Njelic Joins Masses In Spreading Awareness To Save Lives In Swaziland. A wave of violent protests have been sweeping the small landlocked southern African kingdom of eSwatini, formerly Swaziland, for over a week now, as citizens push for democratic reforms. Pro-democracy protests started peacefully in the Manzini region on June 20 when youth took to the streets in a push for the right to choose the prime minister democratically, as opposed to the prime minister being appointed by the king. They also demanded that King Mswati III hand over power as the absolute monarch and allow democracy to prevail.
Those in the public eye have joined the movement to create and spread awareness on what’s happening in eSwatini. Amaapiano star Njelic, has decided to use his social platforms to share and create awareness. He wrote, “lets help fight violence in Swaziland 🇸🇿 🙏 woman and children are raped and murdered every day, lets share till it gets to the right people. #eswatinilivesmatter #eswatiniprotests🇸🇿.”
The protests turned violent on June 28 when buildings were torched and shops looted in Matsapha. It is believed the torched businesses are owned by King Mswati III. This was after acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku suspended the delivery of petitions to Tinkhundla, traditional administrative subdivisions.
For days, Eswatini, Africa’s last absolute monarchy, has been rocked by the largest pro-democracy protests in years that have seen security forces engage mostly young demonstrators defying an overnight curfew in running street battles. Soldiers have allegedly killed 29 more people in eSwatini, the largest opposition party, the People’s United Democratic Movement (Pudemo), said on Friday. The party reported on Thursday that, according to information it has sourced from leading hospitals, more than 40 people have been killed, 150 treated for gunshot wounds and hundreds more were missing after soldiers allegedly opened fire on civilians.
The government has denied unleashing the army on people and declaring martial law. “There has been no martial law that has been declared, as reported,” Masuku said in a statement on Thursday. He said the army was called in to restore order. “The government has tightened security to regain the rule of law, peace and to protect all emaSwati. We continue not to tolerate the looting, arson, violence and all other forms of criminality that are currently being directed at businesses and people’s property,” Masuku said.
