The murder of prominent human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko and the subsequent admission by the government that it hired ‘security experts’ to deal with pro-democracy activists have created a state of fear in Eswatini.

As the “security experts”, who are largely seen as mercenaries, rove at night in search for those perceived by the state to be terrorists, pro-democracy activists are fleeing in droves to neighbouring South Africa while those who remain pull back from protest lines.

The Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF), an organisation comprising civil society and religious and political groups, which Maseko chaired, estimates that “close to 200” activists have fled to South Africa in recent months.

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Some activists who have remained have been charged with terrorism, among other charges. They are reported to be struggling to find defence counsel, since lawyers fear representing those perceived to be enemies of the state.

In February this year, for example, The Times of Eswatini reported that members of the Swazis First Democratic Front, Sibusiso Nxumalo and Muzi Mnisi, who are both facing 38 charges under the Suppression of Terrorism Act, were struggling to get lawyers to defend them.

The callous murder of Maseko in January, which is largely believed to have been an assassination, has left even the most courageous and unflinching lawyer shaking in their boots.

Some lawyers believe Maseko’s killing could have been part of what increasingly seems like a concerted crackdown by the state on lawyers, specifically those defending political activists.

Though Maseko had also become a vocal protagonist in the pro-democracy movement, some in the legal fraternity doubt the narrative that his murder was a political assassination.

Instead, they believe the renowned lawyer was “eliminated” to ensure that nobody challenges the legality of the partnership between the so-called security experts and the government, and to further ensure that activists charged with terrorism and treason have no legal representation.

Threats against lawyers