Institute of Security Studies urges SADC to do more in Eswatini

By Khulile Thwala

After Human Rights Lawyer Thulani Maseko’s assassination, the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) says SADC must do more than ‘propose’ something the country’s authorities have already agreed to.

The institute says the murder on 21 January of Maseko has pushed the country further down the slope towards chaos. Maseko was assassinated. He was hit by bullets fired through the living room window of his house at Luyengo.

The killer or killers did not enter the home or steal anything. ISS details how there is intense speculation on who organised the hit, which is likely to intensify the political situation in Eswatini.

“Maseko was a fierce and effective critic of the government and had often legally represented opposition figures falsely prosecuted for their political views. In 2014 he was jailed for two years for penning a stinging critique of Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi, whom His Majesty King Mswati III later fired for gross misconduct,” stated ISS in a statement.

Maseko also chaired the Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) – the country’s body association of political parties and civics. According to ISS, rumours have been swirling about divisions and growing tensions within the opposition.

Since the civil unrest in June and July 2021, violence between oppositionists and government officials has proliferated.  It was this eruption that prompted the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to intervene, hence the importance of the institution’s actions going forward.