Hunger is sweeping across Swaziland and vital
medicines are running out as the Swazi Government continues to mismanage the
kingdom’s economy. Universities and colleges are closed as armed police clear
campuses as students protest against unpaid allowances and poor educational
standards.
Meanwhile, the 49-year-old King Mswati, Swaziland’s
absolute monarch, is to take a 19-year-old as a bride. It is his 14th
wife (or his 15th, the Swazi people are not allowed to know).
These are some of the reports in the latest
compilation Swaziland Striving for
Freedom Vol 27 July to September 2017 from the Swazi Media Commentary website, coving the three
months from July to September 2017. It is available to download free of charge at
Scribd. Police
continue to be out of control using heavy-handed tactics against legitimate
protests and spying on all sections of the community, including
parliamentarians. Wardens in jails sexually assault male prisoners and children
at school receive illegal corporal punishment: one boy lost an eye during a
classroom caning.
There are problems ahead in the kingdom which has one
of the worst human rights records in the world. A new Public Order Act allows
the state to further clamp down on dissent. Anyone who defaces a picture of the
King could end up in jail for two years.
Swazi Media Commentary is published online, updated
most weekdays. It is operated entirely by volunteers and receives no financial
backing from any organisation. It is devoted to providing information and
commentary in support of human rights in Swaziland.
See also
A
DECADE OF NEWS AND VIEWS
SWAZILAND
LURCHES INTO CRISES
HUMAN
RIGHTS YEAR-END REVIEW
PROGRESS
TO SWAZI DEMOCRACY?
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