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Unknown gunmen kill popular Eswatini rights activist hours after altercation with King

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A prominent human rights activist and opposition politician in Eswatini, Thulani Maseko, was on Saturday, killed by unknown gunmen at his home, hours after the country’s King Mswati III challenged the country’s activists opposed to his rule.

Maseko, a lawyer, was shot dead in the night by the attackers at his home in Luhleko, about 50km (30 miles) from the capital Mbabane, Sikelela Dlamini, the spokesman for the opposition MultiStakeholder Forum (MSF), founded by Maseko, told journalists on Monday.

Dlamini said he was informed that the assassins shot Maseko through the window while he was inside the house with his family.

“Details are still scant and, owing to the trauma his family members are undergoing, they are not yet ready to speak,” Dlamini added.

Until his assassination, Maseko was a leading human rights lawyer and columnist in Eswatini who had a pending court battle with King Mswati over the monarch’s decision to rename the country Eswatini by decree in 2018.

King Mswati who is Africa’s remaining absolute monarchy had changed the country’s name from Swaziland to Eswatini to mark the 50th anniversary of its independence from Britain, an action which has continued to draw opposition and litigations since then.

Maseko’s position was that the king had not followed the constitution in the process.

King Mswati, who has ruled since 1986, is regularly accused of human rights violations. The king, who can dissolve parliament, and government and appoint or dismiss judges, also commands the police and army.

Last week, the the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) accused the king of hiring mercenaries, mainly white Afrikaners from neighbouring South Africa, to help Eswatini’s security forces suppress rising opposition to his regime.

In response, King Mswati was quoted as saying:

“People should not shed tears and complain about mercenaries killing them,” King Mswati had said.

“These people started the violence first but when the state institutes a crackdown on them for their actions, they make a lot of noise blaming King Mswati for bringing in mercenaries,” he added.

Metro

Zambia’s ruling party UPND warns against personal attacks on President Hichilema

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Zambia’s ruling party, the UPND, has warned opposition politicians and critics against personal attacks on President Hakainde Hichilema as his meekness should not be mistaken for weakness.

Secretary-General of the UPND, Batuke Imenda, who gave the warning in a statement in Lusaka on Monday, urged political opponents to always engage in mature and issue-based discourse.

Zambia Monitor reports that Imenda’s warning, was directed at the leader of Zambia Must Prosper (ZMP) party, Kelvin Bwalya Fube, whose recent remarks Imenda described as “provocative” and a “feeble attempt to mislead citizens.”

“Provocative words uttered by Kelvin Bwalya against our party and President Hichilema are a clear demonstration of naivety,” Imenda said in the statement.

He further advised Bwalya to abandon personal attacks and focus on substantial political issues.

The UPND Secretary suggested that Bwalya’s attacks stemmed from a desire for relevance amid declining political fortunes, hinting at a possible alignment with former President Edgar Lungu.

“It appears KBF is hoping that Edgar Lungu might support his embattled political career by unjustly attacking President Hichilema,” he said.

Imenda defended the President’s record, highlighting that under Hichilema’s leadership, Zambia’s democratic space had expanded compared to the previous PF administration, which he accused of stifling freedoms.

He noted that while criticism was welcome, it should not devolve into baseless attacks, warning that opposition figures should not misinterpret Hichilema’s restraint as weakness.

Imenda also criticized Bwalya for overlooking the gains in transparency and justice since the change in government, claiming that past regimes were marked by resource mismanagement and corruption.

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Following backlash, Nigerian govt withdraws treason charges against minors

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The Nigerian government has officially withdrawn the treason charges it entered against some minors who participated in the #EndBadGovernance protest that spread across the country from August 1 to the 10th.

The nation was thrown into shock on Friday when the Nigeria Police presented 76 protesters at the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on treason. Among the suspects were four minors who slumped before they could be arraigned before the court.

This caused serious uproar in the country with Nigerians condemning the government and calling for the unconditional release of the kids and the dismissal of the charges against them.

The decision to withdraw the charges against the underage accused came following a directive by President Bola Tinubu who ordered the immediate withdrawal of the charges and an in-depth investigation into what led to the arrest and detention of the minors.

Tinubu had also ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN) to officially take over the case file as well as review the cases following public outcry that came with the arraignment of the minors.

The charges were finally withdrawn on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja through an application for discontinuance filled by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the AGF.

According to Abubakar, the discontinuance application was based on provisions of sections 174(1), (b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

The DPPF also applied for further proceedings to be conducted without the presence of the minors in the courtroom, in line with provisions of Section 266(b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Childs’ Rights Act.

In response, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Fanala (SAN), who stood in for the accused as well as other defence lawyers in the matter, did not oppose the applications which promoted the judge, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, to strike out the charges, while the four affected minors were also delisted from the charge sheet.

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