Your Excellency António Guterres
United Nations, New York
C/O: Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric
19th October 2021
Dear UN Secretary General
RE: KILLING OF CIVILIANS BY KING MSWATI’S SOLDIERS.
1. Your Excellency, I am writing to bring to your attention that King Mswati is unleashing soldiers and the police to kill unarmed civilians merely for demanding democracy.
2. Eswatini is ruled by Mswati as an absolute Monarch with Executive, Judicial and Legislative powers. He appoints the Prime Minister, Ministers, Judges, a majority of Senators and all members of various councils of government.
3. As a member of the United Nations, eSwatini is obliged to guarantee and / or uphold democratic principles and to respect human rights.
4. It is disappointing to note that, instead of holding King Mswati and his government accountable for the ongoing human rights violations, the office of UN Resident Coordinator Nathalie Ndongo-Seh is making endless statements without taking meaningful action to protect civilians.
5. Your Excellency, the time for massaging King Mswati’sgovernment without taking serious action is over as more and more Swazis are killed by the security forces every day. On Wednesday October 13, 2021, soldiers shot and injured over twenty protesters in Siteki and some of these people are now disabled.
6. The media has been captured in eSwatini and has portrayed the country as peaceful for years. Any journalist who dares to criticise Mswati and his government is persecuted by the police and soldiers.
7. In light of the aforementioned, I would request your office to persuade both parties to engage into a political dialogue that seeks to usher the country into a new democratic dispensation.
Your urgent intervention in this regard will be highly appreciated.
Zweli Martin Dlamini
Swaziland News editor
UN Secretary General His Excellency António Guterres(pic: UN)