Eswatini's King Mswati let his people have their say... until one dared to call for proper democracy

• King Mswati III on Monday convened the Sibaya national dialogue at the royal residence.
• One Sibusiso Dlamini had the microphone grabbed from him as he told the king to allow political party democracy in parliament.
• The government said the microphone was taken because Dlamini had used all the time allocated to him.

A Swati man had a microphone grabbed away from him on Monday as he told the king, in public, to allow political parties to participate in the country's elections.

He was speaking at the Sibaya, a national dialogue, which by law is the highest advisory council to the king. 

King Mswati III convened the Sibaya a month after the Tinkhundla elections were held.

It is at this ceremony that the king also appoints a new prime minister.

READ | SADC, AU sign off on Eswatini's undemocratic election

Pro-democracy organisations rejected the Sibaya because they believe it is a platform for the king to impose laws unchallenged.

The last Sibaya where ordinary people were given the platform to air their views was in 2018.

This time around, it turned out to be a mistake on the king's part to let people have their say, after one Sibusiso Dlamini broke ranks and called for democracy.

"A person should get into parliament through his political party. Political parties should be registered under the country's laws," he said before the microphone was violently grabbed from him.

The episode was documented by the local media.

On Tuesday, government spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo issued a statement claiming that Dlamini had his microphone removed because the time allocated to him had elapsed.

He said:

Nxumalo reassured the public that anyone who wanted to make submissions at the Sibaya, including from the international community, was free to do so. "All views presented at the Sibaya remain valid and worthy for consideration," he said.

Nxumalo added that the Sibaya was a platform for people to express "their honest and genuine feelings about all issues affecting the country."

Under the Tinkhundla system, political parties are not allowed to participate, nor are they registered entities in Eswatini.

People who take part in the elections do so on what is called "individual merit," but pro-democracy groups say it's just an opportunity for the king to cherry-pick his parliament, which only serves an advisory role. 

Legislators such as Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube were found guilty in July, under the Suppression of Terrorism Act, for contravening Covid-19 regulations.

They were allegedly linked to a wave of pro-democracy protests in 2021.

They will be sentenced in December of this year.

READ | Eswatini convicts jailed pro-democracy lawmakers

In December last year, under the banner of the Swaziland Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF), a grouping of civil society and opposition parties were at the forefront of putting pressure on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to address the impasse in Eswatini.

Their leader was lawyer Thulani Maseko, who was killed a month later. His killers have not been found, and the government has denied being involved.

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