By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo Rather than succumbing to despair, Thandi Vilakati has defied the odds, navigating life’s challenges with resilience and determination following the tragic loss of her sole family breadwinner in a car accident. In 2000, she shattered gender norms in a male-dominated labour-sending country, following in the footsteps of her late husband to become […]Read More

Uli na zingati (How much do you have?) In MakanDay’s first nationwide collaboration, journalists from five provinces—Copperbelt, Eastern, Northern, Southern, and North-Western—investigate systemic failures and injustices within Zambia’s criminal justice system, which disproportionately denies the poor access to justice. In Kasama, Northern Province, families of murder victims struggle with unresolved loss as cases remain uninvestigated. […]Read More

By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo Sibangani Alfred Nkhambule, a 66-year-old former mineworker, has been fighting a battle against the odds since returning to eSwatini after years of labouring in South Africa’s mines. Stripped of his dignity and his right to health care when he was forced to leave his medical records behind, Nkhambule has faced insurmountable challenges […]Read More

By Zwelethu Dlamini As wildfires devastate eSwatini’s landscapes, they’ve evolved from seasonal threats to a growing crisis. Fuelled by climate change and human activity, these fires are reshaping the environment, economy, and lives across the nation. Government and environmentalists are raising alarms, calling for urgent action. A key example of wildfire damage is around Sibebe […]Read More

Oxpeckers tracked 14 GH2 projects in Namibia, finding implementation has been slow and the only real growth has been in bureaucracy. John Grobler investigates The Namibian government’s commitment to a green hydrogen-fuelled economy appears to be wavering, judging by the ruling SWAPO Party’s 2024 election manifesto. With just 400, mostly temporary new jobs to show for millions […]Read More

By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo When the Supreme Court of eSwatini recently dismissed the Times of Swaziland (now Times of Eswatini) appeal against a E100 000 compensation for a defamatory story based on court documents and interviews, this shows that the media is under siege in eSwatini.  In August this year, the Supreme Court upheld the High […]Read More

By Zwelethu Dlamini As Eswatini seeks a new loan of E2.08 billion from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the Mkhondvo-Ngwavuma Water Project (MNWAP), concerns over the country’s mounting debt levels are growing. While the government has made bold claims about the necessity of capital projects like MNWAP for national development and food security, the […]Read More

By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo While many of his University of Eswatini (UNESWA) law classmates enjoy a life of luxury in the suburbs, 54-year-old Musa Ndlangamandla has chosen a different path. Tucked away in the rural Nkhaba area, Ndlangamandla has no regrets about trading the trappings of the legal profession for a life dedicated to community service. […]Read More

By Zwelethu Dlamini Almost a year after the government led by Russell Mmiso Dlamini took over, the decline and deteriorating standards continue unabated despite promises for a drastic turnaround. This government, appointed by King Mswati III into office in November 2023, found a dysfunctional health system and almost a year later, the situation has not […]Read More

By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo Inscribed on the tombstone of a white settler, William Crowie, whose remains have been lying at the colonial whites’ only cemetery in the city of Manzini for 62 years, are the words “Peace Perfect Peace”.  But with the heap of garbage that has encroached into the graveyard for tens of settlers, it […]Read More