Eswatini union official accuses government of harassment

A spokesperson for the Swaziland Transport, Communications and Allied Workers Union has accused the Eswatini government of carrying out institutionalized judicial harassment. This, after the Eswatini High Court on Tuesday handed down a 43-year jail sentence to two members of parliament. Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube. They were arrested and jailed in July 2021 while delivering a petition calling for democratic reforms and charged with promoting political terrorism. They were found guilty in 2023. Amnesty International and the US Embassy in Eswatini have expressed concern about the sentences. Sticks Nkambule, general secretary of the Swaziland Transport, Communications and Allied Workers Union, tells VOA’s James Butty, the sentences are part of the Eswatini government’s effort to silence those calling for democratic reforms in the country. Government spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo did not respond to our request for comment.