Like the support South Africans received across the world throughout the protracted liberation struggle, the people of eSwatini deserve practical support from worldwide progressive democrats, write the Africa Research Hub Institute's Elson Kgaka and Bennitto Motitswe.
The increasingly deteriorating politico-socioeconomic situation in eSwatini must worry all progressive democrats in Africa and elsewhere the world over.
The battle outcry from pro-democracy protesters is loud and clear - that the unfolding events show the people of Eswatini are outraged against the rule by the absolute monarch and are demanding to participate in the election of their own public representatives.
There could be no other lasting solution to the protracted political problem facing eSwatini other than urgently conducting inclusive dialogue towards achieving democratisation.
The deployment of a team of SADC ministers to eSwatini by the Troika must be welcomed as a step in the right direction. The duty of the delegation must not only be limited to assessing and quelling the current tensions; it must insist on facilitating and creating conducive conditions to facilitate an inclusive dialogue about the co-existence of a kingdom and government of the people by the people for the people.
King Mswati III must accept that he will not sustain absolute monarchy for far any longer. He must embrace human rights, recognise birthrights and the need for co-existence and co-governance with his fellow citizens, and therefore accept that the abolition of absolute monarchy is non-negotiable.
The need for stakeholder talks similar to SA's Codesa
The pro-democracy protesters have over the decades raised key demands which require attending to and resolving. An ideal platform is inclusive stakeholder talks modelled similar to South Africa's Codesa.
The SADC delegation must therefore not only engage government role players, including the king and prime minister; there must be open and extensive engagements with non-governmental role players including all banned political parties, businesses, labour unions, religious, and diverse civil society and community-based organisations such as women, youth, LGBTQIA+, and cultural groups.
Anything less than this would be meaningless and unacceptable on the part of SADC. The people of eSwatini have not received the kind of support they deserve to ensure that there is respect for human rights in the kingdom. The AU must therefore intervene and not become a spectator if SADC fails.
The protracted political and governance instability is no longer about the people of eSwatini only; the crisis is directly affecting SADC and the entire continent, therefore, engaging interested stakeholders across the continent is inevitable. There will never be economic stability and development anywhere in the continent until there is political stability and democracy in eSwatini.
Internal and external engagements must not be seen as interference. The kind of stalemate in Eswatini affects all Africans. Of course it is primarily and ultimately the people of eSwatini themselves who must articulate their own problems and demands and collaborate to find lasting solutions, thereby creating their shared democratic future.
Worldwide support needed
However, like the support South Africans received across the world throughout the protracted liberation struggle, the people of eSwatini deserve practical support from worldwide progressive democrats.
Inclusive talks require that all stakeholders must be properly co-ordinated and articulate the fundamental problem and demands in ways that show unity of purpose. All stakeholders do not have to agree on everything. The inclusive dialogue becomes the neutral platform to table and ventilate issues on which stakeholders agree or disagree.
Inclusive talks would equally serve as a platform for the monarchy to explain its stand in all issues raised by all stakeholders. At the end of it all, there must be strategic and tactical policy compromises where needs are in the broader interests of all the people of eSwatini.
What cannot be accepted anymore by peace-loving and progressive democrats within and outside eSwatini is the heavy handedness of the absolute monarchy resulting in the ongoing political stalemate, destruction of property, poverty, corruption, inequalities, luxurious lifestyle by the king and families at the expense of the people of eSwatini, and loss of life - all exposed by pro-democracy protesters.
Over and above concerted efforts by the AU, SADC and other interested actors within and outside eSwatini, South Africa could play a unique role given the Codesa experiences, and must therefore be encouraged to show keen interest and take a lead in stabilising the situation, facilitating talks, and persuading all stakeholders towards achieving democratisation in eSwatini, without undermining other role players.
- Elson Kgaka and Bennitto Motitswe are with the Africa Research Hub Institute, a nonprofit public law, public policy, and research think tank based in Pretoria. They write in their personal capacities.
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