Catholic Bishop in Eswatini Calls for Prayers to Break Ongoing “cycle of violence”

“I call our Priests to choose the Masses for reconciliation, for harmony, for justice and for peace in their daily celebration of Mass together with the Eucharistic prayers for reconciliation,” the member of the Consolata Missionaries says. 

He further asks the people of God in the one-Diocese nation to seek God’s grace to become instruments of peace. 

Protests in Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland and officially referred to as the Kingdom of Eswatini, were triggered by the death of Thabani Nkomonye in May, a 25-year-old law student at the University of Eswatini, allegedly at the hands of police.

The authorities could not explain the death of the university student even as family members tried to wrap their heads around a car accident police had said their son was involved in two days after he went missing. 

According to family members, Nkomonye’s body was found underneath thorny bushes about 30 meters from where the car was. 

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The car, a Mazda Sedan, reportedly had something which appeared like a bullet hole. 

The incident sparked protests in the country, which escalated into a call for an end in King Mswati III’s monarchy rule. 

The protests have now spread across the country with pro-democracy protests invoking Nkomoye’s name in the call for change in leadership. 

Various human rights and charity organizations have expressed fear over loss of lives in the landlocked country due to the protracted violent clashes between police and protestors. 

In a Thursday, July 1 interview with ACI Africa, Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI) Director, Johan Viljoen said that more than a dozen protesters have already been killed in the violence.

“Government authorities have maintained that no one has died in the ongoing protests that are mostly staged at night. But our sources say that 18 people have already been killed,” Mr. Viljoen told ACI Africa July 1.

He adds, “There is fear that if this conflict is not resolved urgently, the violence will escalate to an uncontrollable situation and many people will be killed.”