The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) is a SwaziMarxist-Leninist party founded on 9 April 2011. It was banned by the Swazi king, Mswati III, shortly after its foundation, and operates clandestinely. The party is headquartered in Kamhlushwa, South Africa.[3][4]
In an interview with Guancha General Secretary Thokozane Kenneth Kunene shared that it was the South African Communist Party that initially inspired him around the time of the assassination of Chris Hani, the party's leader. In university Kunene joined the People's United Democratic Movement student wing and by 1997 was elected its leader. In the following years he helped organize trade union networks and progressive organizations across Swaziland, but in 2005 he was ousted alongside 35 comrades and has been living in exile in South Africa ever since. In 2007 this group of exiles together with local supporters launched preparations to establish a communist party.[5]
Establishment
The Communist Party of Swaziland was established on 11 April 2011, a day before the anniversary of King Sobhuza II's 1973 decree banning all political parties.[6]
The death of University of Eswatini law student Thabani Nkomonove at the hands of police on May 8th, 2021 sparked mass protests initially organized by the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) with many CPS members at the helm.[7] After severe police repression—including storming Nkomonove's funeral and banning all demonstrations—the movement broadened into the pro-democracy protests of 2021.[8][9] Communist party members were among the earliest victims of state repression against the protests, such as deputy general secretary Mcolisi Ngcamphalala, who was arrested on June 26 and tortured for two hours. At the end of June 2021 the CPS called for a National Democratic Congress bringing together all anti-monarchy forces to write a "minimum program for the transitional period [...] from a monarchy to a republic".[10] The congress never materialised due to division among the groups involved. Instead there followed a crackdown with the army taking over for the police and killing over 100 people by November.[9]
The following year saw repressive action focused on the Communist Party of Swaziland with abductions, attacks and raids against party activists.[9] Following an anti-monarchist protest on February 28th, 2023, one of the organisers, CPS member Mvuselelo Mkhabela, was arrested and tortured before he could flee with the help of other party activists.[11] In June Mkhabela was arrested again and put on trial. Before that he was elected the Propaganda and Agitation Officer of the newly founded Communist Youth League and a member of the Central Committee.[12]Breakthrough News has reported on the repeated arrests, torture and prolonged legal processes used to suppress CPS activists.[1]
The party strongly condemns Eswatini'srelations with Taiwan,[15] which include financial[16] and military aid,[17] which the CPS says has been used to kill protestors in the past.[18] It also stated that it aims to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China after successfully seizing power.[15] As of 2022, Swaziland is the only African country that diplomatically recognizes Taiwan.[6]
The CPS maintains that the elections which have transpired since King Mswati III reinstated parliament in 1986 are "neither free nor fair" and "only serve to legitimize the monarchy".[11]
↑"托克扎内·库内内：在这个被"台独"控制的非洲小国，共产主义力量正在生长"[Thokozane Kunene: In this small African country controlled by "Taiwan independence", communist forces are growing] (in Chinese). 11 June 2026. Retrieved 2 November 2026.
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