Eswatini - The African Mirror

Dec

2023

Salon to soil: The former hairdresser now styling avocado farming in Eswatini

WHEN Fezile Hlophe fell pregnant and dropped out of school, her immediate plans had to be put on hold - but her dream of being a successful businesswoman was not. At only 17 years old, Hlophe had to find a way to provide for her child as a single parent, so she started braiding people’s hair in her neighbourhood. “I didn’t earn much but I had aspirations of being a better person one day,” she said. Several years later, when Hlophe went to braid the hair of a new customer located around 20 kilometres from where the young woman lived,…

Sep

2023

By ESA ALEXANDER and LUNGA MASUKU

Eswatini holds parliamentary elections under monarch’s control

NEWS

VOTERS in Eswatini queued under the hot sun on Friday morning to cast their ballots in parliamentary elections whose outcome will make little difference to the politics of a country controlled by Africa's last absolute monarch. King Mswati III has ruled the southern African kingdom of about 1.2 million people since 1986 when he inherited the crown from his father, Sobhuza II. Political parties are banned, but individual candidates can run for seats in the House of Assembly every five years. The power of the politicians elected in these polls consists mainly of being able to make suggestions to the…

Jun

2023

By NOKUKHANYA MUSI - AIMIENOHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Eswatini brings the world to its doorstep at the Annual MTN Bushfire

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, MULTIMEDIA

THE road to Malkerns Valley in Eswatini is packed with cars, causing a massive traffic jam. Despite this, the atmosphere is jolly and lively, and no one seems bothered by the delay. That's because the road leads to Eswatini's annual MTN Bushfire Festival of the Arts. People are already starting to party and as the cars start moving again, Malkerns comes into view, a tranquil pineapple-growing town known for its picturesque farmland and mountains. In the distance, the pulsating beats of Amapiano music can already be heard. The entrance is crowded the food stalls offering a variety of quick bites,…

Apr

2023

By NOKUKHANYA MUSI – AIMIENOHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Solar backpack transforming school children’s lives in Eswatini

NEWS

14-YEAR-OLD Xolile Masango from Macetjeni in eastern Lubombo in the kingdom of Eswatini wants to be a doctor when she grows up to treat her sickly father. She also wants to be able to provide healthcare to her community. Born into a family of three children, her parents make a living from ploughing and weeding the local fields, but their combined wages aren't enough to put food on the table, let alone buy electricity. Masango is one of many Swati girls who can't study after dusk and are therefore less likely to graduate and get jobs that can help pull…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Regina Twala was a towering intellectual and activist in Eswatini – but she was erased from history

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

BORN in South Africa and exiled to neighbouring Eswatini, Regina Twala was one of southern Africa’s most important intellectuals: a pioneering writer, academic, political activist and feminist. Why, then, has she been all but forgotten? That’s the question a new book sets out to answer. In the process Written Out: The Silencing of Regina Gelana Twala restores Twala to her rightful place in history. We spoke with the book’s author, historian Joel Cabrita. Author JOEL CABRITA, Associate Professor of History, Director of the Center for African Studies, Stanford University Who is Regina Twala and why is she important? Regina Gelana…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Farewell Thulani Maseko, the People’s Lawyer: Sharp Bro, Best!

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

TSHIAMO RANTAO ON 21 October 2019 at 2258hrs Thulani Maseko sent me the following WhatsApp message: “My Boet, I hope you are well. I am in your country, Botswana, in Gaborone until Friday to oversee your elections! If you have time at some point to catch up.” At the time he sent the message, I had already retired to bed, and so I only saw it and responded the following morning, asking him where he was based in Gaborone. He responded: “At an Airbnb called City Mews by Independent Street Dear Cde”. Unfortunately, I could not meet with him since…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Meet Carole Lubelo, the young Liswati fashion designer on the rise

BEAUTY AND FASHION

NOKUKHANYA MUSI, BIRD STORY AGENCY IN 2015, Carole Mngometulu took a bold, risky step. With no formal training, no money, and no mentor, she started on a new journey, determined to become a fashion designer. 'I only had God and my sewing machine," she explained. Closed off from most of the world during her boarding school days, it wasn't until her final year at high school that she learned of the fashion scene in Eswatini. Then, fresh out of high school, she landed her first job at Woolworth's retail clothing store, where she sketched and sewed, during her lunch break.…

Feb

2022

By The African Mirror

Eswatini: how social pressures and poverty affect the ability of children to navigate school

EDUCATION

THE population of Eswatini (previously called Swaziland) is slightly below 1.2 million people, and about 58.9% of the people live below the nationally defined poverty line – living on less than US$1.9 a day. For years Eswatini has also had the highest prevalence of HIV and AIDS in the world. In 2019, about 27% of the country’s population was HIV positive. Author NCAMSILE MOTSA, Post Doctoral Researcher, School of Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal One of the devastating effects of HIV and AIDS, coupled with poverty, has been the escalating numbers of vulnerable children in the country. For example, in 2012,…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Democracy delayed in Eswatini

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THREE months after Eswatini was convulsed by pro-democracy protests and the worst rioting in its history, King Mswati III’s hold on power is as absolute as ever, his defiance of demands for constitutional reform just as resolute. The protests, which began in June and degenerated into three weeks of frustration-fueled looting and arson across the country, have demonstrated just how entrenched the monarchy is – exposing the vulnerability of the opposition rather than the royal establishment. The government’s response to the unrest was to send troops into the streets, who together with the police, officially killed 27 people, although rights groups say…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

eSwatini forces unhappy with the SADC

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER PRO-democracy forces in eSwatini, where scores have been killed and injured by the police, have criticised a delegation from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for meeting with the government only and ignoring them. One of the unhappy organisations is the Economic Freedom Front in Swaziland. The party’s spokesperson Sphelele Nkomondze said they were angry that the SADC delegation met with the government and then post-postponed, to a later date, a meeting with the civil society. “This is clear that the SADC cannot hold member states accountable for gross violation of human rights in front of them,…