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

Companies mining commodities needed for the global energy transition are accused of keeping affected communities in Madagascar in the dark about their plans. Oscar Nkala investigates On the move: Taxi motorcycles in Ambohitimana, a neighbourhood in the capital city Antananarivo. Photo: Oscar Nkala A good business day for taxi motorcyclist Itamara Rakotoriamanana is when he makes at […]Read More

A total of N$18,8 million stolen from SME Bank was transferred to and laundered by former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s pilot and confidant Robert Mhlanga. This is according to court documents filed in South Africa’s Gauteng High Court by SME Bank’s liquidators Ian McLaren and David Bruni. The liquidators said approximately N$20,8 million was transferred […]Read More

By Zwelethu Dlamini In eSwatini, the right to freedom of expression is constitutionally guaranteed, yet in practice, it remains perilous. This paradox was the central theme of the eSwatini Freedom of Expression Summit 2024, hosted jointly by the Campaign for Freedom of Expression (CDE) and the Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organisations (CANGO). It brought together […]Read More

By Zwelethu Dlamini The recent sentencing of former MPs Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube to 25 and 18 years in prison has ignited a fierce debate over the integrity of the kingdom’s judicial system. What many view as a glaring miscarriage of justice is being condemned by human rights advocates and legal experts alike, who […]Read More

By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo The outburst of anger against the whistleblower behind Swazi Secrets Leaks exposing grand corruption provoked inside the House of Parliament and Hospital Hill Cabinet House is seen as a microcosm of double-standards in the quest to rid eSwatini of corruption. On July 17, the lawmakers gave finance minister Neal Rijkenberg a seven-day […]Read More