Eswatini pro-democracy protesters burn brewery partly owned by King Mswati

Pro-democracy protesters in eSwatini on Tuesday evening set alight a building belonging to eSwatini Beverages, a company that King Mswati III owns shares in.

The demonstrators, who are demanding a multiparty democracy and an elected prime minister, were reportedly angered by the government’s decision to cut access to the internet and impose a curfew from 6pm to 5am.

Swaziland Breweries up in flames #eswatini pic.twitter.com/Npi5V3RlA5

— Meluleki Simelane ???????? (@IamSluga) June 30, 2021

Police clashed with demonstrators despite the dusk to dawn curfew and a military deployment to quell a spate of pro-democracy protests.

The government cited rising Covid-19 cases as the reason for the measures after it dismissed reports that King Mswati had fled to South Africa.

Since the demonstrations started a few days ago, one person has been confirmed dead with many others injured.

ALSO READ: Reports of King Mswati fleeing Eswatini dismissed as fake news

BREAKING NEWS: Eswatini Beverages where King Mswati owns shares burned by protestors. Tension is escalating in this tiny Kingdom, citizens want the King to surrender power. pic.twitter.com/FkHvQQGSUi

— Swazi News (@SwaziNews) June 30, 2021

Soldiers patrolling streets

Demonstrations are rare in eSwatini, a small landlocked state previously known as Swaziland.

Political parties are legally banned, but recent weeks have seen violent anti-monarchy demonstrations in parts of the country, with the opposition reporting scores of people injured, with many hospitalised.

Witnesses in the two main cities of Manzini and Mbabane reported seeing soldiers patrolling the streets where protesters have been burning tyres and stoning cars.

People looted a furniture store and on Monday some shops were burned down, witness on the ground said.

Shops were ransacked and torched overnight in Matsapha, an industrial hub on the western edge of Manzini, according to several sources.

“The military is on the streets,” Lucky Lukhele, spokesperson for pro-democracy grouping Swaziland Solidarity Network, told AFP.

“Yesterday was the worst night ever, where a young man was shot point-blank by the army and some are in hospital as we speak,” Lukhele charged.

‘Tipping point’

Acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku described the unrest as “alarming and upsetting”.

“We have witnessed violence in several parts of the country perpetrated by an unruly crowd where people have been attacked, property destroyed,” he said in a statement.

“Security forces are on the ground to maintain law and order,” he added.

Wandile Dludlu, secretary-general of the People’s United Democratic Movement, said King Mswati “unleashed armed soldiers and police on unarmed civilians” on Monday.

More than 250 protesters have been injured with gunshot wounds, broken bones and shock, he said.

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The government last week banned protests, with national police commissioner William Dlamini warning that officers would be “zero-tolerant” of breaches of the ban.

The kingdom has traditionally stifled dissent and demonstrations, including by pro-democracy trade unions.

Eswatini is “at a crucial point in the long struggle to get rid of the autocratic monarchy”, the country’s Communist Party said in a statement.

“The people have had enough. This is the tipping point.”

Africa’s last absolute monarchy

With unfettered political power over his 1.3 million people and ruling by decree, the king is Africa’s only absolute monarch and one of the few remaining in the world.

Crowned in 1986 when he was just 18, the king has 15 wives and has come under fire for his lavish spending while most inhabitants live below the poverty line.

In 2019, the country was rocked by a series of strikes by civil servants who accused the monarch of draining public coffers at the expense of his subjects.

Additional reporting by AFP