Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
Melusi Simelane

Creator

Melusi Simelane

In the coming days, the last absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa, King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini will celebrate 40 years on the throne. Photo: Wang Yu Ching

Forty years of Mswati rule offer zilch to celebrate

Eswatini is a small, resilient, and culturally rich nation. Its people have endured extraordinary pressure. But on governance, the record is one of systemic failure: captured…

In the coming days, the last absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa, King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini will celebrate 40 years on the throne. Photo: Wang Yu Ching

Mswati’s word as law fuels  repression in Eswatini

The call for freedom of expression, including LGBTIQ+ rights, is a fundamental human right vital for safety and dignity

Guard jealously: Africa must move at pace with other nations seeking to protect data as a strategic asset. Photo: Dragos Condrea

Africa’s data, the new sovereignty frontier

Data sovereignty refers to the principle that all data is subject to the laws and regulations of the nation state or jurisdiction in which it is collected. This concept gained…

Oppression: Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Photo: Natalia Fedosenko/Pool/Reuters

Amendments to the voluntary organisations Act threatens civic space in Zimbabwe

Repression in the country is cloaked in reform through the suppression of nonprofit organisations

Paramedics tend to a person injured by police during protests in Mbabane in 2021 as security forces cracked down on pro-democracy protests in Africa’s last absolute monarchy. Photo: AFP

eSwatini’s 20 years of constitutionalism characterised by a crackdown on freedom of expression

The country’s revival of the Sedition and Subversion Act is a revival of a colonial law that stifles human rights.

Some countries such as Tanzania still retain the death penalty

Abolish the death penalty in Africa

The African Court ruling on Tanzania’s mandatory death penalty ruled that sentencing someone to death by hanging violates Article 5 of the African Charte

Misleading narratives are inflaming tensions between Southern African Development Community and East African Community nations.

The era of misinformation and disinformation is a global crisis

The battle against this manipulation is collective, requiring unified action from all who seek to preserve democracy and human rights

Graphic: John McCann/M&G

Mental health, patriarchy and the criminalisation of suicide

Fear, vulnerability and stigma can be particularly dangerous in Africa