COUNTER REVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED: HOW KING MSWATI SURVIDED AND REINVENTED HIMSELF POST 2021
...In the aftermath of the 2021 pro-democracy uprising that shook eSwatini to its core, King Mswati III has not only reasserted control — he has reengineered the entire machinery of state power to ensure that the kingdom never again teeters so close to democratic revolution.
In the wake of the explosive 2021 uprising — the largest and most widespread rebellion in eSwatini's post-independence history — many believed the monarchy was living on borrowed time. Yet, four years later, King Mswati III sits more firmly on the throne than ever, having not only crushed dissent but reinvented himself and the machinery of the state in a manner that leaves the opposition reeling, fragmented, and disillusioned.
Rebuilding the Crown from the Ground Up
Far from retreating into the heavily fortified comfort of Lozitha and Ludzidzini, King Mswati has returned to the people — or at least, to the rural communities where his traditional legitimacy still carries symbolic power. These days, he is on a whirlwind tour of remote chiefdoms and rural towns, cutting ribbons at small business launches, promising jobs, funding cooperatives, and posing for cameras in the dusty streets where rebellion once brewed.
By making himself visible in the lives of ordinary emaSwati, the King is strategically shedding the image of an aloof, palace-bound autocrat. He is recasting himself as a "working monarch" — a father of the nation who listens, delivers, and leads from the front. It’s clever politics. In a country where most of the population still lives in rural areas, his direct outreach is re-anchoring the monarchy in the heart of traditional society.
Tradition, Pageantry, and Soft Power
Cultural events like the Buganu festival — once muted by COVID-19 and protests — are now back with record-breaking attendance. The monarchy is leaning into these platforms as tools of soft power, rallying loyalty through culture and identity. These gatherings double as political theatre: reminders of the monarch’s divine lineage, legitimacy, and unbroken tradition, even as the world outside grows louder in its demand for democratic reform.
Military Muscles and Regional Diplomacy
On the security front, the King has transformed the army from parade-ground showmen into a regional force with teeth. Close ties with Rwanda’s battle-hardened military — trained in intelligence, surveillance, and counter-insurgency — signal a regime that’s not only ready for war, but already rehearsing for the next uprising. At this year's Army Day, the commander assured the King of full readiness to "defend the nation" — a clear warning to dissenters.
Military aid, surveillance systems, and foreign-trained operatives now anchor a regime whose security apparatus rivals those of far larger states. Even eSwatini’s diplomatic maneuvering has been impressive. King Mswati has allegedly funneled support into Jacob Zuma’s MK Party in South Africa, securing influence in one of the region’s most volatile democracies.
Through soft money and strategic alignment, the King has effectively muted criticism from South African politics — once a key source of solidarity for the eSwatini democratic movement. While progressives squabbled and fractured, King Mswati waged — and won — a quiet diplomatic war. Incredibly, he managed to strike Eswatini off the Southern African Development Community (SADC) agenda, ensuring that the regional body would no longer discuss or investigate the kingdom’s internal strife.
How he achieved this is the stuff of palace legend — lobbying, royal charm, and cold geopolitical calculation. Even South Africa’s parliament, once sympathetic, has gone quiet.
Parliament Pacified, Media Captured
Internally, the King has repopulated parliament with loyalists. Popular opposition-leaning MPs like LaZwide find themselves isolated, outnumbered, and politically neutered. Simultaneously, royal-aligned businessman Michelo Shakantu has taken over the Times of eSwatini, once the kingdom’s only semi-independent media house.
In its place now stands a polished megaphone for palace propaganda. Government communication has also evolved. Gone are the days of sluggish, outdated state press releases. Today, a fast-moving, well-funded government PR machine shapes the national narrative with professional precision — framing the opposition as foreign-funded saboteurs and positioning the King as a visionary leader.
The Great Co-optation of Labour and Civil Society
Meanwhile, the once-feared trade union movement has been tamed, not with bullets but with bureaucracy and soft power. The government’s alliance with leaders like Owen Nxumalo has effectively absorbed SNAT — the teachers’ union that once fueled nationwide strikes — into the fold. This May Day, as with last year, the Prime Minister will speak at the official Workers’ Day celebrations while political parties are barred.
Labour has not just been silenced — it has been domesticated. Civil society is no better. Once-vocal organisations like CANGO, SCCCO and the Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice (FSEJ) are either defunded or timid, reduced to echoing government messaging. The few brave lawyers who once used the courts as battlegrounds for justice have fallen silent.
The assassination of Thulani Maseko was the final nail in the coffin of legal activism — a chilling message that even the country’s most celebrated human rights lawyer was not untouchable.
The Eye in the Sky and the War on Information
Security has become total. Surveillance cameras now line the streets of every major town. While framed as a crime prevention measure, they serve an unmistakably political function: population control. Whispers of facial recognition, voice tracking, and AI-supported monitoring abound. The security state is here — and it’s watching.
Revolution in Retreat
What we are witnessing is not merely a regime surviving an uprising — it is a regime evolving in response to it, outpacing its enemies in organisation, communication, diplomacy, and public engagement. The pro-democracy movement, meanwhile, lies in disarray. The opposition's leadership is scattered in exile or the more respected ones dead.
Student politics is paralysed. Armed exiles are jailed or disillusioned. The once-unified mass democratic movement is now fractured, with no central strategy, no popular mobilisation, and no clear pathway to state power. Globally, the kingdom has benefitted from the world’s distraction. Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan — the international community is preoccupied.
eSwatini, a small mountain kingdom without oil or strategic minerals, no longer commands attention. Even the regional SADC bloc — once tentatively interested — has moved on, quietly scrubbing eSwatini from its crisis agenda, thanks in no small part to the King's back-channel diplomacy.
A Dangerous Complacency
The great tragedy of eSwatini is not just the resilience of its monarchy — it is the disintegration of the revolutionary dream. A movement that once carried the hopes of a generation now finds itself outflanked, out-organised, and out-funded. The revolution did not fail. It was diverted. Then it was neutralised. Now, it is a memory being erased in real time.
King Mswati has not simply maintained power. He has reinvented it.