| Military and police patrols are on the streets of the tiny African nation of eSwatini, and opposition leaders are in hiding, as the continent’s last absolute monarchy tries to contain pro-democracy protests. The president of the opposition People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Mlungisi Makhanya, told CNN on Tuesday that he had witnessed military and police patrols on the ground. “The army was brought in to help protect and preserve,” said Sen. Manqoba Khumalo, eSwatini’s Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry. But the acting eSwatini President of the Economic Freedom Fighters accused the military of having a more sinister purpose. The president of the National Union of Students (SNUS) is also in hiding, he told CNN. Tensions continue to mount despite an urgent mission dispatched to the kingdom by the president of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, including the foreign ministers of Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The South African Development Community mission called for national dialogue and appealed for calm, Masisi said in a statement Tuesday. SOURCE: CNN |
