Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders have urged the Kingdom of Eswatini to initiate a national dialogue on the protests that erupted in that country in June 2021 amid a drastic deterioration in the human rights situation and lack of reforms.

In a communique issued by SADC on Tuesday after the Extra Ordinary SADC Troika Summit which took place in Windhoek on Monday and Tuesday, the regional leaders while condemning the killing of Thulani Maseko a leading human rights lawyer and political activist in the Kingdom of Eswatini, also called on all stakeholders and participants to remain calm and peacefully participate in the dialogue.

“The summit condemned all killings and damage to property in the Kingdom of Eswatini and urges the Government to conduct a swift, transparent and comprehensive investigation into the killing of Maseko,” it said.

The summit also noted the unstable security situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and condemned the upsurge of conflicts and activities of armed groups.

It in addition adopted the draft African Union Declaration on the United States of America’s proposed ‘Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act’ and urged Member States to communicate SADC’s position and reaffirmed the stance of Non-Alignment on conflicts outside the continent and the region at multilateral fora.

SADC also reiterated the call for Member States to urgently respond to requests for critical capabilities to enhance the operational capability of the SADC Mission in Mozambique. The summit reiterated the call for Member States to urgently respond to requests for critical capabilities to enhance the operational capability of the SADC Mission in Mozambique.

In conclusion, the summit commended the Government and the People of the Kingdom of Lesotho for conducting peaceful elections and congratulated the Revolutionary for Prosperity Party.

In attendance, were the SADC heads of state of Government and/or their representatives while South African President Cyril Ramaphosa handed over the Chairperson role of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation to his Zambian counterpart Hakainde Hichilema.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency