On the 31st of January 2022 Colani Maseko, president of the Swaziland National Union of Students, was abducted by plain-clothes Criminal Investigation Department officers under the guise of “questioning”. He was released on bail on 4 February after being charged with sedition and damage to property.1 In May, he was again abducted outside the University of Eswatini by soldiers who beat him and then took him to Matsapha police station from where he was later taken to hospital.

In June, Zweli Martin Dlamini, editor of Swaziland News, one of the country’s few independent online newspapers, was declared a terrorist under the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008.

Botswana Federation of Trade Union Secretary General Thusang Butale has explained that the BFTU stands in solidarity with the Federation in Eswatini- TUCOSWA to condemn the brutal killing of trade union and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko on 21 January 2023.

Secretary General, Thusang Butale said the BFTU, an affiliate of the Southern African Trade Union Coordinating Council, as well as the International Trade Union Confederation among other unions, makes them part of the global trade unions.

According to Butale, the 12th of April has been declared the day of action against state repression of trade unions and the murder of trade unionist and human rights lawyer, Thulani Maseko in Eswatini.

The union condemns the continued intimidation, assault, harassment, arrests of trade union officials, the extra-judicial killings of more than 80 protesters since June 2021 and the banning of public gatherings in Eswatini.

Butale said that there has been a lot of alarming activities in Eswatini that have supressed the rights of people living in that nation this year.

The activities that are taking place in Eswatini are contrary to Convention 87, as there is a worrying trend of rights abuses and a lack of respect for the rule of law, civil liberties and human rights.

Butale said they have written to the Prime Minister of Eswatini and copied the letter to SADC, other Embassies and other Human Rights Activists.

This was done to show key stakeholders that they must do more to aid Eswatini to move away from being a state that abuses human rights and labour laws.

“We are calling for democracy with a legitimate expectation that Eswatini is under ILO Convention 87 and therefore they must comply with it,” Butale said.

He noted that there should be an end to all unlawful activities by the state towards workers exercising their civil liberties. BFTU demands the immediate release of all prisoners that have been arrested because of this.

“We demand an independent Judicial investigation under the international supervision to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Butale said that they hope that global awareness and pressure will bring change to Eswatini.

African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Deputy General Secretary Joel Odigie said that the ITUC Africa lends its weight of support to the workforce in Eswatini who are facing oppression.

Odigie said that they urge the King of Eswtini and his government to organise an inclusive dialogue as a matter of urgency.

“This dialogue should address the issues around the democratisation of Eswatini,’’ Odigie said that the issues of human rights abuse in the nation should be addressed because many people currently live under oppression.

Odigie said all those who have been conveying messages of their people should not be facing oppression, threats and harassment and therefore it is imperative for the Eswatini king to discuss genuinely the issues that people are disgruntled about.

The dialogue must include workers and their representatives, it must also include representatives of communities and employers and Employers’ organisations among other stakeholders to discuss the challenges bedevilling Eswatini.

ITUC International Acting General Secretary, Owen Tudor said that the murder of Tulani Maseko is the reason why the world is up in arms today to call for a stop of abuses against the people of Eswatini.

“Eswatini is a poor country, the reason it is a poor country is the lack of democracy and the fact that it’s the last remaining fuddle dictatorship in Africa,” Tudor said, adding that this has to end.

According to Amnesty International, in the year 2022 fundamental freedom were supressed in Eswatini. Political activists were arrested, subjected to torture and other ill-treatment and their homes were raided by security forces.

Peaceful protests were violently dispersed, and the government denied human rights concerns raised by UN Special Rapporteurs. nd News, one of the country’s few independent online newspapers, was declared a terrorist under the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008.