Schools shut in Eswatini after student protests

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Schools shut in Eswatini after student protests

7:15 CAT | 18 Oct 2021

Image: BBC

All schools in Eswatini were shut on Monday after the government announced at the weekend that they would close indefinitely.

The country’s students have been leading the latest round of pro-democracy protests that have also included transport workers and street vendors.

For more than two weeks they have been staging demonstrations in schools across the small kingdom, leading to the army being deployed to at least eight state establishments.

Protests in rural parts of the country are not a common sight but this year something seems to have changed – observers have told me it’s a sign of shifting sentiments in the country.

Rural communities have been historically loyal to King Mswati III and previous demonstrations were largely happening in the urban areas.

But life has been getting increasingly difficult for some in Eswatini, Africa’s last absolute monarchy.

Among the complaints are worsening levels of unemployment and poverty, and there is criticism that the government is unresponsive, fuelling calls for democratic reform.

Why people in Eswatini, Africa’s last absolute monarchy, are protesting https://t.co/QWRhc2zuzt pic.twitter.com/NpXHdtba23

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) September 9, 2021