The absolute monarchy of Mswati III, the ruler of Eswatini, has repressed PUDEMO by jailing its leaders and banning under the party by claiming its a terrorist organization.[3][4] The Swazi government has been monitoring PUDEMO closely since it launched the Ulibambe Lingashoni ("Don't Let the Sun Set") campaign, which aims for a "total liberation" of Eswatini,[5] and has recently cracked down heavily on even small manifestations of support for PUDEMO, such as the death in custody of PUDEMO member Sipho Jele, who was arrested for wearing a PUDEMO t-shirt in May 2010.[6][7][8]
"fully dedicated to creating a democratic Swaziland", that "the countries wealth shall be enjoyed by all citizens and shall be shared equally", that "the land shall be given to all those who work it", that there shall be "free, compulsory, universal and equal [education] for all children" and that "human rights shall be observed and respected".[9]
PUDEMO called for democratic reforms in 1988, 1990, and 1991. PUDEMO rejected King Mswati III's 1991 commission to review the tiNkhundla system, and the King's 1992 commission on electoral reform. King Mswati III responded by suspending the legislature, and began to rule by decree.[10]
The Swaziland Youth Congress claimed responsibility for a 6 February 1995 fire in the House of Assembly.[10][11]
PUDEMO held a campaign of strikes and civil disobedience in 1996.[10]
In 2000, PUDEMO President Mario Masuku was arrested for "insulting the king, sedition and treason."[12]
Pro-democracy protests took place in Eswatini in 2002, with "40% of Eswatini population believed to be on verge of starvation following poor harvests."[10]
At the 2003 elections in Eswatini only non-partisans were elected. In March 2005, the Eswatini High Court ruled that "political parties can not exist."[10]
In March 2006, PUDEMO members, including Bonginkosi Dlamini, the PUDEMO secretary-general, were charged with petrol bomb attacks.[10][13][14] In April 2007, "Six PUDEMO members [were] charged with sedition following protests on the anniversary of King Sobhuza II's royal decree banning political parties."[10]
In April 2008, PUDEMO's deputy President Gabriel Mkhumane was killed by criminals, according to the Swazi government. However, opposition supporters believe that he was assassinated by government operatives.[5]
The Umbane People's Liberation Army, described as "a secret militant group" linked to PUDEMO, claimed responsibility for a series of small bomb blasts in Eswatini in 2008.[15]
On 21 September 2008, Musa Dlamini and Jack Govender were killed while allegedly trying to bomb the Lozitha Bridge in an attempt to assassinate the King.[16] Although PUDEMO had "called for a more militant approach to achieving democracy ... [it] denied any part in the bombing.[17] However, at Musa Dlamini's funeral, PUDEMO President Mario Masuku was alleged to have verbally supported recent bombings of government institutions. Mario Masuku spent 340 days in prison before he was acquitted and discharged at the High Court on 21 September 2009.[18][19][20]
In May 2010, Sipho Jele, a PUDEMO member, was arrested for wearing a PUDEMO t-shirt, and later died in police custody.[6][7]
The Bhunya home of Alex LaNgwenya, a leader of PUDEMO's youth wing, the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), was destroyed in a bombing attack in 2010. "The Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008 was enacted soon after the incident, and PUDEMO and SWAYOCO were banned as terrorist organizations. Several members of PUDEMO and SWAYOCO were alleged to have carried out a bombing campaign and detained."[21]
PUDEMO's Deputy-President Sikhumbuzo Phakathi said the 2010 Swaziland Democracy Campaign "was launched in South Africa because in Swaziland all political activity is banned," adding:
"That makes it a criminal offense to belong to a political party," said Phakathi. "It makes it recently a terrorist act to belong to my organization, PUDEMO, which the government decided was a terrorist organization."[22]
From 2010 to 2011, attempts to add the history of PUDEMO to Eswatini's high school curriculum failed.[23][24]
In 2012, the Umbane People's Liberation Army participant Amos Mbedzi of South Africa was sentenced to "85 years in prison for high treason and terrorism" for his part in the 2008 bombing at Lozitha bridge.[15]
Also in 2012, Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini held a political debate with PUDEMO over Twitter, while her father, King Mswati III, continued his refusal to negotiate with PUDEMO on the grounds that they were terrorists.[citation needed]
PUDEMO was admitted into the Socialist International as a consultative member at the SI's spring congress on 4–5 February 2013.[25]
In 2014, PUDEMO President Mario Masuku and Swaziland Youth Congress leader Maxwell Dlamini were arrested during Labour Day celebrations.
