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.