By Kate Bartlett, JOHANNESBURG
South Africa
The government of Eswatini has criticized speculation it may have been responsible for the killing of well-known human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko and has pledged to investigate. Maseko, who was shot dead at his home Saturday, was an outspoken critic of the government, which rights groups say made him a target in the past.
Rights groups, Western
embassies, and the U.N. have all expressed concern over the killing.
By most accounts Maseko, who
was shot dead by unknown gunmen at his home over the weekend, was one of
Eswatini's shining lights, a rare critical voice in Africa's last remaining
absolute monarchy.
The 52-year-old, a former
fellow at American University's Washington College of Law, was a human rights
lawyer, prominent opposition politician and columnist.
He was a thorn in the side of
the government of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, and had been jailed
for more than a year in 2014. Maseko's death came just hours after the king,
Mswati III, spoke against activists challenging his rule.
Robert Shivambu, Amnesty
International's southern Africa spokesman, called for justice for Maseko's
family.
"The cold-blooded
unlawful killing of Thulani Maseko offers a chilling reminder that human rights
defenders, especially those at the front of calling for political reform in
Eswatini, are not safe," Shivambu said. "If they're not being
persecuted, harassed or intimidated by the state, they are at risk of losing
their lives. Maseko's family deserves justice; his killers must be brought to
trial."
Shivambu said any
investigation must be conducted separately from the government and its
agencies.
Eswatini, a small kingdom
bordering South Africa and Mozambique and a former British colony, has been
ruled by the king since 1986.
He has absolute power and has
regularly been accused of human rights abuses. In 2021, there were large
pro-democracy protests that resulted in several deaths.
Eswatini government spokesman
Alpheous Nxumalo hit back at what he said were unjust "insinuations"
on social media that the government had any hand in Maseko's killing.
"The position of government
is the same, we are baffled, we are taken aback, and we are very disappointed
that you are quoting political activists in the country and in South Africa who
are blaming government for the murderous crime that has been committed against
the person of Mr. Maseko," Nxumalo said. "Government has got no,
absolutely no, hand in the murder of Mr. Maseko."
He said an investigation was
under way into who was responsible.
"Mr. Maseko has been
doing human rights activism in this country for a long time," Nxumalo
said. "He has been out to schools internationally, came back, continued
with his agenda. He was absolutely no threat whatsoever at any given time as we
were pursing our political agenda in the country."
Amnesty's Shivambu said
Maseko's death, which already has sent a chilling message to pro-democracy
activists across the country, may signify an escalation in attacks against
those who are openly seeking political reforms.
The story has made
international headlines, with United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Türk
urging an impartial investigation into the killing. The U.S. embassy in
Eswatini expressed "profound sadness" at the murder, while the
European Union voiced "grave concern" about the rights situation in
Eswatini.
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