Eswatini is a monarchy currently ruled by King Mswati III. The king exercises ultimate authority over all branches of the national government and effectively controls local governance through his influence over traditional chiefs. Political dissent and civic and labor activism are subject to harsh punishment under sedition and other laws. Additional human rights problems include impunity for the abuses committed by security forces and discrimination against women and LGBT+ people.

• In July, a court handed Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, former members of parliament who supported prodemocracy reforms, prison sentences of 25 years and 18 years respectively. They had been found guilty in 2023 of terrorism, sedition, and causing deaths and destruction of property that took place during mass prodemocracy demonstrations in 2021. The sentences prompted condemnation from international rights groups, which called the charges against them baseless and a misuse of the justice system to punish dissent.
• In August, the Supreme Court upheld the Suppression of Terrorism Act, as well as restrictive sections of the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act, which authorities have invoked to punish dissent (including in the cases of Mabuza and Dube). International rights groups and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) condemned the ruling, saying it allowed the government to continue misusing the law to restrict free expression, assembly, and other fundamental freedoms.
• In February, Afrobarometer, an independent research institution, reported that perceptions of government corruption were more widespread in Eswatini than in any of the 38 countries surveyed in its 2021–23 study. Eighty-three percent of Swati respondents “gave the government poor marks” on efforts to fight official corruption.
• In November, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of several junior police officers and correctional services officers who had been suspended in 2022 after peacefully presenting the prime minister’s office with a complaint about the failure to implement a promised salary increase. The court’s ruling also ordered the government to implement the salary increase, which had been announced in a 2014 government circular.

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For additional background information, see last year’s full report.