eSwatini’s Opposition Kicks Against Sack of Teachers President

In Eswatini, the opposition People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) has urged all political organizations and trade unions to unite and condemn the dismissal of Mbongwa Dlamini, President of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT). A year ago, the government accused Dlamini of instructing teachers not to go to school after the Swaziland International Solidarity Forces called for the closure of schools to protest the continued incarceration of two members of parliament. Dlamini said he advised the teachers not to go to school for their own safety. Last week, the government charged Dlamini with absenteeism and fired him. Penuel Malinga, secretary general of PUDEMO, tells VOA’s James Butty, Dlamini’s dismissal is union bashing, and he should be reinstated.