Unknown gunmen kill popular Eswatini opposition politician

Gunmen in Eswatini killed a distinguished opposition politician and human rights lawyer at his residence, hours after the nation’s absolute monarch challenged activists against his rule.

Thulani Maseko was shot lifeless on Saturday evening by unknown attackers in Luhleko, about 50km (30 miles) from the capital Mbabane, opposition spokesman Sikelela Dlamini advised AFP.

The spokesman stated he was advised that “assassins shot him by way of the window whereas he was inside [the] home together with his household”.

“Particulars are nonetheless scant (and), owing to the trauma his members of the family are present process, they don’t seem to be but prepared to talk,” Dlamini added.

The federal government despatched condolences to the household, saying Maseko’s dying was a “loss for the nation” and that police had been trying to find the killers.

Maseko was a number one human rights lawyer and columnist in Eswatini who had a pending courtroom battle with King Mswati III over the monarch’s choice to rename the nation Eswatini by decree.

The nation’s identify was modified from Swaziland to Eswatini to mark the fiftieth anniversary of its independence from Britain in 2018.

Maseko’s place was that the king had not adopted the structure within the course of. In 2014, he and the editor of The Nation journal, Bheki Makhubu, had been jailed for contempt of courtroom over articles crucial of the federal government and judiciary.

Maseko was the founding father of the MultiStakeholder Discussion board (MSF), a coalition of opposition events, associations and church buildings.

His dying got here simply hours after the king challenged activists preventing to finish Africa’s final absolute monarchy.

“Individuals mustn’t shed tears and complain about mercenaries killing them,” King Mswati had stated.

“These individuals began the violence first however when the state institutes a crackdown on them for his or her actions, they make numerous noise blaming King Mswati for bringing in mercenaries,” he stated.

Final week, the Swaziland Solidarity Community (SSN) alleged that the king had employed mercenaries, primarily white Afrikaners from neighbouring South Africa, to assist Eswatini’s safety forces suppress rising opposition to his regime.

However authorities spokesman Alpheous Nxumalo stated: “No hitmen have been employed.”

Rights group Freedom Below Regulation, which operates throughout southern Africa, pointed a finger on the authorities.

“Someway the gorgeous information that Thulani Maseko has been gunned down in chilly blood comes as no shock,” it stated in an announcement.

“A ceaseless and fearless human-rights lawyer, an outspoken critic of the regime in his beloved Eswatini, Thulani had all too lengthy suffered by the hands of a heedless regime. Nobody might be misled by the cynical message of condolence put out on behalf of the federal government,” it added.

The European Union referred to as for the killers to be caught and voiced “grave concern” concerning the state of affairs in Eswatini.

“The EU calls on the authorities to make sure the security of all residents, together with political activists,” it stated in an announcement.

“This tragic loss is available in a row of killings, arson assaults and different violent acts, which have destabilised the nation over the previous months.”

The bloc urged the authorities to urgently launch “inclusive dialogue… in the direction of nationwide reconciliation, respect for human rights and the rule of regulation, and in the end, lasting peace”.

The US embassy in Mbabane expressed “profound unhappiness” and prolonged “deepest condolences to Mr. Maseko’s household, mates and admirers world wide”.

“Eswatini and the world have misplaced a robust voice for non-violence and human rights,” the embassy added.

King Mswati, who has dominated since 1986, is recurrently accused of human rights violations. The king, who can dissolve parliament, and authorities and appoint or dismiss judges, additionally instructions the police and armed forces.

In June 2021, pro-democracy protests descended into violence, leading to a number of deaths.

In April 2022, members of the Financial Freedom Fighters (EFF), South Africa’s third-largest political celebration, organised peaceable protests alongside the nation’s borders with Eswatini, in solidarity with human rights activists there.