By Wendy Magagula

MBABANE: The African National Congress(ANC) has called upon the Southern African Development Community(SADC) to intervene as King Mswati unleashes soldiers to shot and kill civilians.

Eswatini citizens has been marching to the various Constituencies across the country demanding democratic reforms, however, King Mswati subsequently issued a decree banning delivery of petitions and the situation subsequently manifested into chaos.

The ANC has called upon the eSwatini to engage in a meaningful dialogue with opposition parties, its citizens and trade unions to find a solution to the socio economic circumstances in the country.

In a public statement released on 30th June 2021, Lindiwe Zulu, the Chairperson of the ANC International Relations Sub-Committee said the use of security forces to quell political dissent and the failure to address legitimate civilian concerns complicates the conflict and adds fuel to the fire.

“We call on the government to heed this urgent call by moving away from autocracy, strong handed crisis management and brutal repression of legitimate civilian concerns. We further call on SADC to be seized with this matter before it escalates beyond control\" read the statement in part