In April 2014 PUDEMO General Secretary Mlungisi Makhanya was arrested for wearing a party t-shirt, and released on bail. Makhanya was wearing the t-shirt to protest the incarceration of journalist Bheki Makhubu and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko.[26] According to IFEX, Maseko is alleged to have said: "MJ Dlamini and Jack Govender died for the liberation of this country. One day the Lozitha bridge will be called MJ and Govender bridge."[27]
On 23 January 2023 Thulani Maseko, a human rights lawyer and former secretary general of the party was assassinated.[28]
Organization
The Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) is PUDEMO's youth wing.[23]
The Umbane People's Liberation Army has been described as "a secret militant group linked to the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO)".[15]
The Danish Red-Green Alliance began a partnership with PUDEMO in March 2013 which "aims to increase the capacity of PUDEMO to be a more visible and credible political force within and outside Swaziland."[29]
Solidarity organizations include the Swaziland Solidarity Network, based in South Africa,[30] which has stated its "unwavering commitment to total liberation of the people of Swaziland from the unjust and undemocratic system and the autocracy of the royal family that continues to plunder the national economy and abuse cultural and political institutions",[15] and the Swaziland Solidarity Network Canada.[31]
Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini and also known by its former official name Swaziland and formerly the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, south, and southeast. At no more than 200 km (120 mi) north to south and 130 km (81 mi) east to west, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa; despite this, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld.
Artifacts indicating human activity dating back to the early Stone Age have been found in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The earliest known inhabitants of the region were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. Later, the population became predominantly Nguni during and after the great Bantu migrations. People speaking languages ancestral to the current Sotho and Nguni languages began settling no later than the 11th century. The country now derives its name from a later king named Mswati II. Mswati II was the greatest of the fighting kings of Eswatini, and he greatly extended the area of the country to twice its current size. The people of Eswatini largely belong to a number of clans that can be categorized as Emakhandzambili, Bemdzabu, and Emafikamuva, depending on when and how they settled in Eswatini.
Mswati III is the Ngwenyama (King) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He heads an absolute monarchy, as he has veto power over all branches of government and is constitutionally immune from prosecution.
The Swazi or Swati are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, inhabiting Eswatini, a sovereign kingdom in Southern Africa, and South Africa's Mpumalanga province. EmaSwati are part of the Nguni-language speaking peoples whose origins can be traced through archaeology to East Africa where similar traditions, beliefs and cultural practices are found.
Lobamba is a place in Eswatini located in between Eswatini's two main cities, Mbabane and Manzini.
Mario Thembeka Masuku was a Swazi politician who was the leader of the People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Eswatini's banned opposition party.
Prince Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini was a Swazi politician who served as Prime Minister of Eswatini, from 1996 to 2003 and again from October 2008 to September 2018.
The House of Dlamini is the royal house of the Kingdom of Eswatini. Mswati III, as king and Ngwenyama of Eswatini, is the current head of the house of Dlamini. Swazi kings up to the present day are referred to as Ingwenyama and they rule together with the Queen Mother who is called Indlovukati. The Swazi kings, like other Nguni nations, practice polygamy and thus have many wives and children.
Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini is a Swazi princess and politician. She is the eldest daughter of King Mswati III of Eswatini, and is the country's former Minister of Information and Communication Technology.
Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku is a Swazi politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Eswatini since 2018 and as Acting Prime Minister from 13 December 2020 to 16 July 2021. Earlier, he served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2008 until 2013.
Thulani Rudolf Maseko was a Swazi human rights lawyer who previously served as the Secretary General of the People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO). He was imprisoned from 2014 to 2015, and declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. He launched a court challenge to King Mswati III of Eswatini in 2018 and was assassinated in 2023.
Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini was a Swazi business executive who served as the tenth prime minister of Eswatini, holding the office from October 2018 until his death on 13 December 2020.
Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini is the union government created by the constitution of Eswatini where the monarch holds supreme executive, legislative, and judicial powers. The Ngwenyama (lion) is a hereditary leader, rules the country, with the assistance of a council of ministers and a national legislature.
Events in the year 2021 in Eswatini
A series of protests in Eswatini against the absolute monarchy and for democratisation began in late June 2021. Starting as a peaceful protest on 20 June, they escalated after 25 June into violence and looting over the weekend when the government took a hardline stance against the demonstrations and prohibited the delivery of petitions. Lower-level unrest and protests continued until summer 2023.
Cleopas Sipho Dlamini is a Liswati business executive who served as the prime minister of Eswatini from 2021 to 2023.
Mlungisi Makhanya is a Swazi politician and human rights defender. He is the president of the People's United Democratic Movement. He previously served as Secretary General of the party during the presidency of longtime leader Mario Masuku.
Mzwandile Masuku is a Swazi Human Rights lawyer and the son of the late prominent opposition leader, Mario Masuku.
Tanele Maseko is a Swazi human rights activist and the widow of the prominent human rights lawyer and democracy activist Thulani Maseko. Following her husband's assassination in 2023, Maseko has become a prominent campaigner both with regards to continuing her husband's activism promoting democratic reform in Eswatini, and also by calling for an independent investigation into his death, for which she has received harassment and intimidation from Swazi authorities.
Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza is a Swazi politician and pro-democracy activist. Formerly a member of the House of Assembly of Eswatini, he was arrested during the 2021 protests, and in 2024 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of terrorism, sedition, and murder, in a trial condemned by national and international human rights organisations.
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