South Africa: The borders of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces near Eswtini witnessed peaceful protests by the third largest party of South Africa, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.
While referring to the protest as important, the members of EFF added that they have organized the protest on Tuesday to raise the awareness among the people about the ongoing repression against pro-democracy protests in Eswatini.”
Sinawo Tambo, a spokesman for EFF, asserted, “We have closed the borders to raise the awareness and show the King Mswati that we have only fences borders now, but if needed, the EFF and many South Africans are also ready to pledge to work for the solidarity with the people of Eswatini.”
King Mswati II came to power at the age of 18 in 1986 and ruled Eswatini for almost 36 years.
The South African country has witnessed huge unrest due to the violent protests, which have also taken the lives of the common citizens since May 2021. The life of a 25-year old student Thabni Nkomonye has also been killed by the police when they were protesting against the ruler.
Further, the South Africans were also applauded by their neighbours and showed their support.
Lungelo Dube, a human rights activist from Eswatini, asserted, “We really appreciated the solidarity and encouragement shown by the EFF and sends a strong message to reject the current regime and create awareness among the people about the fault of the current regime.
He also accused the current regime of strong allegations and stated that the regime is full of serious human rights violations, which include extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances. As per 2021 Amnesty International reports, at least 1,000 people who are protesting or showing support for the protest have been illegally jailed.
Besides this, 80 people have been murdered, and more than 200 people have been hospitalized due to major injuries since Nkomonye’s death.
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