accused pro-democracy activists of causing instability in the country. Hours after that warning, Thulani Maseko, a human rights lawyer and activist was fatally shot and killed at his home in the presence of his wife and children.
Eswatini received a score of 17 out of 100 in Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2024 report. It scored 1 out of 40 on political freedoms and 16 out of 60 for civil liberties, with a conclusion that Eswatini was “not free.” The country’s score has been consistently low for years, correlating with its entrenched culture of impunity for human rights violations.
Conduct of Security Forces
The authorities have yet to hold anyone to account for the scores of activists killed, and the hundreds injured by security forces during the 2021 crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrations. Instead, the government has escalated its clamp down on dissenting views by arresting government critics on spurious charges, hindering peaceful assembly, and resisting longstanding calls for democratic reforms.
Subversion of the Rule of Law
In addition to the lack of an investigation into Maseko’s killing, the authorities have targeted and harassed his widow, who has been calling for justice and accountability for her husband’s death.
On July 15, a court in Eswatini sentenced two former members of parliament, Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, to prison terms of 25 and 18 years, respectively. Both were initially arrested in 2021 for participating in and supporting pro-democracy protests, and remained in pretrial detention since then. In June 2023, the duo was found guilty of all the bogus charges against them, including terrorism, sedition, and murder under the 2008 Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA) as well as the 1938 Sedition and Subversive Activities Act (SSA). The hefty sentences handed to Mabuza and Dube highlight the lack of impartiality and independence of the judiciary. This is compounded by the lack of accountability and justice for the serious violations committed by law enforcement, including during the 2021 protests.
On August 13, Eswatini’s Supreme Court overturned a 2016 High Court decision that declared several repressive provisions of the STA and SSA invalid. The 2016 High Court decision had declared that several sections of the SSA and STA violated the rights to freedom of association, expression, and assembly, guaranteed in Eswatini’s Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which Eswatini is party.
The 2016 High Court decision combined four separate applications brought by six activists. The activists, who included the late Thulani Maseko, Mario Masuku, leader of the banned People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), and Maxwell Dlamini, leader of PUDEMO’s youth wing, had been separately charged under the SSA for allegedly making subversive statements and sedition. They had also been charged under the STA for allegedly “chanting slogans of a terrorism nature,” “wearing t-shirts which bore terrorist demands at the back,” and participating in a demonstration calling for a boycott of elections. The activists argued that the STA, which criminalizes support for a proscribed entity and prevented individuals from challenging that label, infringed on their right to due process and administrative justice.
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the High Court’s ruling will embolden the government to ramp up its crackdown on opposition, human rights, and pro-democracy activists and weaponize the criminal justice system. This ruling is the latest in a worrying trend of authorities employing vague and overly broad provisions of terrorism laws to suppress freedom of association, expression, and assembly.
Women’s and Girls’ Rights
Gender inequality, violence against women and girls, and cultural norms that marginalize women and girls remain a concern in Eswatini. For example, in May, data from Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) revealed that a total of 260 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) were reported that month, some reports were made directly to SWAGAA, while others were reported to the police, Department of Social Welfare, health facilities, and other partners. Around 85 per cent of reported cases took place in the home by perpetrators known to the victim. From January to May, SWAGAA recorded 1,172 GBV cases, with emotional abuse being the most prevalent form of abuse experienced by victims and female adults accounting for the majority of cases. Underreporting of abuse is common, so there may be many more cases.
On a positive note, the country has passed some progressive laws and policies, including the 2023-2027 National Strategy to End Violence in Eswatini. The government has however failed to establish a funding mechanism for the 2018 Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence Act (SODVA), to secure coordination among relevant government departments, ensure expedited sexual violence trials, or provide enough support and shelter for victims and survivors. The first government shelter for survivors of violence against women and girls only opened in 2021.
In 2024, the global Gender Gap Index for Eswatini recorded an index of 0.74. This index quantifies the gap between women and men in four key areas: health, education, economy, and politics and gives them a score from zero to one. A score of one indicates full equality between women and men, and a score of zero indicates full inequality. According to the Women in Parliament 2023 report, Eswatini recorded the highest progress in women’s representation in parliament among countries that held elections in 2023, with a 20-percentage-point increase of women in its upper chamber, the Senate. Overall, Eswatini ranked third at 14.4 percent for both upper and lower houses.