Hosia Mviringi
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has announced plans to immediately send a team of Ministers to eSwatini to try and find a lasting solution to the ongoing upheavals.
Announcing this decision in a statement, SADC Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, Dr Mokweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, who is President of the Republic of Botswana, said that the current disturbances are an affront to the regional efforts at fighting the third wave of a resurgent Covid-19 pandemic.
“SADC also notes with concern, the disruptions to normal personal, community and daily economic activities, including critical Government Covid-19 response strategies, which are essential for the health and safety of people of the Kingdom of eSwatini, and the entire humanity,” he said.
The team of Ministers will have the full SADC mandate to try and broker peace in the Kingdom by bringing together all players in the current violent disturbances to find a lasting solution to the misunderstanding.
Property has been and continues to be damaged in the protests as protest leaders seek to cajole the government as much as possible to the negotiating table.
Protesters are mostly made up of activists and so far it is not clear If the protest leaders had tried to engage or lobby the government on their grievances and to what extent.
However, what is clear is that the latest violent protest has been well-rehearsed and resourced as proved by the level of coordination as evidenced by the spontaneous large scale destruction to the task force which almost got security forces overwhelmed.
SADC is concerned that if the current situation is not arrested, it could drag the Kingdom into a civil war, thus the urged deployment of a Ministerial task force to investigate and find a lasting solution to the challenges.
The current violent disruptions in the Southern African Kingdom has come as a big surprise as the country has a long history of being very peaceful and friendly.
The regional body has called for restraint while urging all aggrieved parties to first exhaust all available lawful channels to address their grievances.
The statement also implored the Security to act with restraint as they respond to the violent demonstrations.
“SADC also urges stakeholders to channel their grievances through the established national structures, and the authorities to have an open national dialogue, to continue upholding the legacy of peace and stability that has characterised the people of the Kingdom of eSwatini, and the region at large,” the statement continued.
The timing of the current disturbances in eSwatini is particularly problematic considering that the region has its hands full already with the ongoing deployment of the SADC Standby force into Mozambique to deal with a terrorist insurgency in that country’s Cabo Delgado province.
This leaves the question of a foreign hand in the region very open for debate. What if a foreign hand is up to try and overwhelm the region with multiple conflicts to deal with?
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