MBABANE: Sibusiso Nhlabatsi, a human rights lawyer said the Mafutseni women vendors and residents evictions and the current scholarships crisis in the country amounts to gross violation of human rights.
Speaking to this Swaziland News on Wednesday, the human rights lawyer said it was becoming clear that human rights protected by the Constitution only exists on paper in the country.
“As a country, we are expected to respect human rights particularly in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis where rights were limited by the pandemic. It is surprising that while we are concerned about such limitations, human rights are being violated across the country through evictions and the denial of the right to education as government is refusing to provide scholarships” said the human lawyer.
Nhlabatsi said the human rights violations will affect the image of the country at international level as the country signed various international Conventions that guarantees human rights.
This publication reported on Sunday that King Mswati allegedly sent his Ludzidzini Royal Council to evict women vendors and residents at Mafutseni to give way for a project facilitated by Princess Sibahle’s husband. The decision has been condemned by various women rights activists in a country where about 70% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Human Rights Lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi